Sharing is caring. In a thread over at our dedicated Skylake Z170 subforum, Coolice from ROG has shared everything you need to get going with the Maximus VIII motherboard series. That includes not only overclocking software like ROG Connect Plus, Turbo V, and MemTweakIT, but also handy tools to install XP from a USB drive and the AHCI XP driver. The thread also includes a link to an overclocking guide dedicated to the Maximus VIII series.

The OC guide is very comprehensive and includes topics on BCLK, DRAM, Core/cache frequency, and LN2 overclocking. It also helps you understand the functionality of the USB ports near the PS2 connector, how to install Windows XP from a USB driver, how to get XTU working in Windows 7. Here are some pointers:

• - For BCLK overclocking: focus on the PLL Termination Voltage (or the linked CPU standby Voltage) and PLL Bandwidth. Level 6 PLL Bandwidth combined with 1.45V PLL Termination should give you decent margins. 350 MHz BCLK should be pretty easy on air cooling.

• - For DRAM overclocking, the most important rails are VCCIO and VCCSA. Setting both to 1.12V should be sufficient for DDR4-3500. Also note that the tRCD is tied to tRP and must be in sync, hence why there's only one option to control them. The highest available DRAM Ratio is DDR4-4133.

• - For LN2 overclocking: the CPU core and cache now use the same voltage rail, so you cannot configure it independently. To max out the CPU, you will need between 1.7V and 1.83V. Lower the BCLK frequency as low as possible to reduce the jitter on the PLL. Most importantly, replace the TIM between the IHS and CPU die. Some CPUs may have PCIe cold bug at around -150°C, so use the PCH PCIe slots for testing.

For more details, check out the OC Guide posted by Coolice in his dedicated Maximus VIII forum thread HERE. There are a lot more tricks and tips in the full version of the guide that will definitely help you push your system further! In case the OC Guide source goes down, here's a mirrored version in the HWBOT cloud.