ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME
Asus present his ROG (Republic Of Gamer) P67 board. The price of this high end board is reaching the 340€ but what are our thoughts about this board?
La boîte
The bundle
High end board means high end bundle. Asus put plenty of stuff in that one, lets take a look at it.
So we have:
- User’s manual
- 1 2-port USB2.0 module
- 1 x I/O Shield
- 2 x SATA 3.0Gb/s signal cables (2-in-1)
- 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s signal cables (2-in-1)
- 1 x Q-Connecor Kit (2-in-1)
- 1 x ROG Connect Cable
- 1 x ProbeIt cable set
- 1 x Thermal Sensor Cable Pack
- 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge
- 1 x SLI Cable
- 1 x Crossfire cable
- 1 x Cable Ties Pack
- 1 x ROG Theme Label
- 1 x 12-in-1 ROG Cable Label
- 1 x RC Bluetooth card
- 1 x ROG exclusive feature guide
Specifications
Asus provides us with the following specs:
| CPU | Intel® Socket 1155 for Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i5 Processor/Core™ i3 Processor/ Support Intel® 32nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 * The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types. * Refer to www.asus.com for Intel CPU support list |
| Chipset | Intel® P67 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB, DDR 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel memory architecture * Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) * According to Intel® SPEC, the Max. 32GB memory capacity can be supported with DIMMs of 8GB (or above). ASUS will update QVL once the DIMMs are available on the market. * Due to CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHz frequency as default. * Please refer to www.asus.com or user manual for Memory QVL. |
| Expansion Slots | 4 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single @x16, dual @x8, triple @x8, x16, x16 ) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| Multi-GPU Support | Support NVIDIA® 3-Way SLI™ / ATI CrossFireX™ Technology |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth Module Accessory Card – Bluetooth V2.0/V2.1+EDR – RC Bluetooth On/Off Switch |
| Storage | Intel® P67 Express Chipset 2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (Red) 4 xSATA 3Gb/s ports (Gray) Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10 Marvell® 9182 PCIe SATA6Gb/s controller 2 xSATA 6Gb/s ports (Red) JMicron® 362 controller 2 xExternal SATA 3Gb/s ports at rear (SATA On-the-Go) * Due to the Windows XP/ Vista limitation, the RAID array with the total capacity over 2TB cannot be set as a boot disk. A RAID array over 2TB can only be set as a data disk only. |
| LAN | 2 x Intel® Gigabit LAN |
| Audio | Realtek ALC889 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC – Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection – Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking – Supports 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port at back I/O |
| USB | Intel® P67 Express Chipset – 9 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (8 ports at mid-board, 1 port at rear is also for ROG connect) 1 x NEC USB3.0 Controller – 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports at rear 1 x NEC USB3.0 Controller with 2 x VIA SuperSpeed USB hub controllers: 6 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports at rear 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports at mid-board for front panel support |
| Overclocking Features | ROG Connect RC Bluetooth ROG iDirect USB BIOS Flashback ROG Extreme Engine Digi+ – 8-phase CPU power – 3-phase Memory power – ML Cap on CPU only BIOS Flashback with onboard switch button ProbeIt Extreme Tweaker iROG Loadline Calibration ROG OC Kit – LN2 Mode – PCIe x16 Lane Switch – Debug LED – Q_Reset EFI BIOS features – ROG BIOS Print – GPU.DIMM Post – CPU Socket Monitor Intelligent overclocking tools: – ASUS TurboV Evo – O.C Profile Overclocking Protection: – COP EX (Component Overheat Protection – EX) – Voltiminder LED – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Special Features | CPU Level Up MemOK! Onboard Switches: Power / Reset / Clr CMOS (at rear) Q-Fan Plus ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) ASUS Q-Connector ASUS Q-Shield ASUS Q-Slot ASUS Q-DIMM ASUS EZ Flash 2 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 ASUS MyLogo 2 |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port 2 x External SATA 2 x LAN(RJ45) port(s) 8 x USB 3.0/2.0 1 x USB 2.0/1.1 (also for ROG Connect) 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical) 8 -Channel Audio I/O 1 x Clr CMOS switch 1 x ROG Connect On/Off switch 1 x RC Bluetooth switch |
| Internal I/O Connectors | 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 connector(s) (Red) supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 connector(s) support additional 8 USB 2.0 ports 4 x SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors (Red) 4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (Gray) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x Power Fan connector(s) 3 x Optional Fan connector 1 x Power-on switch 1 x Reset switch 1 x S/PDIF Out connector 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector 1 x Front panel audio connector 1 x System Panel connector 7 x ProbeIt measurement points 3 x Thermal sensor connectors 1 x En/Dis-able Clr CMOS header 2 x EZ Plug connectors (4-pin Molex Power connectors) 1 x RC Bluetooth header 1 x LN2 Mode switch 1 x Q_Reset switch 1 x Go Button 1 x BIOS switch button 1 x ROG light connector |
| BIOS | 32 Mb Flash ROM , EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS |
| Manageability | WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE |
| Accessories | User’s manual 1 2-port USB2.0 module 1 x I/O Shield 2 x SATA 3.0Gb/s signal cables (2-in-1) 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s signal cables (2-in-1) 1 x Q-Connecor Kit (2-in-1) 1 x ROG Connect Cable 1 x ProbeIt cable set 1 x Thermal Sensor Cable Pack 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge 1 x SLI Cable 1 x Crossfire cable 1 x Cable Ties Pack 1 x ROG Theme Label 1 x 12-in-1 ROG Cable Label 1 x RC Bluetooth card 1 x ROG exclusive feature guide |
| Support Disc | Drivers ASUS AI Suite II ROG CPU-Z 3DMark Vantage Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 1-year license |
| Form Factor | Extended ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 10.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 26.9 cm ) |
Details of the beast
The Asus Maximus IV Extreme is setup with eight 4pins fan connectors to plug all the fans you need for the cooling of your chassis and CPU.
It also has one 12V 8pins power connector for the CPU which is the standard now, even for high end boards.
The Maximus IV Extreme has four RAM slots up to 32Gb of DDR3 from 1333MHz to 2200Mhz.
Here, the ATX 24pins plug for powering up the motherboard :)
The two first SATA connectors in red (starting at the top of the board) are managed by the Marvell controller and run at a maximum speed of 6Gb/s. The two other red ones are managed by the Intel controller and also reach the same speed of 6Gb/s. Finally the four connectors left are for the 3Gb/s link delivered by the Intel controller.
The new 1155 socket from Intel for the Sandy Bridge CPU’s. (not compatible with first generation core 1156 capable CPUs)
This Asus Maximus IV Extreme has four PCI-E 16x ( single @x16, dual @x8, triple @x8, x16, x16 ), one PCI-E 1x port and one PCI-E 4x slot.
The board is also equipped with two extra Molex connectors used for the optimization of the voltage while several graphics are used. It is surprising to have this kind of system on that kind of board that is limited to an 8x/8x link by the Intel P67 chipset.
We can also notice the presence of the PLX chip (second pic) that allows the PCI-E ports to work.
When we say ROG we also say extreme gamer of extreme overclockers. This board of course has the required features that are Start and Reset buttons, but also :
- The switches for the PCI-E lignes that allows to activate or deactivate the slots.
- This board has the Probelt functionnality. This allows you to plug a multimeter in order to measure the different voltages available everywhere on the board through measure points.
- The on/off switch for LN2. This enables a better stability of the board and CPU while using liquid nitrogen cooling on it.
On the rear panel of this board, we have:
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port
- 2 x External SATA
- 2 x LAN(RJ45) port(s)
- 8 x USB 3.0/2.0
- 1 x USB 2.0/1.1 (also for ROG Connect
- 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical)
- 8 -Channel Audio I/O
- 1 x Clr CMOS switch
- 1 x ROG Connect On/Off switch
- 1 x RC Bluetooth switch
The eight USB connectors are USB3.0 ones and are managed by the NEC controller because USB3.0 isn’t still yet integrated in Intels chipset.
The cooling setup for this Asus Maximus IV Extreme is made of four large black and red design coolers. The 3 first ones around the socket 1155 are linked together by a heat-pipe system whereas the fourth one is alone one the chipset.
And finally as Eye Candy, some more pics of this great board!
This is the end of our quick review from this Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard. We can already announce you a complete article that will cross-test all our P67 boards that we have in our labs. This board is very well designed and provides a complete set of features and bundle.
Many thanks to Guillaume from Asus France for the sample of this board. :)
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