[section_title title=Test Setup]
Testing Setup
Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Maximus VIII Impact
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.2 GHz
CPU Cooler:Â Noctua NH-D15
GPU: GALAX GTX 980 SOC @ 1228 (1329 boost)/1800
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 2x8GB C14
PSU:Â Cooler Master V1200 1200W 80PLUSÂ Platinum
OS: Windows 10 Professional x64
Previous motherboard reviews:
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero
ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING
MSI Z170A GAMING M7
MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING
Methodology:
All benchmarks are done on a fresh install of Windows 10 Professional 64-bit that is fully up-to-date with Windows Updates to ensure that the performance reflects a real-world scenario and not that of a tweaked benchmarking system. Every benchmark runs for a total of three times and then an average is taken of those results.
2D Benchmarks:
AIDA64 – CPU Queen/CPU Photoworxx/CPU AES/Memory Read/Memory Write
Cinebench 11.5 – CPU
Cinebench R15 – CPU
SiSandra – Processor Arithmetic/Processor Multi-Core Efficiency/Cache & Memory Bandwidth
3D Benchmarks:
3DMark 11 – Performance
3DMark Fire Strike – Normal
Gaming Benchmarks:
Company of Heroes 2 – Maximum Settings 1080P/1440P
F1 2015 – Ultra Preset 1080P/1440P
Total War: ROME II – Extreme Preset 1080P/1440P
