Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The Asus ROG Maximus IX Extreme Z270 motherboard is available for $630

By
ROG Maximus IX Extreme Teaser | ROG
Not everyone has the time and expertise to design and build the perfect gaming PC. That doesn’t mean they should break down and buy a preconfigured and possibly more expensive PC from a system builder. Therefore, the more that components are able to integrate advanced features the better.

Asus has taken that idea to heart and has released a new gaming motherboard that includes one relatively advanced gaming feature — water cooling — built into the board itself. The Asus ROG Maximus IX Extreme Z270 isn’t the least expensive option, but it builds in some convenient technology, Hexus reports.

1 of 2
asus introduces rog maximus ix extreme z270 motherboard maximum top view
Image used with permission by copyright holder
asus introduces rog maximus ix extreme z270 motherboard maximum water cooler
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Asus dubs the solution the “Water Cooling Master,” and it’s a monoblock that Asus designed along with Bitspower specifically for the new motherboard. It cools the CPU, VRM module, and M.2 slot, and integrates eight fan connections and a number of sensors that provide flow-rate, water-leak, and temperature data to the ROG Fan Xpert 4 software. It’s also Asus ROG-themed and is designed to reduce some of the complexity of the typical liquid cooling system.In addition, the Maximus IX Extreme Z270 includes all of the usual high-end gaming motherboard features. There’s an extensive array of connections with support for all of the latest technology, including dual M.2 PCI3 3.0 x4 with NVMe SSD RAID support, 2X2 802.11AC Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 4.1, and Thunderbolt 3.

Recommended Videos

There is a host of PCIe expansion slots including two PCIE 3.0 x16 slots supporting x16/x8/x8, a PCIe 3.0 x16 supporting x4 mode, and another PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. The board supports both Nvidia two-way SLI and AMD 3-way CrossFireX multi-GPU setups.

High-end audio is supported via a SupremeFX S1220 codec and ESS Sabre Hi-Fi ES9023P digital-to-analog converter. A Texas Instruments RC 4580 op-amp pushes heavy volumes with low distortion. Sonic Radar III, Sonic Studio III, and LED-lighted 3.5mm jacks round out the audio support.

The Asus ROG Maximus IX Extreme Z270 uses an Intel Z270 chipset and supports all of the latest seventh- and sixth-generation Core, Pentium, and Celeron processors. Turbo Boost 2.0 I is on hand, as well as full support for Intel 14nm CPUs.

If you’re still on the Intel bandwagon and want to save yourself some hassle in setting up a liquid cooling system, then Asus’ newest gaming motherboard might be for you. Just know that you’re going to pay for it. Asus released the

ROG Maximus IX Extreme Z270 in the U.S. for $630

 and it’s available if you’re ready to pull the trigger.

Amazon

Article originally published in March 2017. Updated on 05-03-2017 by Mark Coppock: Indicated that the motherboard is now available.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
It’s official: Asus admits ROG Ally has a problem with thermals
Forza Horizon 4 runs on an Asus ROG Ally.

Asus has just confirmed that the ROG Ally handheld has a problem with thermals, and if you're unlucky, this issue could lead to a broken microSD card. The problem has already been reported online by various affected users, but now, Asus spoke up and revealed how it's going to be addressed.

The good news is that a fix is on the way. The bad news is that it may have an impact on the ROG Ally's noise levels.

Read more
If the leaked Asus ROG Ally price is real, the Steam Deck is in trouble
Forza Horizon 4 runs on an Asus ROG Ally.

Since Asus announced its ROG Ally handheld, one question has dominated the conversation: how much will it cost? If a new leak is to be believed, the flagship model will come in at $700.

Best Buy, which seems to be exclusively handling distribution in the U.S., had a listing briefly go live for the ROG Ally. It shows a model with AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 512GB of storage coming in at $700.

Read more
Seriously, the Asus ROG Ally could replace your desktop
The Digital Trends website on the Asus ROG Ally.

The moment I played a game on Asus' upcoming ROG Ally, it felt too good to be real. Performance is off the charts, and the form factor is surprisingly comfortable. And the more I thought about the ROG Ally after using it, the more I actually pondered replacing my high-end gaming desktop with the handheld.

I've been clear about my worries about Windows 11 on a handheld like this, and although we hear about efficiency with each new launch from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia, it's hard to feel those gains in everyday use. But the ROG Ally not only looks like the winner against the Steam Deck, it also might just replace your desktop PC.

Read more