Ok, With some of the reviews I was a little worried about buying this board. Glad I made the decision. I will address my issues first.
Code 55. Yes it showed up first boot. I powered down and double checked everything. Everything was set correctly and all pins were firmly in the right spots. Second boot Code 55. I had already updated bios to the latest build. Turns out the board simply will not run my ram at 3000. It seems to consider it an unstable overclock and throws code 55. I am at work so I don't have the numbers but it ended up running at 2900~, No idea why, but it simply don't run the full 3000 without code 55. I simply set the bios to auto detect and I was good to go.
Code 44 After first successful boot I ended up getting this code. Everything seemed to work fine, but it bugged me this was showing so I started digging. Turns out this code is thrown when the system comes out of sleep. Now the thing is I was cold booting so that was a bit confusing. It ended up being fast boot. Windows 10 stores info on second boot to speed up the system. The board thinks this is a wake event for whatever reason.I turned off fast boot in Windows 10 and bios. The code magically went away. For the record I did not see a speed reduction in cold boot with these two options disabled. I boot in a few seconds, literally.
Code Ao This poked it's head up after code 44. Turns out this is simply a code stating Bios was handing the system over to Windows 10. Nothing to fix on this code. It stays for a bit then jumps to code 99, normal operation.
Ok, here is the positives I encountered while building/using this board.
I read that the motherboard was laid out badly. I did not have this issue. As a matter of fact I am a little OCD and wire management could not have been achieved as well without this layout.
The board has software that allows you to intelligently overclock your system while in Windows 10. It stress tested the machine and suggested a safe overclock with a single mouse click. I am running at 15% stable. Very impressed how integrated overclock is on this board, for the record I did not use the CD, I got on the website and downloaded the latest version of the software. It works very well.
Stability, very stable. Once I got the the codes out of the way I have been running very stable even with the overclock. No issues at all. Boots up fast.
The board is very good looking. Enhances the look of my build. Clean and well designed. Even has color options for the onboard LED. This thing is a beast.
Here is my build.
Tower: http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Liquid-Cooling-Computer-CA-1E7-00M1WN-00/dp/B015U7LXO4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
Processor: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Boxed-I7-6700K-Processor-BX80662I76700K/dp/B012M8LXQW?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s02
Operating Sysem: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Home-System-Builder/dp/B00ZSI7Y3U?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s04
Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO-LGA1151-Motherboard/dp/B0126R4F8W?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03
Ram: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-64GB-3000MHz-Memory/dp/B016ORTSRS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s04
Hard Drives: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-SATA-Internal-MZ-7KE1T0BW/dp/B00LF10KTE?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s04
Liquid Cooling kit: http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-PACIFIC-RL360-Cooling-CL-W113-CA12SW/dp/B01BI0X9MQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s05
Network Card: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Archer-T9E-Beamforming-Low-profile/dp/B00TQEX7AQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
Router: http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Nighthawk-X8-Tri-Band-Quad-Stream/dp/B015PD3HOC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
Power Supply: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Modular-Crossfire-Warranty-210-GQ-1000-V1/dp/B017ICWP82?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03
Video cards: http://www.amazon.com/Geforce-GTX-Titan-NVIDIA-900-1G600-2500-00/dp/B00UZPYXGC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
Bluetooth: http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Bluetooth-Adapter-Raspberry-Compatible/dp/B009ZIILLI?ie=UTF8&keywords=blue%20tooth%20donggle&qid=1463404068&ref_=sr_1_sc_1&sr=8-1-spell
Suggestions:
If you go with a big build try and find an open tower. I feel like a standard closed tower will generate to much heat. (my opinion)
Build slow. You are in no hurry. Take you're time, check and double check. Use the manual it's very informative.
Check your parts list. Make sure everything is compatible before you hit that buy button. There are some good compatibility programs out there that will help your double check your parts compatibility. Look at the motherboards website for a compatible parts list.
Buy it, you won't regret it, this thing is a beast.
| Wireless Type | 802.11a |
|---|---|
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 4 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
