there’s really no way to find
out.
Overclocking Skylake on
any motherboard is a rather
complicated affair. This is
particularly true when you’re
attempting to combine high
memory frequency, tight
timings and a high CPU and
NB clock. To dial in the exact
settings is not only advisable,
but mandatory. With just one
setting outside of the optimal
zone you’re likely to end up
with a system that is unstable
in any benchmark. Given that
there are significantly more
settings on this platform than
on previous ones, having a
guide is vital to reaching the
right frequencies. Fortunately,
there does exist a guide
by ROG employee, coolice and
it covers most of what you
need to know to get started.
For the most part you’ll want
to dial in the right voltages,
but since all CPUs differ in
behavior, it is up to you to
find out what works for your
CPU and which voltages do
not. It is imperative that you
understand the relationships
between the various voltages
and make use of them as
exposed in the UEFI.
The Maximus VIII Extreme
supposedly has profiles as
well, which you can use to
facilitate overclocking under
LN2. Unfortunately for some
reason I just couldn’t find
those with this BIOS anywhere.
Not much of an issue as one
had to simply resort to the
guide, which again had all
the relevant information for
LN2 overclocking. This is
just about as comprehensive
a motherboard and guide
as you’re likely going to
find or need. If there’s
any limitation regarding
performance or clock speeds,
it is unlikely to be a result
of the motherboard, but
rather your CPU, memory
or user error. The Maximus
VIII Extreme much like the
others in the range is as
good a motherboard as you
can buy for the platform
for overclocking. ASUS had
already made a near complete
board with the HERO and
GENE, thus, the Extreme
motherboard is difficult to
recommend purely on its
overclocking merits. That
does not in any way mean it
is a disappointment though.
It merely joins the rest of
the family at being the most
comprehensive and most
impressive Z170 series of
overclocking motherboards
at present. From a pure value
perspective, the Extreme
motherboard may cost a
little more than it should in
light of the MAXIM U2d