ASUS ROG Maximus IX Apex Motherboard(Aura Sync RGB LEDs, DDR4 4266MHz, DIMM.2 dual M.2 expansion card, and USB Type-A/C)

I will start by saying that I am not a huge overclocker. I have done some but I don't go to crazy extremes with it. This is a ROG motherboard that is seriously dedicated to gamers/overclockers/enthusiast. In the BIOS it comes with tools that will auto clock your CPU for you under reliable test. I am currently at 14% overclock based on a stock program and am thrilled with that. This is a EATX motherboard so be sure you are aware of that which that means this board is HUGE. I was able to fit it into a P90 open air case from thermaltake with ease but not every case will be as lucky as to make this work for them. It was super easy to install and hook up with most of your plugs going where you are used to. One thing that was different and i absolutely love is the USB 3.0 hook up is on the same side as your 24 pin connection. The reason I love this is it just makes more sense with my case and I was able to run the wires much nicer but not everyone is going to feel that way clearly. If you are an RGB person which I just so happen to be this case got so many lights on it that are super bright and really make my case POP even more. I have not figured out how to control the lights and in truth im not even 100% sure I can it says Aura Syn which I have downloaded but I could be missing something. Currently they are on color cycle which is actually fine by me because that's how i typically run my lights anyway. This MOBO is super sturdy I loved how rigid it was when I was unboxing it it feels of some serious quality. There are so many things this MOBO can do that none of my other ones could ever do. The only drawback is there is only 2 ram slots so 16gb is what you can max out at. For me this is not an issue as I feel my 16gb of 2400 are more than enough for my needs and if I ever want to I can always upgrade to faster ram. All in All I feel like this MOBO is absolutely perfect. Bios was easy to get up and running, lights look beautiful, strong build material, tons of overclock options, tons of headers on the board as well. I haven't fully put the board through its paces nor have I tested out some of the other onboard features but i'm sure I will.Setup:ASUS ROG Maximus IX Apex MotherboardI7 7700KRTX 2080TI FTW316GB G SKILL TridentZ RGB 2400 ramThermaltake Floe AIO triple riing RGB 360 TT liquid coolerThermaltake 750w PSUThermaltake P90 open air caseCorsair 480GB SSDSamsung 1TB HDD

The ASUS Maximus IX is great!I've had three out of four similarly high-end EVGA boards fail on me at different points, and I've struggled with a Gigabyte board's UEFI last time I had one (admittedly, about five years ago). So far I've never had a single issue with an ASUS board. That's anecdotal and not exactly a large sample size, so you should certainly do your own research and consider other buyers' experiences as well.I enjoy building high performance PCs as a bit of a hobby in and of itself. I've built four-way SLI fully watercooled systems, small form-factor systems, and recently an open air watercooled build using the Openbench "case".Generally, I like this board because it works for most any build I'd consider right now.1. I can integrate it to my custom water loop, or let it stand independently.2. It's easy to mount and has no fitment issues that some E-ATX boards have had.3. It's color neutral and the RGB lighting can be configured to a variety of colors and patterns or turned off entirely to suit your build and tastes.4. It's ability to monitor water flow and control pumps natively is fantastic.5. Its intelligent fan and RGB management make things like Corsair's Link or Command device (or whatever they call it now) unnecessary. Controlling and configuring hardware (like fans) and monitoring system temperatures really makes more sense for the mobo anyhow.6. The UEFI menus for overclocking etc are the most friendly I've found so far.A big con here is the price for additional features of little practical benefit.For one thing, I've found there's little to no benefit in watercooling the motherboard. It's just fun to do if you enjoy building a complicated water cooling loop.RGB lighting controls are something I could live without as long as I can turn lights off and remove the colorful stickers on most boards.The built in wifi wasn't great. It kept using the 2.4ghz band rather than the 5ghz band for the same SSID when both had strong signal. It also didn't allow for especially specific configuration. I just installed a great pcie wifi card and don't use this feature of the motherboard at all.Otherwise, the other benefits of the board are mostly just fuller support of the chipset's capabilities, most of which most systems don't use.Meanwhile, a newer chipset has already been released, and motherboards seem to be obsolete w/in a single CPU generation every year or two. It's getting harder to justify buying a new motherboard with all the bells and whistles if the chipset is going to be obsolete every year rather than ever 2-5 years...

This is truly an amazing product. I have had no issues whatsoever with the board. This board is part of my first PC build and I absolutely love it. I am not a computer genius by any means but I am someone with a little more than basic computer knowledge and I had no trouble at all setting it up. BIOS is easy to understand and navigate. BIOS also easily updated from a usb stick.(BIOS update through the internet did not work for me for some reason) Overclocking is made very simple via the AI Suite Software. I achieved a 5.2Ghz stable with one click. Lighting on the board is amazing. It syncs to other components in your system for a really cool look. Fully customize able to whatever color/pattern you can imagine. M.2 drive 1 is hidden underneath a panel under the second PCIx16 slot so it keeps its awesome look. However the 2nd M.2 slot is a vertical one so it sticks straight out of the bottom of the board. May not be an issue for some, however in my situation I am unable to use the 2nd slot due to my case layout(In Win 303) With bottom fans installed it makes wiring quite tricky and the use of a 2nd M.2 drive impossible. Another drawback(for me) is the fact that this board has only 1 USB2.0 header located on the board. Some PC components such as the Riing LED fans require a USB2.0 header to function so you are forced to sacrifice 2 of your USB2.0 ports unless you purchase a internal USB hub of some sort. Also the built in EK waterblock for the VRM is very cool and is going to look amazing when I eventually do a custom water loop.