If I was going to criticize this for anything it would be that it's only got 1 each M.2 (widely used) and U.2 connectors (at least one drive actually exists) connectors but two SataExpress connectors; despite there never having been an SSD using that standard released.
If it wasn't for the U.2 connector, I wouldn't complain assuming the design was locked in too early to know that Sata Express was a failed standard; but U.2 didn't come a thing until after the former was already known to be a non-starter.
The SATA ports inside SATA express are useable so there's utility there. My own complaint really has to do with the skylake chipset - even though it has more pcie lanes than its z97 predecessor, it still isn't enough to run ports without disabling other ports. Most of not all the z170 mobos force you to make a trade-off. If you use the m.2 or u.2 port, you lose SATA ports because they're sharing pcie lanes. I assume this new Asus board will have the same limitation.
However, it's nice to see alpine ridge with thunderbolt 3 finally show up. As far as I know, gigabyte hasn't included thunderbolt with its implementation.
As long as Intel offers IO ports that can be configured to do any of several things, we'll have many boards sold to the enthusiast market adding connectors for both options rather than make multiple boards with different selections of options hardwired in. Since all the major high speed interfaces off the southbridge are serial, I don't expect to see Intel change how they're doing it, except that the number/flexibility will probably go up with time. The size of the chip is limited by the number of IO pins on it; putting extra controllers on and multiplexing them is a way to fill up the extra 'free' silicon needed to make the chip big enough for all the IO it needs.
The next major chipset generation (likely for whatever comes after Cannonlake) will probably add more IO lanes; but at best I'd expect to see the number of device connections maintaining parity with the current generation as 4lane m.2/u.2 ends up largely displacing 1 lane sata ports. In the interim, that growth in demand will probably make the 3rd party hub/port multiplexing issue more severe on Kabbylake and Cannonlake boards. Full ATX will continue to suffer the worst because mATX/mITX doesn't give as much room for jamming as many connectors onto a single board, and since full ATX remains a very small share of the overall desktop market segment, Intel will continue to tune the controller size for smaller boards with a smaller peak number of connections.
Probably just a resettable breaker (fuse) incase of a surge. This is pretty common on USB ports, but somewhat rare on RJ45 connections...which is strange because I've seen a number of NIC's get blown out over the years from cable modem/router surges that come in via coax.
Sorry yes, I meant electrostatic protection. Apparently lightning strikes affecting networking and killing other components is a big enough thing in which extra protection might be needed.
Been discussing this board vs. X99 options elsewhere. A top-end ASUS X99 (R5E) with a 5820K costs the same but has way better PCIe provision. Or a good midrange ASUS/Asrock X99 with a 5820K saves enough to include a 500GB 850 EVO for the same total, or almost all the way to a 5930K.
Not keen on where this Maximus line is going. In the old days, it was premium stuff, the M4E being particularly awesome. NF200 or PLX switches, excellent oc'ing, worth the price. But SkyLake is so expensive, I don't see the point.
Also don't like the colour styling, it needs to be much more in the traditional Maximus black/red, rather than this black/grey with red tints which is more what I'd expect for their workstation series.
iamkyle is right, X99 makes more sense atm. Either that or weight for the M8 Formula.
0237hrs and my brain isn't working. Can't believe I typed 'weight' instead of 'wait' (humble apologies to all who wince at the sight). And now I can't edit it! Argh! Dear AT, when oh when will we be able to edit our comments? S'like living in the 90s atm...
I spent $300 on my Asus P6T in 2008, probably the best motherboard I've ever had. I sold it in 2014 (6 years later...) for $150. It held so much value because cheap Socket 1366 Xeon's started flooding the market (like <$50 for a 6-core, 12MB cache monster)
This probably won't happen with Socket 1155/1150 because it has become so mainstream, unlike Socket 1366, which was always considered high-end much like Socket 2011. But it's still an important example of how these boards will be worth more than a typical Z-series board way down the road. And you will ultimately enjoy the hell out of it while you own it, having a hard time even giving it up.
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nunya112 - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
omg EXTREME is on the motherboard $700 buks price tag. cause its extreme! no joke in australia. boards like this 500-800 bucks http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products_list.p...jwcalla - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
"Extreme" refers to the price.r3loaded - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
Wow it's only £272 ($414) before tax in the UK (£326 after tax)! Probably the first time we're getting something for cheaper than the US.Still very expensive for the average punter even when compared to X99 standards, but it's not exactly compromised on anything.
iamkyle - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
Except PCIe lanes...which is why you should divert the same amount of money you'd be spending on this platform towards an X99 solution.Morawka - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
yeah but x99 wont have that High Clocks and high IPC of skylake that's great for gaming. These Mainstream chips can oc much higherMorawka - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
All previous Extremes have had a PLX chip to rationalize the higher price tag.. This one does not.. is PLX not helpful for 4 way anymore?ZeDestructor - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
I think they just dropped Tri- and quad-SLI completely.Ian Cutress - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
PLX chips are now 2x-3x more expensive than they used to be, since the Avago takeover (so I hear).DanNeely - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
If I was going to criticize this for anything it would be that it's only got 1 each M.2 (widely used) and U.2 connectors (at least one drive actually exists) connectors but two SataExpress connectors; despite there never having been an SSD using that standard released.If it wasn't for the U.2 connector, I wouldn't complain assuming the design was locked in too early to know that Sata Express was a failed standard; but U.2 didn't come a thing until after the former was already known to be a non-starter.
ddarko - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
The SATA ports inside SATA express are useable so there's utility there. My own complaint really has to do with the skylake chipset - even though it has more pcie lanes than its z97 predecessor, it still isn't enough to run ports without disabling other ports. Most of not all the z170 mobos force you to make a trade-off. If you use the m.2 or u.2 port, you lose SATA ports because they're sharing pcie lanes. I assume this new Asus board will have the same limitation.However, it's nice to see alpine ridge with thunderbolt 3 finally show up. As far as I know, gigabyte hasn't included thunderbolt with its implementation.
DanNeely - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
As long as Intel offers IO ports that can be configured to do any of several things, we'll have many boards sold to the enthusiast market adding connectors for both options rather than make multiple boards with different selections of options hardwired in. Since all the major high speed interfaces off the southbridge are serial, I don't expect to see Intel change how they're doing it, except that the number/flexibility will probably go up with time. The size of the chip is limited by the number of IO pins on it; putting extra controllers on and multiplexing them is a way to fill up the extra 'free' silicon needed to make the chip big enough for all the IO it needs.The next major chipset generation (likely for whatever comes after Cannonlake) will probably add more IO lanes; but at best I'd expect to see the number of device connections maintaining parity with the current generation as 4lane m.2/u.2 ends up largely displacing 1 lane sata ports. In the interim, that growth in demand will probably make the 3rd party hub/port multiplexing issue more severe on Kabbylake and Cannonlake boards. Full ATX will continue to suffer the worst because mATX/mITX doesn't give as much room for jamming as many connectors onto a single board, and since full ATX remains a very small share of the overall desktop market segment, Intel will continue to tune the controller size for smaller boards with a smaller peak number of connections.
madwolfa - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
"network controller with electrostatic support"what?
Samus - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
Probably just a resettable breaker (fuse) incase of a surge. This is pretty common on USB ports, but somewhat rare on RJ45 connections...which is strange because I've seen a number of NIC's get blown out over the years from cable modem/router surges that come in via coax.Ian Cutress - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
Sorry yes, I meant electrostatic protection. Apparently lightning strikes affecting networking and killing other components is a big enough thing in which extra protection might be needed.mapesdhs - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
Been discussing this board vs. X99 options elsewhere. A top-end ASUS X99 (R5E) with a 5820K costs the same but has way better PCIe provision. Or a good midrange ASUS/Asrock X99 with a 5820K saves enough to include a 500GB 850 EVO for the same total, or almost all the way to a 5930K.Not keen on where this Maximus line is going. In the old days, it was premium stuff, the M4E being particularly awesome. NF200 or PLX switches, excellent oc'ing, worth the price. But SkyLake is so expensive, I don't see the point.
Also don't like the colour styling, it needs to be much more in the traditional Maximus black/red, rather than this black/grey with red tints which is more what I'd expect for their workstation series.
iamkyle is right, X99 makes more sense atm. Either that or weight for the M8 Formula.
mapesdhs - Monday, October 19, 2015 - link
0237hrs and my brain isn't working. Can't believe I typed 'weight' instead of 'wait' (humble apologies to all who wince at the sight). And now I can't edit it! Argh! Dear AT, when oh when will we be able to edit our comments? S'like living in the 90s atm...Samus - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
I spent $300 on my Asus P6T in 2008, probably the best motherboard I've ever had. I sold it in 2014 (6 years later...) for $150. It held so much value because cheap Socket 1366 Xeon's started flooding the market (like <$50 for a 6-core, 12MB cache monster)This probably won't happen with Socket 1155/1150 because it has become so mainstream, unlike Socket 1366, which was always considered high-end much like Socket 2011. But it's still an important example of how these boards will be worth more than a typical Z-series board way down the road. And you will ultimately enjoy the hell out of it while you own it, having a hard time even giving it up.
dzur13 - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link
Nice, I still have my Asus P6T and able to play any game out there. Will probably upgrade next year.