ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Wi-Fi Review: The Tale of Two Motherboards
by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on June 11, 2020 11:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- Asus
- ROG
- 5GBase-T
- Z490
- 10th Gen Core
- Comet Lake
Board Features
The ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero WiFi is an ATX motherboard and is a $400 model into the Maximus XII range of Republic of Gamers motherboards. There is nothing entry-level about it and represents the top end of the mid-range with plenty of features. Included in the feature set are three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots with two that support SATA drives, while all three can accommodate NVMe drives. For SATA devices, there are six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. The ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero WiFi also has a strong and highly competitive networking array with dual LAN consisting of a Marvell AQC111C 5 G and Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet controller, with an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 interface with support for BT 5.1 devices. ASUS uses its Optimem III technology and has four memory slots with support for up to 128 GB of DDR4-4800.
| ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero WiFi ATX Motherboard | |||
| Warranty Period | 3 Years | ||
| Product Page | Link | ||
| Price | $399 | ||
| Size | ATX | ||
| CPU Interface | LGA1200 | ||
| Chipset | Intel Z490 | ||
| Memory Slots (DDR4) | Four DDR4 Supporting 128 GB Dual-Channel Up to DDR4-4800 |
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| Video Outputs | 1 x HDMI 1.4b | ||
| Network Connectivity | Marvel AQC111C 5 GbE Intel I219-V GbE Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 |
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| Onboard Audio | SupremeFX S1220 ESS ES9023 DAC |
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| PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) | 2 x PCIe 3.0 (x16, x8/x8) | ||
| PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
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| Onboard SATA | Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 (Z490) | ||
| Onboard M.2 | 2 x PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 |
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| USB 3.2 G2 (20 Gbps) | 1 x Type-C (Rear panel) | ||
| USB 3.2 G2 (10 Gbps) | 1 x Type-C (One header) 3 x Type-A (Rear panel) |
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| USB 3.2 G1 (5 Gbps) | 4 x USB Type-A (Rear panel) 2 x USB Type-A (One header) |
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| USB 2.0 | 2 x USB Type-A (Rear panel) 4 x USB Type-A (Two headers) |
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| Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin Motherboard 1 x 8-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin CPU |
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| Fan Headers | 2 x 4-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin Water pump 1 x 4-pin AIO 3 x 4-pin Chassis |
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| IO Panel | 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x USB BIOS Flashback button 1 x HDMI 1.4b output 3 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-A 1 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-C 4 x USB 3.2 G1 Type-A 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A 1 x RJ45 (Marvell) 1 x RJ45 (Intel) 2 x Wi-Fi 6 antenna ports (Intel) 5 x 3.5 mm audio jacks (SupremeFX) 1 x SPDIF output (SupremeFX |
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There is plenty of connectivity on the ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero WiFi with a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Users looking to expand on this can add a single USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports via the use of internal headers. In addition to this, the rear panel also has five 3.5 mm audio jacks and a single S/PDIF optical output powered by a SupremeFX S1220 HD audio codec, with an assisting ESS ESS9023 DAC designed to bolster the boards overall audio quality. A single HDMI 1.4b video output allows users to use Intel's integrated UHD graphics, while a Clear CMOS button and USB BIOS Flashback button are present to make users lives easier.
Test Bed
As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
| Test Setup | |||
| Processor | Intel Core i7-10700K, 125 W, $374 8 Cores, 16 Threads 3.8 GHz (5.1 GHz Turbo) |
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| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero WiFi (BIOS 0607) | ||
| Cooling | NZXT Kraken Z63 280 mm AIO | ||
| Power Supply | Corsair HX850 850 W 80 PLUS Platinum | ||
| Memory | G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-2933 CL 14-14-14-34 2T (2 x 8 GB) | ||
| Video Card | MSI GTX 1080 (1178/1279 Boost) | ||
| Hard Drive | Crucial MX300 1TB | ||
| Case | Corsair Crystal 680X | ||
| Operating System | Windows 10 1909 inc. Spectre/Meltdown Patches | ||
Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.
| Hardware Providers for CPU and Motherboard Reviews | |||
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Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
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29 Comments
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Devo2007 - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link
“ The worry comes when the board is to be used by a non-technical user.”Something tells me a non-technical user would not be using this $400 motherboard anyways.
close - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link
You'd be surprised how many people just want to buy the best/coolest just because. And once they have it they will also attempt to play a bit with it.GreenReaper - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link
Perhaps they will learn something by doing so.Tom Sunday - Wednesday, February 24, 2021 - link
My neighbor at his sweet age of 75 just bought himself a Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. The folks at Palm Springs Mercedes love him. Harry drives about 300 miles per year as his fairway Thunderbird home is a 5-month snowbird retreat. The only passed get his GT will ever see are golf clubs if he elects to play another course and leave our gated community. Harry is also a very bad driver, very often gets lost when outside the gate, but a real nice guy otherwise.Harry knows nothing about computers and never will. But if so he would instantly be calling Digital Storm and drop $8000 on the very best they could possibly hobble together. But then many of us older retired guys here at the country club are actually like Harry. We of course here by choice would not really 'play a bit' with computers, as our minds and hopes are still tied to having a younger blond that can walk the walk and talk that talk. Maybe even cooks likes she walks? Try doing that with a motherboard.
kreimers - Friday, March 26, 2021 - link
Yep- spent almost $700 big ones on Crosshair Hero 8 which affords liquid cooling. Why? Could not get the Hero 4. Why? Supply from CCP was curtailed because of 1/2 trillion trade deficit with this communist crap of a country that launched the CCP virus so that mail-in fraudulent voting could occur. Now we have a fake president and other illegitimates who need to be removed from the White House- peacefully I hope. But if not, all bets are off. Regardless, silicon valley needs to be making most of this stuff here.n0t4h4x0r - Thursday, April 1, 2021 - link
You sound like old perverts. Maybe use that money for good and get a life? Your minds and hopes are tied to illusions that will never come true. You guys are the reason the country is falling apart. Not caring and only thinking about perverted crap. I've met many women online and then face to face obviously "wItH a MoThErBoArD" you pathetic old man. Sorry you missed out! Have fun playing your pathetic "game" of put a ball in a hole.Sorry you only had sex a handful of times(if that), but gtfo boomer.
Digital Storm. LOL.
Polaris198321 - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link
5g chipsets Wi-Fi 6 cat 7 Ethernet ports with special made chipset combining them all to boost internet speeds for desktops and laptops and smart tvs for 4k cable tv and cloud gaming at 144 hz at 1440p as the either net wire can also be used to power the device as well elimating the power cord as well if the computer cooling system using compressed air blown into it or solar transparent panels on glass panels for desktops. monitors and laptops are not for you like on the old Logitech solar powered wireless keyboard they once made back in the day i saw online and at costco...philehidiot - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link
It has been a while since I had an Asus mobo with an optional stick on MOSFET cooling fan. It was back in the days of "MOAR PHASES!" because obviously 10000001 phase power is what you need on a mid range mobo.Peskarik - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link
Thank you, I was waiting for this review!DanNeely - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link
Where does the MOSFET fan attach to?