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Quick look at the new Asus Maximus V Gene

1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  mav2000 
#1 ·
Just for the wonderful members of Overclock.net

Testing will start as soon as I can get my hands on a proccy. But till then enjoy the snaps:

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Asus seems to be using a new type of finish on the box, which kind of makes it really hard to photograph. And now the other side:

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Specifications:
Intel® Socket 1155 for 3rd/2nd Generation Processors
Supports Intel® 22 nm CPU
Supports Intel® 32 nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
* The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types.
* Refer to ASUSfor CPU support list
Chipset Intel® Z77
Memory 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
* Refer to ASUSor user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).
Graphic Integrated Graphics Processor
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort ports
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
- Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
Supports Intel® HD Graphics, InTru™ 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider™
Multi-GPU Support Supports NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Supports AMD CrossFireX™ Technology
Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ MVP Technology *1
Expansion Slots 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8, red) *2
1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 (black)
1 x mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 *3
Storage Intel® Z77 chipset : *4
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
2 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), black
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port(s), red
1 x mini-SATA 3Gb/s port(s), black
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology *5
ASMedia® PCIe SATA controller : *6
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
LAN Intel®, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Audio SupremeFX III built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 110 dB
- Output THD+N at 1kHz: 95 dB
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Audio Feature :
- SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
- 1500 uF Audio Power Capacitor
- Gold-plated jacks
- X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™
- EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0
- THX® TruStudio PRO™
- Creative ALchemy
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
USB Ports Intel® Z77 chipset :
4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
Intel® Z77 chipset :
8 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black+white, 4 at mid-board)
ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller :
2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)
Overclocking Features mPCIe Combo™ (mPCIe/mSATA combo card)
ROG Connect :
- RC Diagram
- RC Remote
- RC Poster
- GPU TweakIt
Extreme Engine Digi+ II :
- 8 -phase CPU power design + 4 -phase iGPU power design
- 2 -phase QPI/DRAM power design
ProbeIt
UEFI BIOS features :
- ROG BIOS Print
- GPU.DIMM Post
GameFirst
iROG
Extreme Tweaker
Loadline Calibration
USB BIOS Flashback
Overclocking Protection :
- ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features ASUS Hybrid Processor - TurboV EVO :
- CPU Level Up
ASUS EPU :
- EPU
ASUS Exclusive Features :
- AI Suite II
- Ai Charger+
- USB 3.0 Boost
- Disk Unlocker
ASUS EZ DIY :
- ASUS O.C. Profile
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
ASUS Q-Design :
- ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
- ASUS Q-Slot
- ASUS Q-DIMM
- ASUS Q-Connector
Back I/O Ports 1 x DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
4 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to ROG Connect)
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
6 x Audio jack(s)
1 x Clear CMOS button(s)
1 x ROG Connect On/ Off switch(es)
Internal I/O Ports 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s)
2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
2 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s)
2 x CPU Fan connector(s)
3 x Chassis Fan connector(s)
1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x System panel(s)
8 x ProbeIt Measurement Points
1 x Power-on button(s)
1 x Reset button(s)
1 x Go Button(s)
1 x mPCIe Combo header(s)
Accessories User's manual
I/O Shield
2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
1 x SLI bridge(s)
1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1)
1 x ROG Connect cable(s)
1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s)
1 x ROG Door Hanger(s)
BIOS 64Mb UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS
Manageability WfM2.0, DMI2.0, WOL by PME, PXE
Support Disc Drivers
Sound Blaster® X-Fi 2 Utility
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus
DAEMON Tools Pro Standard
ROG CPU-Z
ASUS AI Suite II
ASUS WebStorage
ASUS Utilities
Form Factor uATX Form Factor
9.6 inch x 9.6 inch ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm )
Note *1: LucidLogix Virtu MVP supports Windows 7 operating systems.
*2: PCIe3.0 speed is supported by Intel® 3rd generation Core™ Processors.
*3: The mPCIe 2.0 x1 slot is located on mPCIe Combo™ expansion card.
*4: The mSATA 3Gb/s slot is located on mPCIe Combo™ expansion card.
*5: Supports on Intel® Core™ processor family with Windows® 7 operating systems.
*6: These SATA ports are for data hard drives only.
Phew.....thats a long list right there. But these are the things other than the obvious Z77 chipset that seem to be of importance:

1. Supports SLI/Crossfire and Lucid
2. Mini PCIE slot right on top
3. Supreme FX III, for once it seems much better than your normal on board audio.
4. 8+4+2 phase power design
5. A whole load of ROG features, including Bios flash back (really helpful), ROG connect etc.
6. UEFI, which BTW works like a charm

With the number of features mentioned a lot of people may mistake this for an ATX or E-ATX board, but the Gene has grown in market share exactly due to this. It has all the features of larger boards and more in a smaller foot print.

Unboxing:

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Opening the box, you are greeted by brand spanking new king of the M-ATX line up. And does it look great or what??

Under the mobo box is a full bunch of accessories, which is quite similar to the kind of kit you get in the ATX sized ROG boards, including a very nice door handle sign. The last time I saw this was way back in the Nvidia 8800 days if I am not wrong.

XYbLf.jpg


So lets start of with a full view of the motherboard:

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The board has the basic layout right, with everything in the place you expect it to be. The 8 Pin is on the top right corner, the PCIE slots have 2 spaces between them, the area around the socket is quite clear, but cant be as clear as a full ATX board as things need to be shoe horned in.The color theme of red and black stays constant through out the board, with even the USB 3 socket being red. There is no mish mash of colors and overall the board looks like it means business.

On the bottom left you san see the Supreme FX III sound chip as well as the shielding that goes around the area. As you can see all the sound components are shielded off from the rest of the board, to make sure that there is less interference from the other components.

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We also have the start and reset button for those who like to run things on the bench. You can also see the nice solid looking clips on the PCIE ports and not those flimsy ones which have been know to break easily. In the picture above you can also see the Bios chip as well as the ports for the front connectors as well as front audio connectors.

8oJf1.jpg


Turning the board a bit, the first thing that strikes us is the design on the SB heatsink. It keeps with the ROG theme and looks quite nice to boot. Right under that we have the post LED's which help us to figure out any problems quite quickly. It was quite a help on our other boards during the recent LN2 session. This also acts as a temperature monitor once the system has booted up completely. Next to that we have the USB 3 front port headers and the Sata ports. The board comes loaded with 6 Sata ports, which should be more than enough for a majority of us, with four of them offering Sata III specifications.

pv6Ik.jpg


After that we move on to the GO button. This button helps set default memory profiles as well as to run overclocks on the go. I will show some of this functionality a bit later as well. The GO button has been an integral part of the ROG line up and some of their higher end mainstream boards for a while now and have been getting better and better in functionality over the last few models. The new boards are able to take quite aggressive "stable" settings for the rest of your kit quite quickly, specially for the RAM.

We also have a number of voltage check points, which makes it easier to check actual voltage when overclocking. Software voltage is usually a ball park figure and for those of us trying to fine tune things, this area adds some more insight on our actual voltages as well as Drops and droops.

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Ok, a quick look at the CPU area. But before that, I want to show you guys something else as well. The DDR3 ram slots on this board a re a bit different from other boards. Basically what Asus has done here is to connect their ram ports through a T style trace rather than a daisy chain design. What this does is to improve read and write speeds on an already good controller and also to reduce chances of synchronization. You can read a bit more about this here:

T-Topology

This will probably give more stable higher ram clocks, specially while overclocking. But, to actually test out this theory we will put these boards through their paces soon enough.

Coming back to the socket area, its quite clean, other than the right side and this might prove to be a interference only for LN2 or dry ice. Air and water cooling guys should not have an issue at all. Taking into account that its an M-ATX, its not too bad.

The heatsinks on the VRM area are quite beefy and are attached with screws, not plastic pins. They seem to be doing a good job of dissipating heat and since I tend to open up the heatsinks on every motherboard I use, I did that with this board as well. The contacts on the heatsink are quite good and overall no problems in this area as well.

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So here's a quick view of the I/O plate area. You have the usual suspects, like USB, HDMI, Display Port, Audio, Lan, ROG connect etc. You also have a button to clear Bios, which I can tell you is a great feature and one which a lot of other mobo makers tend to miss out. There is also another great feature here, a mini PCIE/mini SATA slot. Well, some of you may ask, what exactly does this thingy do?

R9ovf.jpg


Well, this port has two functions. On one side you have the M PCIE, which supports a mini Wifi card. The I/O panel also has space to support two antennas for the wifi card. This is similar to the cards used on laptops.

The other side consists of a MSata port. This can be used to install a high speed MSata SSD. I could find a few all the way from 16GB to 128 GB in this form factor, with read speeds as high as 550 MB/sec. To use those you would need a Sata 6 Gbps connection, but since this is a Sata 2 connection, the normal Gen 2 SSD's should run quite well. Consider this, you could get a Mini 16 GB SSD, with a 270 MB/sec read speed for around 40 USD and use that only for your windows installation. You never have to play with that drive unless you plan to reload windows and it gives you blazing past start up and shut down times. I would use this functionality to keep my Windows 7 install and use my current SSD for my games and heavy programs. Kind of reduces my cost of buying another SSD.

I am going to check if I can find a decent one locally this weekend.

Have had a quick run on the board a few days ago, but nothing hardcore. Got a good feeling that this will live up to the ROG moniker and more..specially since the Z77 MSI board (G65 BTW) I used was full of bios issues at this point in time.
 
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