Unboxing & Overview: Maximus VII Impact Mini-ITX Motherboard

Get some Mini-ITX magic as we dive into the new Maximus VII Impact. Dig the density of its hardware, and build a PC that packs a neat mPCIe Combo card, combining M.2 PCI-E x4 that delivers up to 32Gbps throughput and a bundled 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter. Together with up to 16GB of DDR3, SupremeFX quality audio and overclocking performance like you're using a full ATX board, build small, but accept no compromise.

 

 

 

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The Impact's tiny box packs all this kit inside:

• User Guide and driver/software disc
• mPCIE combo IV card, with 802.11ac WiFi card pre-installed.
• 2T2R antenna
• SupremeFX Impact II audio card
• Four SATA cables
• Front panel connector extension cable
• Impact Fan Control card
• Black metallic rear IO shield

Oh, and the motherboard:

Your Maximus VII Impact arrives 'naked', as in, the SupremeFX audio, mPCIe Combo IV and fan control cards are provided in anti-static bags for you to plug in as you build. The VRM module is permanently affixed and sits along the top edge, provding the CPU with plenty of power. It's slim design sits outside the standard 'heatsink zone' the Intel assigns to its LGA1150 socket, so no need to worry about it hitting your CPU cooler.

 

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Due to space limitation the four SATA 3 ports are nestled between the PCI-E 16x slot and two DIMM slots, so try to plug them in first as you put together your build. The Z97 chipset adds essential finger space between the CPU socket and PCI-E socket to plug things in before the SupremeFX audio card gets dropped in place. Onboard power/reset buttons and ATX/EPS connectors are neatly placed along the edge for easy access and tidy cabling.

Right behind the Impact Control II card, the fan extension card is plugged in, providing (the LN2 Mode switch and) two elevated 4-pin fan headers for ease of reach as you build.

 

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Remember to use the extension cable for the front panel switches/LEDs! After feedback from mini-ITX builders, the ROG team added this little cable to the bundle as it can really help make plugging in those tiny connectors much easier.

The SupremeFX Impact II audio card slots in easily. The benefit of a separate card is to isolate the audio from electrical noise on the small PCB, which is common on mini-ITX. Combined with the EMI shield on the audio codec, it helps keeps sound quality crisp.

 

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The mPCIE combo IV card integrates the 802.11ac WiFi module into it, so it just requires screwing in the antenna cables to the rear IO as you build, then attaching the 2T2R antenna to sit on your desktop. To add an M.2 card (as shown) simply unscrew the cover and attach the SSD.

 

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The rear IO offers:

• 4x USB 3.0
• 4x USB 2.0
• HDMI and DisplayPort out
• S/PDIF out
• PS2 keyboard/mouse
• LANGuard Gigabit Ethernet socket
• Impact Control II - dedub LED, Sonic SoundStage, KeyBot, Clear CMOS and ROG Connect (doubles as BIOS Flashback) buttons.