ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Impact ITX Motherboard Review

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Conclusion

Small form factor and ITX are big business these days, especially with those wanting all the performance of a full sized setup in a smaller form. HTPC used to be the main reason as who has the space under their TV for a fully-fledged ATX sized mid-tower? Nowadays with advancements in technology, we have ITX form factor graphics cards which have enough power to play the latest games, but we also have such a wide variety of cases available making ITX a predominant force in the consumer PC market. So where does the ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Impact fit into the equation and is it a recommended purchase?

Well for those who demand performance, only intend to run single GPU configurations and want the ITX platform, the latest VIII Impact delivers and then some! With strong showings in synthetic benchmarks as well as real world applications such as gaming, it’s easy to see why ASUS have a reputation as the top motherboard manufacturer in the world; this also further enhances the reputation of their Republic of Gamers liveried motherboards and products. Of course there are good and bad points, with 3DMark 11’s Performance pre-set showing some disappointing results; everything else was either leading the pack (including ATX boards) or at least in line with everything else.

In terms of features, the Z170 Impact is packing a serious amount, enough to make you sit back and say, “this can’t be an ITX motherboard?!?!” Over the past 12 months, ASUS have been putting a huge emphasis on upgrading the basic on-board motherboard audio although like most manufacturers, they use the Relate ALC audio chips. The kicker here is the use of the Hyper Stream ESS9023 DAC which does actually sound very good through our Beyer dynamic DT 770 Pro’s (80ohms) and that is very welcoming. Obviously due to the ITX form factor, a dedicated sound card with an installed graphics card would be impossible, so I actually applaud ASUS for not only improving on-board audio further, but giving consumers an audio software suite like the Sonic Studio II package; it’s actually very easy to use too! Of course on-board has its limitations and I wouldn’t not use a dedicated sound card, but on-board is getting closer to reaching its groove thanks to Supreme FX!

Its price is also very reasonable considering ITX demands a high premium and £177 at Amazon is a very good price in our opinion; it isn’t going to appeal to bargain hunters though I’m afraid. Does it represent good value for money? Well yes and no, it has an incredible amount of features with fantastic performance, but compared to the cheaper ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING ITX motherboard, it could be very well a debate in the cheaper boards favour.  Of course, those wanting the best know they have to pay for it and I would probably go out on a limb and say this is the best Z170 ITX board currently on the market; I would love for a board to come and prove me wrong however!

I would say the only downside for me is the lack of an M.2 port which is pretty disappointing in all honesty, but what ASUS have done is provided a single NVMe U.2 port which does offer a lot more than M.2 in terms of performance and speed (providing you have a U.2 capable drive), but in terms of convenience, M.2 would have made much more sense I’m afraid.  Is this a huge problem?  Of course not, but it would have made more sense from my point of view to drop U.2 until it was more widely available, but this is a top of the range Z170 ITX board, so I do see where ASUS are coming from!

I think if you summarise everything that the ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Impact has to offer, it’s a solid all round motherboard. It has strong overclocking potential thanks to the top quality fully digital phase design which is incorporated (vertically mounted) and shows solid performance virtually all across the board; did I mention it’s gorgeous too? If you are looking to buy an ITX motherboard and don’t mind spending a little extra to get some very well thought out and implemented features such as improved on-board sound? Then make sure the ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Impact is on your shopping list!

Huge thanks to ASUS for sending in today’s sample.