With the Maximus IX Formula, ASUS launches the successor of the Maximus VIII Formula, which was based on the previous generation Z170 chipset from Intel. This Z270 base motherboard comes with a plastic cover on the fron and a metal plate on its backside, which we know from earlier Formula series motherboards. Apart from that there are numerous features to have a look at and we're apparently going to run our benchmark suite on this contender.