Maximus VI Hero vs Formula

[JoseyMG]

Im looking for a pretty high end motherboard. I was considering the GD65 from Msi, but after some research im going to go with asus. Is the formula worth the 100$ more than the hero? It has wifi, that thermal armor thing, and the holes for water cooling which i wont use since i have a h100i. I might use the wifi, not sure for now. Is it really worth it? Or its basically just an aesthetics thing? They benchmark pretty much the same.

 

[rolli59]

To me it is not.

 

[Eximo]

The Hero's worst flaw is the low number of fan headers. Sabretooth is a better option in that regard. Most gamers don't use wireless network connections to avoid latencies. I think the same basic components are shared amongst the three in terms of overclocking. The armor only leaves for a cleaner look, and I've heard that the little fan can be quite noisy.

Tom's reviewed a few boards in a round up, since the VRMs and memory controller are on the chip, there isn't much to differentiate once you get past $100 or so. Biostar even passed the grade...

The tweakability of the higher end models pays off, and I threw all kinds of configs at my Maximus Hero and it recovered from all of them.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

IMO, the Hero is a very good board but ridiculously overpriced. I'll add $15 for the sound subsystem but w/o that it's a $150 board as do any comparably priced side by side feature comparison on newegg and it comes up short

On the other hand, I consider the Formula a bargain at $90 over the Hero..... for what it offers:

Blackwing Chokes
mPCIE connect which provides WiFi and BT w/o using a PCI slot
Headphone amp
10 SATA (all SATA III / 6 Gbps)
8 USB 3 / 8 USB 2
DDR3-3000 mem support
Sonic Radar
RAM disk
Steel backplate to support heavy GFX and CPU coolers
Two CPU fan headers
Japanese 10K black solid CAPs
8 + 4 pin CPU power
Extra Power connector for PCIE slots
Superb audio subsystem
Unique BIOS features w/ change log

Vortez writes:

Priced at £247 the Maximus VI Formula is a step-up in price from the commonly selected mid-high end Z87 motherboards but is also a step-up in performance and feature-set. The added cost is justified due to the sheer features and quality at the consumer’s disposal.

They also noted that they hit the standard 4.6 OC at much lower voltages than typical.... this is no doubt due to the the quality components in the power control circuitry, It doesn't need as high a voltage cause its able to maintain a more stable voltage ....w/ no "dips", ya don't need the extra voltage cushion.

So, is it worth it ? That's a question only you can answer.... the more features you use, the more it will be worth it.....if the features sit there unused, then no.

It's too bad ya didn't have something like the CM Eisberg 240 L CPU cooler. Its a helluva lot quieter than the 100i but with the 240L ya can "open the loop" and add the MoBo cooling as they have done here

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33364-Maximus-VI-Formula-Show-Casemod-MbK

The benchmarks show it beating the hero but it does lose a few including 1 or 2 to the GD-65

 

[JoseyMG]

IMO, the Hero is a very good board but ridiculously overpriced. I'll add $15 for the sound subsystem but w/o that it's a $150 board as do any comparably priced side by side feature comparison on newegg and it comes up short

On the other hand, I consider the Formula a bargain at $90 over the Hero..... for what it offers:

Blackwing Chokes
mPCIE connect which provides WiFi and BT w/o using a PCI slot
Headphone amp
10 SATA (all SATA III / 6 Gbps)
8 USB 3 / 8 USB 2
DDR3-3000 mem support
Sonic Radar
RAM disk
Steel backplate to support heavy GFX and CPU coolers
Two CPU fan headers
Japanese 10K black solid CAPs
8 + 4 pin CPU power
Extra Power connector for PCIE slots
Superb audio subsystem
Unique BIOS features w/ change log

Vortez writes:

Priced at £247 the Maximus VI Formula is a step-up in price from the commonly selected mid-high end Z87 motherboards but is also a step-up in performance and feature-set. The added cost is justified due to the sheer features and quality at the consumer’s disposal.

They also noted that they hit the standard 4.6 OC at much lower voltages than typical.... this is no doubt due to the the quality components in the power control circuitry, It doesn't need as high a voltage cause its able to maintain a more stable voltage ....w/ no "dips", ya don't need the extra voltage cushion.

So, is it worth it ? That's a question only you can answer.... the more features you use, the more it will be worth it.....if the features sit there unused, then no.

It's too bad ya didn't have something like the CM Eisberg 240 L CPU cooler. Its a helluva lot quieter than the 100i but with the 240L ya can "open the loop" and add the MoBo cooling as they have done here

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33364-Maximus-VI-Formula-Show-Casemod-MbK

The benchmarks show it beating the hero but it does lose a few including 1 or 2 to the GD-65

I would go full water cooling but this is my first pc i dont want to mess anything up. And that cooler is pretty expensive :v
Heres the build i was planning on going with, i already have the case, Corsair 650D i got it for 80$ which was a steal. I think im going to go with the Formula as well. I probably will use more of its features in the long run since i dont plan on upgrading anytime soon.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1A307

Thanks for your help!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Yes, Im kinda pissed at newegg....before labor day that cooler was $130

I'd go 2 x 8GB and lessen the load on CPUs memory controller.... gets you better OCs or at least better timings. These are "aesthetic fits"
$134 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226382
$150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233536

Consider the 7200.14 3TB ..... 33% faster than the WD Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/desktop-hdd.15-st4000dm000-4tb,3494-3.html

Also note that while the AX series PSUs have a higher efficiency rating, the HX series has lower ripple and better voltage stability and has $20 coupon code atm

 

[JoseyMG]

Yes, Im kinda pissed at newegg....before labor day that cooler was $130

I'd go 2 x 8GB and lessen the load on CPUs memory controller.... gets you better OCs or at least better timings. These are "aesthetic fits"
$134 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226382
$150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233536

Consider the 7200.14 3TB ..... 33% faster than the WD Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/desktop-hdd.15-st4000dm000-4tb,3494-3.html

Also note that while the AX series PSUs have a higher efficiency rating, the HX series has lower ripple and better voltage stability and has $20 coupon code atm

I thought the Caviar black was one of the fastest drives out there? Hmm. I was going to use that one for recording gameplay only, and then the Seagate for all of my other stuff. Ram, i dont really like the mushkin, and the corsair, they do look nice but i dont like how theyre very thin on top so when im viewing them they look kind of wierd, but thats just my opinion. I also wanted the 4 sticks vs the 2 because, while yes, the 2 sticks reduces stress on the memory controller, the 4 sticks looks much more appealing as seen here.
http://gyazo.com/7b59d463fd984342bed5af76e1b0fd4a

Hardrives ill consider, ram, im probably going to stick with the 4 x 4gb
I havent found any builds using 4 sticks of the Corsair ram but ive seen the 2 sticks and i didnt quite like it.. I might change my mind later on who knows.
Oh and the power supply i already bought, but thanks for the info

EDIT: I found some G skill Trident X ram 2x8GB and they look great
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c7d16gtx
CAS 7 1600Mhz

And theres another one which is the same thing but CAS 8 and 1866. Which one should i get? Cas 7 one is 6$ more so price is not an issue.