ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z is the maximum. ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z - the maximum ⇡ Package and contents

Foreword

Gigabyte launched a specialized series of gaming motherboards only at the beginning of this year.
G1-Killer, and a little later, in the spring, announced a special board for overclocking fans. You could get the first idea of ​​the capabilities of new motherboards from the review “ Gigabyte G1.Sniper and GA-X58A-OC - LGA1366 boards for gamers and overclockers", And recently we got acquainted with the LGA1155 gaming board Gigabyte G1.Sniper2. Meanwhile, ASUSTeK has been releasing a series of "Republic of Gamers" (RoG) motherboards for many years, which is designed for both gamers and overclocking enthusiasts. There is no division into boards for gamers and boards for overclocking enthusiasts, but there are two sub-series: boards for Intel processors are called Asus Maximus, and boards for AMD processors are called Asus Crosshair. The review of the Asus Maximus III Formula motherboard was published on our website almost two years ago, so it's high time to see what's new in the "Republic of Gamers" series of motherboards, and the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard will help us find out. The board is based on the updated B3 revision of the Intel P67 Express chipset and is designed for the most up-to-date LGA1155 processors. It differs from all other motherboards simply by a colossal number of features, functions and technologies. We have already met some of them on boards from ASUSTeK or other companies, but it was hard to even imagine that one single model could have all this wealth.

Packaging and equipment

The box in which the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard is shipped is designed in the traditional style for the "Republic of Gamers" series motherboards. The front cover, fastened with Velcro, folds back, allowing you to see the board itself through a transparent window. On the backs of the hinged cover and the box, you can learn about some of the features of the board.

Inside, in a separate multisectional box, there are various and numerous accessories that the board is equipped with:

eight Serial ATA cables with metal latches, all cables with L-shaped connectors, two pairs are specially designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb / s devices (differ in white inserts on the connectors);
"12-in-1 ROG Cable Label" - a sheet with twelve paper labels that can be used to label SATA cables;
rear panel bracket with two USB ports 2.0;
flexible bridge for connecting a pair of video cards in NVIDIA SLI mode;
hard bridge for combining three video cards in NVIDIA 3-Way SLI mode;
"Asus Q-Connector Kit" - a set of adapters, including modules to simplify the connection of buttons and indicators of the front panel system unit and USB connector;
"ROG Connect Cable" - a cable with two USB connectors for connecting to another computer;
RC Bluetooth module;
back panel cover (I / O Shield);
several plastic cable ties;
"ProbeIt" cables for more convenient voltage measurement with a voltmeter;
three cables with additional temperature sensors;
"ROG Theme Label" - a large sticker with the theme of the "Republic of Gamers" series, as in the lower right corner of the motherboard box;
"Powered by Republic of Gamers" sticker;
user guide;
DVD with software and drivers (including 3DMark Vantage Advanced Edition and a one-year license for Kaspersky Anti-Virus).

Despite the exceptional richness of the package bundle, it is a little strange that the board does not come with a module for bringing USB 3.0 ports to the front panel of the system unit. And this is the first board we've come across that comes with only SATA cables with L-shaped connectors, while in some cases it is more convenient to use ordinary straight connectors. It would be best to include both types of cables in the kit, as is usually done.

Design and features

In the foreword, we already said that the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard is equipped with so many different features, functions and technologies that at first you get lost, not knowing where to start. To find ground under our feet, let's start the review traditionally. The board is based on the updated B3 revision of the Intel P67 Express chipset and is designed for the most up-to-date LGA1155 processors. An eight-phase stabilizer is responsible for powering the processor; a three-phase circuit is provided for powering the memory. The heating elements of the processor power converter are covered with two additional radiators, they are combined with heat pipes into unified system with a central heatsink that hides the optional NVIDIA NF200 controller. All heatsinks, including the heatsink on the chipset, use a strong screw connection.

For expansion cards, there is one PCI Express 2.0 x1 and one PCI Express 2.0 x4 slot, which is not very common on motherboards, but it may well come in handy for installing additional drive controllers or even for the drive itself, like OCZ RevoDrive. In addition, there are four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots that support video card combining in both AMD CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI modes, but the formula of the slots differs from the usual one.

It is known that the Intel P67 Express chipset allows using one discrete video card operating at full speed PCI Express 2.0 x16, or two cards at once, but in this case the 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes available in the processor are divided in half between the two connectors. The drop in speed compared to cards running at full speed will be insignificant and noticeable only when using high screen resolutions, but for flagship motherboards, which, of course, Asus Maximus IV Extreme belongs, even such a small performance drop is unacceptable. It is in order to increase the speed of the connectors when using multiple video cards, the board is equipped with an additional NVIDIA NF200 controller, and the PLX PEX 8608 bridge further increases the number of available PCI Express lines, however, the proposed connector operation scheme is so intricate that for clarity, you need to bring a table from the manual to the board ...

A single card in the first slot will operate at full PCI Express 2.0 x16 speed as expected. However, the addition of a second video card to the third slot does not change anything compared to the standard operating scheme for a set of logic, the speed of the slots is reduced to PCI Express 2.0 x8. Only when using the third card is the NVIDIA NF200 controller activated, while two additional cards should be installed in the second and fourth slots. Although the first connector will still operate at half speed, the other two will operate at full speed. It turns out that you can make the most of the capabilities of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard only when you install three video cards at the same time. Of course, no one forbids using only two or just one video card, but in these cases the capabilities of the additional NVIDIA NF200 controller will not be used in any way, and it is impossible to disable it. There are two 4-pin connectors on the board for supplying additional power to the connectors for video cards, but the bottom one is for some reason located horizontally, so it will be difficult to connect it in many system units.

A large number of additional elements are located in the upper right corner of the motherboard. There are illuminated power and reset buttons, as well as a dual-use "GO" button. If you press the button before turning on the motherboard, the "MemOK!" Function is activated, which allows the board to start successfully even if there are problems with the RAM. If you press the button while the board is operating, the values ​​of frequencies, multipliers and voltages written in the “Go Button File” subsection in the BIOS will be applied, that is, if necessary, we can instantly overclock the system to preset parameters. Four DIP-switches allow you to disable any of the four connectors for video cards on the board. The "ProbeIt" contact point ruler allows you to manually check the most important voltages. The set of the board includes special cables that make it easier to carry out this operation and free your hands. In the very corner there is a two-section indicator of POST codes, and next to it is the "LN2 Mode" switch, which is recommended to be turned on when using extreme cooling methods. The switch allows you to bypass the so-called "cold bug" when the system does not start when the processor temperature is too low.

Even if the "LN2 Mode" switch fails, the "Q reset" button located not far from the rear panel connectors will help to revive the system. There is another button in the lower right corner of the board that allows you to switch between two BIOS chips. We have listed only a few of the controls found on the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard. A few more buttons await us on the rear panel of the board, but first a few words must be said about the LED system. Despite the presence of the POST-codes indicator, the “Q-Led” LEDs can be used to quickly identify the source of problems during board startup. As the boot progresses, the LEDs turn on and off in sequence: first the processor indicator, then the LED related to memory, to the video card, and finally to the boot device. If the initialization of all devices was successful, then the download continues, but if it was interrupted at some stage, the corresponding LED will remain on. As a result, the source of the problem can be identified almost instantly. The level of voltages on the processor, memory and logic set will be warned by the "Voltiminder LED" LEDs, which change color from blue at normal voltages, to yellow at high voltages and red at excessively high voltages. In addition, the board has a drive activity indicator, the LEDs will tell you which of the two BIOS chips is active, whether the "MemOK!" or the "GO" function, and the "Republic of Gamers" emblem on the center radiator is highlighted just for beauty. It is important that if you wish, the backlight can be turned off in the motherboard's BIOS in whole or in part.

In addition to the two SATA 6Gb / s ports and four SATA SATA 3Gb / s ports, which the Intel P67 Express chipset provides, there is an additional Marvell 88SE9182 controller, which adds two more SATA 6Gb / s ports. The connectors of all four SATA 6 GB / s ports are red and additional ones do not differ in any way from the chipset ones, which can cause slight difficulties during assembly. It's good that at least SATA 3 GB / s ports cannot be confused with them, their connectors are black. In addition, there is another JMicron JMB362 controller, with the help of which two eSATA ports are brought to the rear panel.

A complete list of elements on the rear panel of the board is as follows:

PS / 2 connector for connecting a keyboard or mouse;
eight USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors) based on two Renesas (NEC) D720200F1 controllers and two VIA VL810 hubs, the board has one more internal connector that allows two additional USB 3.0 ports;
"Clear CMOS" button;
optical S / PDIF, as well as six analog audio connectors, the operation of which is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC889 codec;
two ports eSATA 3 Gb / s, appeared thanks to the JMicron JMB362 controller;
Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR module and "RC Bluetooth" button on it;
ROG Connect button;
one USB 2.0 port, and eight more can be connected to four internal connectors on the board;
two connectors local network (network adapters built on gigabit controllers Intel WG82579 and Intel WG82583V).

It must be said that the only USB 2.0 port on the rear panel can be used not only for its intended purpose or for connecting computers using a special cable. The new "USB BIOS Flashback" technology will help restore or update the BIOS, all you have to do is connect a USB flash drive with the firmware to the port and press the "ROG Connect" button for a couple of seconds. In this case, the board must be turned off, but power must be supplied to it.

It should be noted that the board is equipped with eight four-pin connectors for connecting fans, all of which are adjustable. The processor and three case fans can be adjusted to automatic mode, depending on one of the selected preset speed control modes from standard set: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo", or you can select the appropriate parameters in manual mode. For a fan marked "PWR", you can only fix the speed at a suitable value, and the number of revolutions of three "OPT" fans can also depend on the readings of the corresponding additional temperature sensors that are included in the board package.

Please note that the placement of such a large number of additional elements required an increase in the dimensions of the board, which went beyond the ATX standard. Fortunately, only the width has increased, not the length of the board, so in most cases, problems when installing the board into the system unit will most likely be avoided.

BIOS Features

In previous reviews of ASUSTeK motherboards we have already seen Asus EFI BIOS - a very successful implementation of the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) standard. The new Asus EFI BIOS only looks unusual, but in its structure and set of parameters one can easily guess the old, well-known BIOS capabilities of Asus motherboards. The most noticeable difference between the EFI BIOS of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board is the colors of the "Republic of Gamers" series, however, the possibilities have become noticeably greater. I liked that by default we are greeted with a rich settings mode "Advanced Mode", and not a simplified "EZ Mode". The first place is taken by the section "Ai Tweaker", which contains the bulk of the options necessary for overclocking.

Some of the parameters are traditionally placed in separate subsections so as not to overly clutter up the main one. In particular, memory timings are changed on a separate page.

In the new subsection "GPU.DIMM Post" you can get acquainted with the basic parameters of the operation of video cards and memory modules.

Asus boards automatically adjust to user-specified values ​​during overclocking and increase the allowed limits for processor power consumption.

A separate subsection contains parameters related to power management of the processor, memory and logic set.

This is followed by the well-known section "Main", in which there are no innovations.

The capabilities of most subsections of the "Advanced" section are also well known to us and understandable by their names, but there are subsections specific to the ROG series boards. The subsection "iROG Configuration" will allow you to control the current and total operating time of the system. In the subsection "ROG Connect" we can prohibit the use of this technology of communication between computers, we can choose the mode of displaying data on the progress of the download: in text form, or in the form of POST codes. There are quite a few LEDs on the motherboard. The buttons are illuminated, the "Republic of Gamers" series emblem on the central radiator, the three-color "Voltiminder LED" indicators inform about the current voltage level on the processor, memory, chipset. It is very convenient that the "LED Control" subsection is not forgotten in the BIOS, which allows you to control the backlight. It can be disabled in whole or in part.

In the "CPU Configuration" subsection, we learn the basic information about the processor and manage some of the processor technologies.

The "Monitor" section reports the current values ​​of temperatures, voltages and fan speed, all of them are placed on separate pages.

For the processor and case fans, you can select the preset rotation speed control modes from the standard set: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo", or select the appropriate parameters in manual mode. For a fan with the designation "PWR", the speed can be fixed at a suitable value, and the number of revolutions of the "OPT" fans can also be made dependent on the readings of the corresponding additional temperature sensors.

In the "Boot" section, we select the parameters that will be applied at system startup.

Next, we will explore the capabilities of the subsections of the "Tools" section.

The built-in utility for updating firmware "EZ Flash 2" is one of the most convenient and functional programs of this kind. However, with the transition to EFI BIOS, it slightly changed for the worse, in particular, now the current firmware version is saved by default in the root section of the connected drive.

As with the boards of many other manufacturers, we can now familiarize ourselves with the information stored in the SPD of memory modules.

Asus boards allow you to save and quickly load eight complete BIOS settings profiles. Each profile can be given short name to remind you of its contents. Considering that there are two BIOS chips on the board, the number of profiles available for saving doubles and reaches 16.

Having saved the necessary values ​​of the base frequency, processor multiplier and voltages in the “Go Button File” subsection, we will be able to overclock the system by simply pressing the “GO” button.

Switching between two BIOS chips is not necessary using the corresponding button on the board; if the system unit is closed, you can use the capabilities of the BIOS FlashBack subsection. Here you can copy the contents of one BIOS chip to another.

The last is the "Exit" section, where you can apply the changes made, load the default values ​​or switch to the simplified "EZ Mode".

The "EZ Mode" is mainly for information purposes, since there is almost nothing to configure. You can select only one of three power saving modes and set the order of polling boot devices by simply dragging them with the mouse.

The new Asus EFI BIOS is a great example of how you can expand the capabilities of the old BIOS without losing the same usability. In a way, the main advantage is the disadvantage - a very large number of parameters available for changing can be overwhelming and confusing at first. However, in the default mode, in general, the optimal values ​​are set and you can not change anything, but get a properly working system.

Test system configuration

All experiments were carried out on a test system that includes the following set of components:

Motherboard - Asus Maximus IV Extreme rev. 1.02 (LGA1155, Intel P67 Express, BIOS version 1850);
Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K (3.3 GHz, Sandy Bridge, LGA1155);
Memory - 2 x 2048 MB DDR3 SDRAM Patriot Extreme Performance Viper II Sector 5 Series PC3-16000, PVV34G2000LLKB, (2000 MHz, 8-8-8-24, supply voltage 1.65 V);
Video card - MSI N570GTX-M2D12D5 / OC (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, GF110, 40 nm, 786/4200 MHz, 320-bit GDDR5 1280 MB);
Disk subsystem - Kingston SSD Now V + Series (SNVP325-S2, 128 GB);
Cooling system - Scythe Mugen 2 Revision B (SCMG-2100) and an additional 80x80 mm fan for blowing the space around the socket during overclocking;
Thermal paste - ARCTIC MX-2;
Power supply unit - CoolerMaster RealPower M850 (RS-850-ESBA);
Case - an open test bench based on the Antec Skeleton case.

The operating system was Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64 bit (Microsoft Windows, Version 6.1, Build 7601: Service Pack 1), a set of drivers for the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility 9.2.0.1030, the video card driver was NVIDIA GeForce Driver 280.26.

Features of work and overclocking

Unlike the Asus P8P67 Deluxe and Asus P8Z68 Deluxe motherboards, on which one of the screws for fixing the central radiator prevented the installation of the Scythe Mugen 2 cooler, there are no difficulties during assembly test system on the basis of the motherboard Asus Maximus IV Extreme, we have not met. Unless you first had to check the manual in order to connect the drive to the chipset SATA 6 GB / s port, and not to the one implemented using an additional controller, since all four SATA 6 GB / s connectors on the board are the same red. However, we were unpleasantly surprised when we found that the board was not working correctly in the nominal mode. The Intel Core i5-2500K processor with a nominal frequency of 3.3 GHz should increase the multiplier to x34 when fully loaded with work, but can increase the frequency to 3.7 GHz when the load is light and is limited to only one core out of four. However, on the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board, the processor frequency was always raised to 3.7 GHz, regardless of the load level, even when all four processor cores were used.

One could even be glad of the unexpected overclocking of the processor, I also want the user to have as many different modes of operation as possible. However, it would be desirable that each non-standard mode could be chosen deliberately, so that it would not be imposed, and in the nominal mode the system would work as expected, and not in any other way. In addition, personally, I still have very unpleasant associations with the motherboard increasing the processor multiplier to x37 under any, even high loads. This is exactly how the Zotac Z68-ITX WiFi board worked, after which it not only burned itself out, but also burned the processor at the same time. However, the manufacturer was in a hurry to release this board to the market, which is why it appeared with an unfinished firmware, or maybe we just got a defective copy, the examination will show. However, the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board has been on sale for a long time, several firmware versions have already been released for it, and such incorrect operation in the nominal mode is unforgivable, both for the flagship Asus board and for ASUSTeK itself.

Fortunately, unlike the Zotac board, the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board can be brought back to truly nominal operation. True, you still have to try a little. It is clear that the Turbo technology, which increases the multiplier to x37, does not work correctly on the board by default. When optimal values ​​are selected in the BIOS, the "Turbo Ratio" parameter is set to "All cores mode". It's a little strange that the processor frequency increases to 3.7 GHz under any load, because we did not set such a value, the “Maximum Turbo Ratio settings” parameter, as expected, is set to “Auto”.

First, let's change the value of the "Turbo Ratio" parameter to "By number of active cores mode" without changing anything else. It only got worse. Now the processor multiplier is constantly increased to x37 and does not decrease, even when there is no load. The voltage supplied to the processor remains constantly overestimated, that is, in addition to the incorrect operation of the Turbo technology, in addition, all processor energy-saving technologies have been turned off. Wonders! Then let's try setting the "Turbo Ratio" parameter to "Auto", as it should have been by default. In this case, the board starts up properly, but cannot load operating system and spontaneously goes to reboot. And only after several attempts, after several unsuccessful starts, the board suddenly returns to the really nominal operating mode. It does not just reboot, but turns off, turns on again and has been working normally since then. Until you choose again BIOS boot supposedly optimal parameters.

In general, the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard can still be made to work normally in nominal mode, although it does not want to do this by default. What about overclocking on the board? Unfortunately, in comparison with some models of ASUSTeK boards for LGA1156 processors, we have lost a rather convenient way of automatic overclocking in BIOS "OC Tuner Utility". When this mode was selected, the boards were rebooted over and over again, at each stage slightly increasing the base frequency. For LGA1155 processors, overclocking is performed by increasing the multiplier, rather than the base frequency, it is probably not possible to find suitable algorithms to implement this method. As a result, for overclocking, we can use the "CPU Level Up" parameter, which increases the processor frequency to 4.2 or 4.6 GHz. But this is an uninteresting and suboptimal way to overclock, MSI boards overclock in a similar way. The processor multiplier increases, the voltage increases, while energy-saving technologies are turned off, and the processor simply stupidly works at the given frequency, without lowering either it or the voltage in the absence of load.

Most recently, while testing the Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 motherboard, we admired the convenient way to automatically overclock when you press the O.C. Button ". The advantage of this method is that after pressing the button again or after a reboot, the board returns to the nominal operating mode. As a result, it is possible not to keep the computer constantly in an overclocked state, but to overclock only when and for the period when it is really necessary. Meanwhile, Asus motherboards have had a GO button for a long time, which performs roughly the same functions. Moreover, on the Gigabyte board we have to rely on the overclocking parameters selected in the automatic mode, while on Asus boards we can independently select the optimal values ​​of the parameters that will be applied when the GO button is pressed. Unfortunately, Gigabyte has provided convenient access to the “O.C. Button ”, equipping the board with a convenient panel for installation in a five-inch bay of the system unit, and ASUSTeK has not done anything like that yet. As a result, the "GO" button is convenient to use only on an open stand, but I doubt very much that someone uses its capabilities on an ongoing basis, during regular use of a computer.

However, don't be upset about the fact that the Asus Maximus IV Extreme does not have acceptable options for automatic overclocking. The board is so good at manual overclocking that there is no desire to use any automatic methods. It overclocked our processor sample to its maximum 4.7 GHz without the slightest difficulty, and the voltage needed to be raised even a little less than on other motherboards. In addition, the board easily enabled the memory to work at a frequency of 1866 MHz.

We always overclock the system so that it can be used in a long-term mode, while we do not make it easier for ourselves by turning off any features of motherboards, for example, additional controllers. And, whenever possible, we try to keep the processor energy-saving technologies working. In this case, even during overclocking, energy-saving technologies worked on the board, reducing the voltage supplied to the processor and its multiplication factor in the absence of a load.

By the way, in recent reviews I have repeatedly mentioned that only motherboards from Gigabyte are able to correctly indicate the operating frequency of the overclocked LGA1155 processor at startup. All the others can only correctly show the memory frequency, and the processor frequency is given the nominal. It turned out that the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board also correctly reports the frequency of the overclocked processor.

The story about the features of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board would be incomplete if we had not touched on numerous software with which it comes with. In particular, the DVD attached to the board contains the 3DMark Vantage Advanced Edition test suite and a one-year license for Kaspersky Anti-Virus. In addition, the board supports a huge number of proprietary programs, but their capabilities practically do not differ from the utilities that we examined in detail in the reviews of other Asus boards, except that their colors are brought in line with the design of the "Republic of Gamers" series. There is only one significant change - the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board is now bundled Bluetooth module... In this regard, in addition to controlling the board from another computer, using a special cable and ROG Connect technology, it became possible to wirelessly control mobile devices... Using the "RC Bluetooth" program, you can connect to the board from smartphones under Android, Symbian, or Windows Mobile, and the ROG iDirect utility serves the same purpose with an iPhone or iPad.

Performance comparison

We traditionally compare motherboards in terms of speed in two modes: when the system is operating under nominal conditions and when overclocking the processor and memory. The first mode is interesting from the point of view, which allows you to find out how well motherboards work by default. It is known that a significant part of users are not engaged in fine-tuning the system, they only install in the BIOS optimal parameters and do not change anything else. So we are checking, almost without interfering with the default values ​​set by the boards. Since the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board does not work correctly with the default parameters, we had to bring it to the nominal operating mode on our own. For comparison, we used the data obtained during tests of three motherboards from ASUSTeK: Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, P8Z68-V Pro and Asus P8Z68-V, as well as Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 and Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD boards. The results are sorted in descending order, and the readings of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme are highlighted in a darker shade for clarity.

In Cinebench 11.5, we run the processor tests five times and average the results.

The Fritz Chess Benchmark utility has been used in tests for a very long time and has proven itself to be excellent. It produces well-repetitive results, performance scales well depending on the number of computational threads used.

In the x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 test, a small video clip is encoded in two passes, and the whole process is repeated four times. The averaged results of the second pass are shown in the diagram.

We measure performance in Adobe Photoshop using our own benchmark, which is a creatively reworked Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed ​​Test that includes typical processing of four 10-megapixel digital camera images.

In the test for archiving data, a one gigabyte file is packed using LZMA2 algorithms, the rest of the compression parameters remain at their default values.

As in the compression test, the faster the 16 million pi digits are calculated, the better. This is the only test where the number of processor cores does not matter, the load is single-threaded.

Comprehensive performance tests are both good and bad in that they are complex, but Futuremark's software tools are well known and are widely used for comparisons. To assess the weighted average performance of the platform, the PCMark 7 benchmark measures the performance of typical real-world algorithms that are widely used by users in their daily activities. The diagram shows the average result of going through the test cycle three times.

The 3DMark 11 benchmark evaluates, first of all, the speed of the graphics subsystem. The following diagram shows the average result of 3 rounds of 3DMark 11 benchmarks in Performance mode with default settings.

Since the video card is not overclocked in our reviews, the following diagram uses only the 3DMark 11 - Physics Score processor benchmarks. This characteristic is the result of a special physical test that simulates the behavior of a complex game system with a large number of objects.

Using the built-in FC2 Benchmark Tool, we pass the Ranch Small card tenfold at 1920x1080 resolution with high quality settings and using DirectX 10.

Resident Evil 5 also has a built-in benchmark for measuring performance. Its peculiarity is that it makes excellent use of the capabilities of multi-core processors. Tests are carried out in DirectX 10 mode, at a resolution of 1920x1080 with high quality settings, the results of five passes are averaged.

As you might expect, there is virtually no performance difference between related boards, with the boards running at roughly the same speed in most applications. And there is no point in worrying that in the PCMark 7 test, for example, the Asus Maximus IV Extreme was on last place... Compared to the highest result shown by the Asus P8Z68 Deluxe board, the difference is only slightly more than one percent, that is, the board's performance is at a completely normal level.

Now let's carry out the same tests when overclocking the processor and memory. The difference in the parameters of the systems during overclocking is reflected in the table:

Once again, we see that the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board is taking its place according to the overclocking results. Mainly in the upper part of the diagrams, next to other motherboards that managed to ensure the operability of the memory at a frequency of 1866 MHz.

Energy consumption measurements

Energy consumption was measured using Extech Power Analyzer 380803. The device is switched on in front of the computer's power supply, that is, it measures the consumption of the entire system "from the outlet", with the exception of the monitor, but including losses in the power supply itself. When measuring consumption at rest, the system is idle, we are waiting for the complete cessation of post-start activity and the absence of calls to the hard disk. The processor load is created using the LinX program. For greater clarity, diagrams of power consumption growth were plotted when the systems were operating in the nominal mode and during overclocking, depending on the increase in the processor load when the number of computational threads of the LinX utility changed. Boards are listed alphabetically in the diagrams.

Unfortunately, one cannot fail to notice the catastrophically high power consumption of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard when operating in nominal mode. And the point is not that Asus motherboards usually consume a little more power than motherboards from other manufacturers and that the NVIDIA NF200 controller is not available. The controller, of course, makes an additional contribution to power consumption, but in all modes the gain should be the same, meanwhile the difference with all other boards at the maximum load on the system is too great. Perhaps the point is that the motherboard did not function quite correctly in the nominal mode. Indeed, in the next diagram, which shows the data obtained during overclocking, the motherboard's consumption only insignificantly differs from most of the others, and this insignificant difference should be attributed to the influence of the additional NVIDIA NF200 controller.

Afterword

We started this review with the fact that the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard is equipped with just a colossal number of different features, functions and technologies. Not all of them were invented by ASUSTeK, we saw some of them for the first time on motherboards from other manufacturers, but it is not only the fact that all of them were able to fit on a single motherboard that they were struck by the excellent quality of implementation. Take, for example, two BIOS chips. For many years they have been encountered exclusively on motherboards from Gigabyte, but the user is “neither hot nor cold” from this. Rather cold, because sometimes the board suddenly decides that the main BIOS chip is damaged and overwrites all the information on it. The operation of two BIOS chips on MSI boards is organized in a similar way. In contrast to them, on the Asus Maximus IV Extreme board we have two full-fledged, equal and independent microcircuits. Each can contain its own set of settings, each can be flashed with its own BIOS version, if desired, the data can be synchronized, easy and fast switching between microcircuits is realized both in hardware, using a button, and in software. In general, we got exactly what we have been missing for so long and still lacking in DualBIOS of Gigabyte motherboards.

It is possible to list the advantages of the Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard for a long time. This is a reliable package and rich bundle, it is a convenient design and a wide range of functions, it is a friendly Asus EFI BIOS with a huge number of parameters available for changing and setting ... When talking about a motherboard, you almost always use excellent epithets, because it is really very good ... However, we mentioned most of the advantages in the course of the review, and in conclusion, we must say about the disadvantages. I was surprised that, despite the exceptional richness of the package bundle, the board does not come with a module for outputting USB 3.0 ports to the front panel of the system unit. And the inner itself USB connector 3.0 is not very conveniently located - almost close to the rear panel connectors. I really didn’t like that the board was working abnormally in nominal mode and that at the same time it had extremely high power consumption. However, in any case, such motherboards are usually not purchased for operation in the nominal mode, and we have absolutely no comments on the motherboard's ability to overclock processors and memory. The board overclocks just fine, and even the power consumption parameters return to normal. Therefore, we will not dissuade you from purchasing an Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard, just keep in mind that you can make the most of its capabilities only when you install three video cards at the same time. Of course, no one bothers to use only two or only one video card on the board, but in these cases the capabilities of the additional NVIDIA NF200 controller will not be used in any way.

Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80 Information

Manufacturer	Mac Audio
Model	Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80
Type of	4 channel amplifier
Class	AB
Price	Out of stock. Last price RUB 5047
You may need	Amplifier Installation Kits Capacitors Signal level converters Power wires Acoustic wires Interconnect cables Flasks and fuses
Specifications	Rated power 4 Ohm, W: 4 x 55 W Rated power 2 Ohm, W: 4 x 75 W Rated power (bridge mode), W: 2x150 W (4 Ohm) Nonlinear distortion factor,%: Input impedance, kOhm: 47 Input sensitivity, V: 0.25 - 7 Frequency response, Hz: 5 - 50,000 S / N ratio, dB: 105 High pass filter Low pass filter Overload protection
Our rating
Average user rating	5 (Number of ratings: 2)

User feedback on Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80:

4-channel power amplifier is the most commonly used in automotive systems... It is usually connected to 4 speakers or 2 speakers + subwoofer, very rarely with two bridges to the subwoofer.

The choice of a 4-channel power amplifier in a car is quite a serious occupation in which it is difficult to decide personally, since this requires at least listening to several options, preferably in your system, which is rather problematic and, most often, not really organized in practice. Therefore, when choosing an amplifier, you have to rely on the name and experience of the manufacturer, the advice of honest sellers or installers, and someone else's experience.

The most important and basic characteristic that, as a rule, rely on when choosing an amplifier is power. However, it is worth noting that many firms deliberately overestimate it in order to mislead the consumer, and some, on the contrary, underestimate it in order to get into the lower classes of competitions in car audio. Power amplifier Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80 should be considered only nominal, maximum and peak is not a characteristic that you should rely on. At the same time, it is advisable to take into account that when indicating the rated power, all serious manufacturers always indicate THD (coefficient of nonlinear distortion) and it is possible to compare the powers of different amplifiers only if its value is equal. It is also worth considering the rating of the fuses on the amplifier, as a rule, current consumption is the main indicator that indicates power. In the case of choosing an amplifier for acoustics, the sound quality of the amplifier should be considered a more important criterion; power is important for the subwoofer in the system. You need to know that an indicator of the seriousness of the manufacturer's approach to the manufacture of an amplifier is a certificate with a serial number and manual measurement of the amplifier's power that comes with it.

The built-in crossover of the Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80 power amplifier allows you to cut unnecessary frequencies from channels. It is used to remove ultra-low frequencies from the subwoofer, as well as mid-bass and everything above it. When connected to acoustics - to cut the low frequencies that the speakers do not reproduce. In addition, there is a bass boost at a selected frequency, a channel combiner. As a rule, it is not enough to install the amplifier correctly in the system, so that it starts playing, you still need to correctly configure and adjust it, therefore the more built-in adjustments on the power amplifier, the better.

Class AB amplifiers have relatively little power, but still have very good sound quality. Class D amplifiers have a lot of power with low sound quality, well suited for subwoofers. It should also be said that class D amplifiers are quite compact in size.

When choosing a 4-channel power amplifier for a car, you should pay special attention to the manufacturer, his experience in making amplifiers, the quality of the amplifier itself, how the terminals for connecting the wires are made, and the weight of the amplifier. And of course, to buy such a thing that there is no way to check when buying, only from honest sellers with more than one year experience in the field of car audio.

To get the power declared in the characteristics of the Mac Audio MAXIMUS 4.80 amplifier, you can only correctly install it using the wires required for the cross-section. Saving on wires usually results in the amplifier not delivering what it could. Installation by ourselves, without experience, or by an electrician who seems to know everything, but never installed amplifiers often leads to such sad consequences as pops when turned on, backgrounds, poor sound quality.

The Ivy Bridge platform is expected to be released very soon, but we decided to return to the topic of high-end motherboards based on the Z68 chipset. ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z can be called an updated version of the well-known and popular Maximus IV Extreme motherboard. As the top board for Socket 1155, this model combines excellent overclocking capabilities with multi-GPU support. And the built-in set of functions in this model in the "Republic of Gamers" line of ASUS did not disappoint either. The "-Z" addition to the Maximus IV Extreme-Z designation hints at an updated version of the model with the Z68 chipset, which is the main difference from the Maximus Extreme IV, which used the P67 chipset. Of course, we'll take a closer look to see if ASUS has made additional changes to the already quite decent Maximus Extreme IV motherboard.

At first glance, it becomes clear that ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z is aimed at high-end systems. The motherboard provides four PCIe x16 slots that are connected to the onboard NF200 switch, and the three slots can run at very high speed. And the layout of the slots is such that it is still unreasonable to put more than three cards, therefore Maximus IV Extreme-Z is focused on such assemblies. Like its predecessor, the Extreme-Z is an E-ATX form factor that is 26.9 cm wide, about 2.5 cm wider than the standard ATX format.

The price of Maximus IV Extreme-Z is high, as in the previous model - about 300 euros in Europe or 11 600 rubles. in Russia . For the price, the motherboard also clearly belongs to the high-end segment.

Maximus IV Extreme-Z is equipped with a powerful voltage regulator, as well as a universal UEFI BIOS. Among other things, you will receive ten USB interfaces 3.0 and four SATA 6Gb / s ports. In appearance and design, we get a typical product from the ASUS ROG lineup with black and red colors.

The technical specifications are shown below:

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z specifications

Manufacturer and model	ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
Retail price	About 300 € in Europe About 11 600 rubles. in Russia
Manufacturer's page	ASUS in Russia
Northbridge / CPU functions
Chipset	Intel Z68 Express
Memory and type	4x DDR3 (two channels)
Memory	Max. 32 GB (via 8 GB DIMM)
SLI / CrossFire	CrossFireX, SLI (2-Way, 3-Way)
Integrated functions
PCI Express	4x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 / - / - / -, x8 / - / x8 / -, x8 / x16 / - / x16) 1x PCIe 2.0 x4 1x PCIe 2.0 x1
PCI	-
Serial-ATA, SAS and ATA controller	2x SATA 6G and 4x SATA 3G with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 support from Intel Z68 chipset, 2x SATA 6G from Marvell 9182 (PCIe) controller 2x eSATA 3G from JMicron JMB362 controller (PCIe)
USB	1x USB 2.0 (+8 via pigtails) 10x USB 3.0 via 2x Renesas controllers (NEC) (2x "native" ones via controller 1, 8x via the VLI Speed ​​Hub on controller 2, of which +2 on the "pigtail")
Connecting displays	-
WLAN / Bluetooth	Bluetooth V2.1 EDR
Firewire	-
LAN	2x Intel Gigabit Ethernet (82579V, 82583V)
Sound	Audio Codec Realtek ALC889 (with Content Protection Support) analog, digital and optical ports
Special functions	Extended ATX format (30.5 cm x 26.9 cm) NF200 PCIe Switch, PLX PEX8608 PCIe Switch

The packaging of ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z is relatively modest, only stickers speak of powerful content. On the other hand, the design is typical of ROG products.

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z comes with the following components:

• Eight SATA data cables
• I / O panel blank
• User manual, CD with drivers and utilities
• SLI bridges including 3 Way SLI
• Pigtail with two USB 2.0 ports
• Bluetooth module
• ASUS Q-Connector
• ProbeIt adapters for multimeter probes
• 3 cables with temperature sensors
• ROG Connect USB cable

The scope of delivery for Maximus IV Extreme-Z is quite extensive; you will find a large number of accessories in the box. In addition to the CrossFire bridge, you will also find two suitable SLI bridges.

Below we will take a look at the board itself.

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Almost ten months have passed since the release of Intel Sandy Bridge processors, during which time motherboard manufacturers managed to release a huge number of products of various form factors and market segments.

Specifically, ASUS has expanded its ROG enthusiast motherboard portfolio with two products: Maximus IV Extreme and Maximus IV Gene-Z. Both motherboards have excellent overclocking capabilities, wide functionality, and excellent workmanship, but only the little Gene-Z has on board the new Intel Z68 system logic, which allows you to simultaneously use all the advantages of platforms based on the P67 and H67. And now a full-size motherboard for enthusiasts has come out, ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z, the letter Z in the name of which just indicates the use of Intel Z68 system logic. How close the motherboard is to its predecessor Maximus IV Extreme, we will tell in this review.

⇡ Specifications

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z
CPU support	The entire line of processors for Socket LGA 1155
Chipset	Intel Z68
System bus type	Ring Interconnect + DMI
RAM	4 x slots, support for 1- and 2-channel configurations, support for DDR3 1333/1600/1866 (overclocked) / 2200 (overclocked), support for XMP profiles, maximum supported size - 32 GB
Expansion slots	4 x PCI-e x16 (3 x16 slots, one x8) 1 x PCI-e x4 1 x PCI-e x1
Multi GPU support	Supports NVIDIA 3-Way SLI, ATI CrossFireX and LucidLogix Virtu technologies
Disk subsystem	Via Intel Z68 Chipset: 4 x SATA 3Gb / s (gray) With the possibility of organizing RAID 0,1,5,10 Support Intel technology Smart Response. Via the Marvell 88SE9182 controller: 2 x SATA 6Gb / s (Red) Through the JMicron JMB 362 controller: 2 x eSATA 3Gb / s (Rear)
Network	2 x Intel Gigabit LAN
Audio capabilities	Sound controller Realtek ALC889 with the possibility of organizing eight-channel configuration
Expansion ports	10 x USB 3.0 (8 on the terminal panel, 2 internal, implemented by NEC controllers and USB 3.0 hubs from VIA), 9 x USB 2.0 ports (8 internal, 1 rim for ROG Connect)
Form factor, mm	Extended ATX (305x269)

⇡ Packaging and equipment

The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard is packed in a traditional book-type box for ROG series motherboards, made in burgundy colors. The front side of the package contains information icons, among which the Virtu icon has appeared, which means that the product supports the software package of the same name.

The reverse side still provides us with information about the technical parameters of the motherboard.

As before, the folded back cover of the box allows you to contemplate the motherboard itself through a transparent plastic window, packed in a compartment separate from the complete set.

The accessories compartment itself is overflowing with components.

The package includes:

• Detailed user manual;
• Instructions for using exclusive features of the ROG series;
• DVD with drivers and software;
• Eight loops for connecting SATA devices;
• Back panel cap covered with insulating material;
• Bridges for NVIDIA SLI and 3-Way SLI, as well as ATI CrossFireX;
• Bracket with two USB 3.0 ports for the rear panel of the case;
• USB 2.0 cable for ROG Connect;
• RC BlueTooth module, connected to a special connector;
• Enthusiast kit, including two thermocouples and two adapters for connecting multimeter probes;
• A set of cable ties;
• A sticker on the case with the symbols of the ASUS ROG series, as well as an advertising "booklet" calling for the purchase of an ASUS Xonar sound adapter.

⇡ Appearance and system logic

Moving on to the description of the motherboard itself, first of all, let's pay attention to its appearance. The board is assembled on a black PCB under a glossy varnish, on which black-and-red layout elements and solid-state capacitors with a metallic sheen are placed. In a word, the board is designed in strict accordance with the canons of the ROG series. Moreover, in design and layout, it almost completely repeats the Maximus IV Extreme. And this is no coincidence, because in fact our experimental is a remake of the Maximus IV Extreme motherboard presented at the beginning of this year, with one significant change - the Intel P67 chipset was replaced by the PCH Intel Z68.

We have already described the Intel Z68 system logic in one of our articles dedicated to the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 motherboard, but let's dwell on the main points again.

The Intel Z68 chipset belongs to the same Cougar Point family as the P67 and H67 chipsets, so there are simply no architectural differences. There is still no "native" support for USB 3.0 ports, which will appear only in the system logic for the upcoming LGA 2011 processor socket. The number of PCI-e lanes (eight), which are implemented by the chipset in addition to the sixteen PCI-e lanes provided by the system agent of Sandy Bridge processors.

However, not everything is so "bleak", of course, there are also innovations.

The Z68 chipset fixes the “mistake” of the marketing separation of the H67 and P67 chips (the first of which allowed using the integrated video core, and the second - to change the multipliers of the “K” series processors to achieve overclocking), now all the advantages of these chips are available with the same system logic.

Also, the new system logic allows for the implementation of two software technologies. One of them is called Virtu, developed by the well-known company Lucidlogic for its "graphic experiments". The technology allows using the graphics core built into Sandy Bridge processors while using a discrete graphics card, which in turn makes it possible to use Intel Quick Sync technology ( hardware encoding and decoding of the video stream), which was so stupidly idle with the P67 chipset.

The second technology, which is called Intel Smart Response, is a special mode of operation of the RAID controller that allows you to assemble an array from HDD and SSD drives at the same time. In this case, an SDD disk serves as a high-speed non-volatile cache of a large volume, while the capacity of the array corresponds to the capacity of the HDD. In fact, it is a kind of hybrid drive from Seagate. As you can see from the testing that we carried out in the article devoted to the same motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD5-B3, this approach does not always give the desired result, a performance gain is most often observed in frequently repeated operations with a magnetic disk, which, however, it is quite natural.

If you can take full advantage of Intel Smart Response Technology on your ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard, all you need to do is install Intel driver Rapid Storage Technology 10.5, you will not be able to fully use Virtu on this board. This is due to the lack of any video output on the motherboard. And this was done precisely for reasons of economy, since the development of a new design is not a very profitable occupation, despite the fact that the line already has a quite successfully “wired” motherboard Maximus IV Extreme.

However, it is still possible to use the technology, in the mode d-Mode. The monitor is connected to a discrete video card, it takes over all the 3D rendering functions, while Intel Quick Sync technology remains available for use in video encoding and decoding processes, but only in those programs where there is appropriate support.

⇡ Expansion options

Now let's take a look at the layout and expansion options of the motherboard.

The high performance of Intel Sandy Bridge processors allows you to experience the benefits of using systems from several modern graphics cards. At the same time, the small number of PCI-e lanes, which the processor system agent (16 lanes) can provide, considerably limits the use of such tandems, so all the "headache" falls on the shoulders of motherboard manufacturers, from the implementation of the PCI-e wiring of which the performance of the graphics subsystem largely depends.

There are four PCI-e x16 slots on the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard, but only the first, second and fourth slots from the top are connected to sixteen lanes. Moreover, the connection feature is completely borrowed from the progenitor of Maximus IV Extreme.

The block diagram below shows the distribution of all PCI-e lanes. It can be seen that when using one video card, it is most expedient to connect it to the first PCI-e x16 slot, since in this case all sixteen lines of the system agent will be involved. Using a bundle of two video cards is best done using the first and third PCI-e slots, with this connection, each video card will receive eight PCI-e lanes, while delays caused by the operation of the NVIDIA NF200 bridge are completely eliminated.

NVIDIA NF200 Bridge providing an additional 32 PCI-e lanes

The use of three video cards is possible only if they are installed in the first, second and fourth PCI-e x16 slots, while the video cards in the second and fourth slots will receive 16 lines from the NF200 bridge. However, let's not forget that this bridge is connected to the system agent with only eight lines, so in fact, with such a connection, the formula will be 8x / 4x / 4x.

PLX PEX8608 Bridge Implementing an Additional Eight PCI-e Lanes

Not only the graphics subsystem "suffers" from the lack of PCI-e lines, a large number of peripheral devices and additional controllers, without which a Hi-End motherboard cannot be imagined today, also need to communicate with a system agent. To do this, ASUS used another PCI-e line concentrator shown in the block diagram - the PLX PEX8608 bridge. Connected to the four PCI-e lanes from the Z68 chipset, the bridge provides an additional eight lanes. Four of them are spent on the PCI-e x4 slot, another line is connected to the PCI-e x1 slot. Also connected to the bridge is a Marvell 88SE9128 controller, which provides the operation of two SATA 3 (6 Gb / s) ports and a controller for eSATA (3 Gb / s) ports located on the rear panel, JMicron JMB363, each of them "consumes" one PCI line. e.

Marvell 88SE9128 controller supporting SATA 2 (3Gb / s) ports

JMicron JMB362 controller for eSATA (3Gb / s) ports

Two gigabit LAN controllers Intel WG82579V and Intel WG82583V

The remaining four lines of the Z68 chipset are used for the needs of a pair of USB 3.0 controllers and two integrated network adapters.

Two NEC D720200AF1 controllers are in charge of support for USB 3.0 ports

Since each NEC controller provides two USB 3.0 ports and connects to one PCI-e lane, it would take at least five controllers to implement ten USB 3.0 ports, and there are ten on the motherboard (eight on the rear panel and two internal). five PCI-e lanes, which is not available on the board.

The solution was to use two USB 3.0 hubs from VIA VLI VL810. Each of them is responsible for its own quartet of USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel, and they are connected to one of the NEC D720200AF1 controllers, while the second NEC controller directly provides us with two USB 3.0 ports, soldered on the motherboard in the form of connectors for output to the external panel.

The rear panel of the pins contains: a universal PS / 2 port, eight USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port compatible with ROG Connect, two eSATA (3Gb / s) connectors, two RJ-45 ports, six analog and one optical digital audio connector, and buttons to reset BIOS settings and activate ROG Connect.

The disk subsystem, in addition to two eSATA ports on the rear panel, includes eight internal SATA ports. Four of them (gray) are of the SATA 2 (3 Gb / s) standard and two red ports of the SATA 3 (6 Gb / s) standard are provided by the Intel Z68 system logic. And the two extreme ports in red, SATA 3 (6 Gb / s) standard, operate through a third-party Marvell 88SE9128 controller.

The audio is controlled by the eight-channel ALC889 codec from Realtek.

The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard, like all other motherboards for Intel Sandy Bridge processors, supports only single- and dual-channel RAM configurations, the new chipset did not (and could not) bring any changes here either. Our motherboard is equipped with four slots for installing DDR3 modules with frequencies of 1333, 1600, 1866 MHz (overclocking) and 2200 MHz (overclocking). The maximum supported memory size is 32 GB (four strips of 8 GB). To activate dual-channel mode, you must install pairs of memory modules in slots of the same color.

The layout and location of the so-called "control and monitoring panel" have not changed either. Below the RAM slots, in a place not very convenient for access, there are toggle switches that allow you to disable each of the four PCI-e x16 slots, a Go Button for quick application of BIOS settings, voltage measurement points for the main system nodes, as well as a triad of irreplaceable helpers for enthusiasts: start, restart buttons and indicator of POST codes. Also not forgotten is the LN2 Mode switch, which allows you to bypass the so-called “Cold Bug” that can occur when using cryogenic cooling. The switch is located near the NUVOTON NCT6776F multicontroller, which is also responsible for monitoring the system operation parameters.

Below, under the PCI-e slots, there are traditionally additional connectors. There is one of the two connectors (Molex) for additional power supply to devices connected to the PCI-e x16 slots (the second connector is located near the first PCI-e x16 slot). It is recommended to use recharge when building a system from several powerful video cards. Nearby are audio connectors for output analog signal to the external panel; connectors for connecting two four-pin fans, one of which can be used in conjunction with a thermocouple, for which a two-pin connector is also provided; four connectors for outputting up to eight USB 2.0 ports. There are also two BIOS microcircuits connected to the board via cribs and a button to quickly switch between them.

⇡ Power supply and cooling system

The design of the cooling system is exactly the same as that of the Maximus IV Extreme motherboard. Cooling is equipped with four radiators, three of which are connected by a U-shaped heat pipe. They are used to cool elements located near the central processor, such as MOSFETs of the processor power supply system, as well as the PCI-e line concentrator - the NVIDIA NF200 chip. The fourth heatsink is separate from the rest and is designed to remove heat from the Intel Z68 chip. The design also remains the same, the black matte radiators have many extended edges, the composition is diluted with red elements, and the emblem of the Republic Of Gamers series still glows red during operation.

All heatsinks in the places of contact with the elements of the motherboard have a thermally conductive elastic thermal interface.

Processor socket binding on Maximus IV Extreme-Z

Processor socket binding on Maximus IV Extreme

The processor power system on the Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard is one of the few places that has undergone quite noticeable changes. However, the changes are more quantitative than qualitative. To eight phases of voltage stabilization of processor cores and two phases of power supply of the system agent, two phases of voltage stabilization on the video core integrated into the processor have been added. The phase control circuitry has also slightly changed.

The power system is monitored and controlled using ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors technology. It includes an eight-phase power controller DIGI + EPU ASP1000C (aka CHiL CHL8318), which controls the operation of the analog-to-digital PWM supply voltage regulation through six ASP0A13 phase doublers with two built-in drivers (which in total gives just the required twelve phases), as well as TPU KB37200 chip, which is mainly responsible for the automatic overclocking capability using the ASUS TurboV EVO program.

As for the element base of the power supply systems, and of all the elements in general, there are no obvious reductions in cost compared to Maximus IV Extreme. The board uses high-quality ferrite inductors dressed in housings, metal-oxide transistors with metallized cases, as well as a film capacitor with a high charge / discharge rate NEC-TOKIN 0E907, with a capacity of 900 uF.

The voltage stabilization on the RAM modules is controlled by the uP6207 three-phase power controller.

Power supply for bridges PLX, NF200, as well as PCH and PCH PLL - single phase.

⇡ BIOS

Let's consider the main features of the BIOS.

Using a graphical shell as a BIOS interface on this moment is almost a ubiquitous phenomenon, so every new product, especially from such a giant as ASUS, by definition has and, most likely, will have this kind of shell in the future. ASUS EFI Shell, namely this designation has a shell from ASUS, can be issued in different colors - the colors depend on the series of motherboards. In our case, on the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard, we see a shell made in the same black and maroon colors, emphasizing the direct relationship of the motherboard to the Republic Of Gamers series.

The BIOS shell layout has two modes of operation. The first of them, a simplified mode, is called EZ Mode, it allows you to quickly change the boot device, system performance, and also quickly receive basic information about the system operation, such as the real processor frequency, temperatures of the main nodes, voltage along the main lines, rotation speed fans connected to the motherboard.

The second operating mode of the ASUS EFI Shell is Advanced Mode, it includes the whole range of settings and output information inherent in a Hi-End motherboard. It is this mode of operation of the graphical shell that is launched by default when entering the BIOS.

Let's take a closer look at Advanced Mode. The structure of the tabs, as well as the configurable parameters, to a large extent coincide with those on other Hi-end ASUS motherboards, which we have reviewed more than once, so we will focus only on the main, most interesting sections and points.

First section, Extreme tweaker, is the most interesting for the enthusiast. Here it is possible to change the supply voltage of all the main elements of the system, set the maximum processor multiplier in the mode Turbo Boost, as well as the maximum frequency of the built-in video core, change the frequency of the RAM, activate technologies that speed up the system and reduce power consumption.

Well-known subsections are also present:

DRAMtimingcontrol allows you to set the value of the major and minor memory delays.

GPU. DIMMPost fully informational subsection, discrete video adapters installed in PCI-e slots are displayed here, indicating both the number of lines involved and the "source" of PCI-e lines. It also clearly displays the RAM modules installed in the system with their nominal and actual operating frequencies.

CPU Performance Settings- a section that allows you to change the multiplier of the "K" series processors, activate Intel Speed ​​Step technologies, and also move the limits of the processor current supply in Turbo Boost mode.

Digi+ VRM/ POWERControl - a subsection on the management of the analog-digital power system, which allows you to set the frequency of the PWM regulator, calibrate the load to control the voltage on the processor in various modes of operation, the number of active power phases, and also set overcurrent protection for the main components of the system.

The next most significant section is Advanced... In addition to the items that exist in the corresponding section of the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme motherboard, which are responsible for setting up the main functions of the system, a subsection has appeared SystemAgentConfiguration.

Its main purpose is to activate the integrated video core.

CPU Configuration Allows you to manage the technology and power-saving features of the processor. And also change the multiplier for the processors, if it is unlocked (which is true for the "K" series).

SATA Configuration, in addition to setting the operating mode of the SATA controller, it allows for each of the connected SATA devices to enable hot plugging, but only for those ports that are implemented using the Intel Z68 system logic.

In subsection USB Configuration the operation of USB controllers is configured.

Onboard Devices Configuration allows you to manage the operation of all the main controllers implemented on the motherboard.

All motherboards of the Republic Of Gamers series for enthusiasts have proprietary functions; there are corresponding items in the BIOS for managing them.

iROG Configuration allows you to track the time during which the system was turned on.

Function ROG Connect allows you to control system settings using an external device such as a laptop. This can help to unload the system a little and, possibly, achieve a little more results in benchmarks.

LED Control serves to control the operation of information LEDs located on the motherboard.

Tab Monitor contains four subsections.

VoltageMonitor displays the current values ​​of the supply voltages of processor cores, RAM, chipset, bridge NF 200, as well as other important system nodes, including 3.3 V, 5 V, 12V lines.

Temperature Monitor displays the temperature value from all sensors on the board, including the thermocouples supplied with the board, which, if necessary, can be connected through the appropriate connectors.

Fan Speed ​​Monitor displays the rotational speed of the fans connected to the motherboard.

Fan Speed ​​Control allows you to configure the binding of fan speed to the temperature values ​​from the corresponding sensors, including from external thermocouples.

Chapter BOOT responsible for both the choice of boot devices, and for the minor starting parameters of the display and operation of the system.

Traditional section for ASUS motherboards Tools contains five tools.

ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility serves to update the BIOS from any SATA and USB media.

ASUS SPD Information makes it possible to quickly get acquainted with the SPD information of the RAM.

ASUS O.C. Profile allows you to save and load profiles with previously saved BIOS settings.

Go Button File allows you to set the system parameters that will be applied when you press the Go Button on the motherboard.

BIOSFlashback allows you to choose which of the two BIOS chips will be active by default.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the ability to take a "screenshot" in the ASUS EFI Shell BIOS is still preserved: the screen is captured using the F12 button, the file is saved in BMP format to a USB drive with an automatically generated name consisting of the current date and time ...

⇡ Practical tests

Now is the time to move on to practical tests.

The test bench configuration is shown in the table.

Test bench configuration
Motherboard	ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
CPU	Intel Core i7-2600K
CPU cooling system	Thermalright SilverArrow
RAM	2x1024 MB DDR3 1600 Super Talent
Video card	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750 GB (ACHI Mode)
Power Supply	IKONIK Vulcan 1200 W
Frame	Cooler Master test bench 1.0
Operating system	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

The new Z68 chipset does not make any major changes to the system logic for Sandy Bridge processors, which means that overclocking the processor is still possible only by raising its multiplier. Therefore, for tests we took a processor with an unlocked Intel Core i7-2600 K multiplier, and exactly the same copy that was used when testing the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme motherboard. This will allow you to visually see if the board's overclocking capabilities have changed after the "update".

First, let's check what maximum base frequency our motherboard can provide.

The maximum value at which the system was fully functional was 108 MHz. The obtained result is close to the maximum results in this "discipline" of other motherboards, however, the increase in the base frequency is still very small to use it as a "tool" for overclocking. Therefore, experiments with overclocking will traditionally be carried out by raising the multiplier. And we'll start with the automatic overclocking function.

For ASUS motherboards, this function is traditionally called CPU Level UP; it can be activated in the BIOS Extreme Tweaker section. For the Core i7-2600K processor, the maximum frequency selected by the board was 4600 MHz, of course, at this frequency the system worked completely stably, since the frequency potential of our processor is much higher.

The next step was manual overclocking.

There are no revelations here either, the 5200 MHz frequency achieved by its predecessor was also conquered in our case, using similar BIOS settings. However, we did not manage to squeeze more out of the processor without losing stability at the same time, apparently the ceiling of a particular CPU instance has been reached. Therefore, we can assume that the excellent overclocking capabilities of the Maximus IV Extreme motherboard at least have not deteriorated.

The table shows the default BIOS settings and after manual overclocking.

Options	Default values	Overclocking values
CPU Freq, MHz	3400 (1600-3800)	5200
CPU Ratio	34 (16-38)	52
BCLC, MHz	100	100
CPU Voltage, V	1,21	1,528
DRAM Freq, MHz	1333	1600
DRAM Voltage, V	1,587	1,61
PLL Voltage, V	1,78	1,8
PCI-e freq, MHz	100	100
VCore PWM	T.Probe	Extreme
VCore Phase	Standart	Extreme
VCore over-current protection,%	100	100
Vcore Load-Line Calibration	Auto	100%
VRM Over Temperature Protection	Enable	Enable
VDRAM Switching Freq	Auto	1.4x
VDRAM Full Phase Control	Auto	Enable

The test results are shown in the table:

Tests without using 3D acceleration	Testing without overclocking (Intel Core i7-2600K, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)	Auto Overclocking Testing (Intel Core [email protected], 6 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)	Manual overclocking value (Intel Core [email protected], 2 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)
Aida64 Memory Read, MB / s	19105	19693	22487
Aida64 Memory Write, MB / s	19350	22534	24106
Aida64 Memory Copy, Mbs	20971	21370	23456
Aida64 Memory Latency, ns	46,1	44,2	43.8
Aida64 CPU Queen, Score	47758	57682	65177
Aida64 Photo Worxx, Score	63188	66738	68122
Aida64 CPU Zlib, MB / s	300,7	361,8	407,7
Aida64 CPU AES, Score	441266	440071	442958
Aida64 CPU Hash, MB / s	2338	2819	3230
Aida64 FPU VP8	3784	4278	5011
Aida64 FPU Julia, Score	12715	15343	17556
Aida64 FPU Mandel, score	6487	7827	9319
Aida64 FPU SinJulia, score	5096	6149	6812
7-Zip x64, MIPS	21143	25213	25213
Cinebench R11.5 x64 CPU, CB	6,89	8,55	9,87
Fritz Chess Benchmark, Knodes	14245	17177	18992
Super Pi 1M XS, sec	9,839	8,128	7,348
WinRAR 3.9 x64, KB / s	3907	4480	5793
wPrime 32M, sec	8,059	6,535	5,183
wPrime 1024M, sec	218,152	171,46	153,134
X264 3.0 HD Benchmark (4 streams), FPS	91,38	107,99	119,91
X264 4.0 HD Benchmark (8 threads), FPS	144,25	170,87	201,82

3D tests	Testing without overclocking (Intel Core i7 2600K, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)				Testing with automatic overclocking (Intel Core i7 [email protected], 6 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)				Manual overclocking value (Intel Core i7 [email protected], 2 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 dual)
3DMark Vantage (GPU / CPU / Overall), marks	35374	25562		32277	37373	30110		35248	25322	30202		26388
3DMark 2011 (Graph / PHY / Overall), marks	9571	9256		7488	9720	10447		7689	9722	11064		7761
Resident Evil 5 (1280x1024; High; NoFSAA), avg FPS	156,1				170,4				182,3
Resident Evil 5 (1920x1080; High; FSAA 16x), avg FPS	141,2				145,7				160,4
Crysis (1280x1024; High; DX10; NoFSAA; TOD = 12), avg FPS	110,9				121,54				137,36
Crysis (1920x1080; Very High; DX10; FSAA 16x; TOD = 12), avg FPS	53,89				54,9				55,23
Dirt 2 (1280x1024; No FSAA; No AF), avg FPS	158,84				168,07				175,64
Dirt 2 (1920x1080; FSAA 4x; AF 16x), avg FPS	137,48				141				146,83
FarCry2 (1280x1024; Very High; No FSAA; DX10), min / avg FPS	109,91		162,96		125,17		187,64		131,24		204,98
FarCry2 (1920x1080; UltraHigh; FSAA8x), min / avg / max FPS	90,29		127,5		112,43		150,59		118,34		160,52

The test results show that an increase in the processor frequency leads to a fairly proportional increase in performance both in applications without using a 3D accelerator, and in 3D applications. However, only in difficult modes for the video adapter, be it anti-aliasing or high resolution, the increase in performance does not increase so much with overclocking the processor, even such a powerful video card as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 can become a limiting factor. However, for such modes, it makes sense to assemble tandems from several video cards, since the Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard quite allows it.

⇡ Conclusions

When choosing motherboards, many, mainly enthusiasts, seek to find the most "fancy", technological and advanced motherboard. All these zeal, of course, are understandable, since the overclocking results often depend on the degree of "coolness" of the motherboard. However, in our case, the newest motherboard of the ROG series in the piggy bank of ASUS, Maximus IV Extreme-Z, under the currently leading processor socket LGA1155, is not a sharp step forward relative to its predecessor. Of course, the board has excellent functionality, wide overclocking and system settings, as well as excellent workmanship, but everything was the same in Maximus IV Extreme.

Therefore, the owners of the Maximus IV Extreme motherboard have no sense in urgently replacing their "motherboard" with a new one. However, for those who do not have such a motherboard yet, it makes sense to take a look at the upgraded Maximus IV Extreme-Z, since the new product not only offers slightly wider functionality, but also does not leave the slightest chance of "running into" the chipset of the "ill-fated" B2 revision. which at the beginning of the year "became famous" possible problems with degradation of the SATA controller. The new system logic Intel Z68 was originally released with the new revision B3. Now in retail, Maximus IV Extreme-Z can be purchased for about 12,500 rubles, which is slightly more than the cost of Maximus IV Extreme - 11,500 rubles. For the very-very-very-very payment for the LGA 1155 platform - not so much.

Today we will take a look at another motherboard from ASUS, belonging to the "Republic Of Gamers" (ROG) series for overclockers and hardcore gamers on the most functional Intel Z68 Express chipset. The board reviewed today is capable of intriguing by the fact that, like any representative of the elite ROG series, it offers the maximum of functions for the demanding user, however, all this traditionally large set of functions and capabilities for the series is concentrated on the limited area of ​​the textolite sheet of the MicroATX form factor. Also, the motherboard ASUSMaximus IV GENE-Z provides an opportunity to enjoy the rich set of functions of the ROG series at a more affordable, relatively full-format counterparts, price. As part of this review, we will find out how well this motherboard is able to meet the needs of the computer enthusiast.

ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard specifications:

Manufacturer
	Maximus IV GENE-Z
	Intel Z68 Express
CPU socket
Supported processors	Intel Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3
Memory used	DDR3 1333/1600 * / 1866 * / 2133 * / 2200 * (OC)
Memory support	4 x 240-pin DIMM dual-channel architecture up to 32 GB
Expansion slots	2 x PCI-E 2.0 x16 (x16 / x8) 1 x PCI-E 2.0 x4
Multi-GPU technology support	Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI Supports ATI CrossFireX
Disk subsystem	Chipset: 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb / s 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb / s SATA RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 support JMicron JMB362 controller: 2 x eSATA 3.0 Gb / s
Sound subsystem	SupremeFX X-Fi 2 8-Channel High-Definition Audio Codec
	VIA VT6315N controller supports 1 external and 1 internal IEEE 1394a ports
LAN support	Intel Gigabit LAN Controller WG82579V
	24-pin ATX power connector 8 pin ATX12V power connector
Cooling	Chipset-based aluminum heatsink; two aluminum heatsinks on a MOSFET, connected by a heat pipe.
Fan connectors	2 x CPU 3 x case fan
External I / O ports	1 x PS / 2 (keyboard / mouse) 1 x LAN (RJ45) 2 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0 2 x eSATA 3Gb / s 1 x HDMI 1 x optical SPDIF 1 x BIOS reset button 8-channel audio output
Internal I / O ports	2 x USB 2.0 1 x USB 3.0 1 x S / PDIF out 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb / s 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb / s Front panel audio connectors System Panel Connector 1 x Go button 1 x START button 1 x RESET button 6 x test points for voltage measurements 1 x ROG Connect Switch
	64Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS
Proprietary technologies	ROG Connect Extreme Engine Digi + Mem TweakIt ROG Extreme OC kit ProbeIt UEFI BIOS GameFirst iROG Extreme tweaker Loadline Calibration Overclocking Protection ASUS TurboV EVO CPU Level Up MemOK! ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY ASUS Q-Design
Equipment	User guide Disk with drivers and utilities 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb / s Cables 1 x SATA 6.0Gb / s cable 1 x SLI bridge 1 x ROG cable 1 x ROG Sticker 1 x set of marking "straps" 1 x set of cable ties Q-Connectors Kit Interface panel blank
Form factor Dimensions, mm	MicroATX 244 x 244 mm
Products webpage

The packaging of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard has a square shape and is made in the typical serious style of the ROG series - a red background with diverging rays from the lower right corner on the front side. The front side of the package does not have any superfluous icons and flashy emblems - a board of this level does not need to lure the consumer with an abundance of colorful inscriptions. Only on the bottom side can you see the icons indicating multi-GPU support AMD technologies CrossFireX, NVIDIA SLI and LucidLogix Virtu technology implemented with the Intel Z68 Express system logic set.

The packaging of the motherboard in question has a hinged cover, although there is no viewing window, which sometimes such a cover hides. Instead, space is used to describe such features. of this product like the presence of UEFI BIOS and some overclocking functions. The inside of the lid tells about the features of the LucidLogix Virtu technology, the presence of a high-quality audio codec and GameFirst network traffic control technology.

On back side packaging, the buyer can view the detailed specifications of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard.

The ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard has a decent package bundle, especially for a motherboard of such miniature dimensions:

• user guide;
• CD with drivers and utilities;
• 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb / s cables;
• 1 x SATA 6.0Gb / s cable;
• 1 x SLI bridge;
• 1 x ROG cable;
• 1 x ROG Style Sticker;
• 1 x set of marking "straps";
• 1 x set of cable ties;
• Q-Connectors set;
• dummy of the interface panel.

Naturally, such a rather rich package bundle is explained by the fact that this motherboard belongs to the "Republic Of Gamers" series. The package contains everything you need to make the case with the board not only convenient, but also neat.

The motherboard ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z has the MicroATX format, which is the reason for the square dimensions, and the PCB design, which is quite successful from the point of view of ease of use. Despite the fact that, due to the compact size, the structural elements of the board are located rather tightly, most of the necessary ports and connectors are rationally located along the edges of the printed circuit board. The SATA ports are located horizontally, which is inevitable on a MicroATX motherboard with several PCI Express x16 slots, and the RAM slots have static retainers on the bottom for easy removal of memory modules from the slots with a video card installed.

However, when installing two large-sized video cards, the usability of ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z is significantly reduced. First, in such a scenario, the air circulation inside the case significantly deteriorates, since the video cards are located "end-to-end" to each other. Secondly, the second large video accelerator practically blocks all the connectors on the underside of the PCB with its body: connecting the front panel, additional USB ports, if possible, then with some wire skew is not very practical. However, installing two powerful video cards at once is not the most likely scenario for a motherboard of this form factor, although it is quite possible.

Among other features of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, it is worth noting the presence of such useful functions for overclockers as a special area with test points for measuring voltages, the "Go" button, which is designed to load a pre-created overclocking profile in real time directly into the OS. In addition, the Start, Reset buttons and the POST-codes indicator are located on the underside of the board.

But that's not all - at the top of the board, next to the 8-pin ATX12V power connector, there is a button for activating the ROG Connect technology, which allows you to connect a remote control system. Connection must be carried out using the special cable included in the kit to the white USB connector on the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z interface panel.

The organization of the disk subsystem of ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z is determined by the capabilities of the Intel Z68 Express system logic set, which provides support for four SATA 3 Gb / s ports and two SATA 6 Gb / s ports, on which RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5 and 10. Additionally, the disk space can be expanded using two eSATA 3.0 Gb / s ports, for the functioning of which the JMicron JMB362 controller is responsible.

The motherboard in question supports a high-speed USB 3.0 data transfer interface, for the implementation of which two ASMedia ASM1042 controllers are responsible, one serves to output two corresponding ports to the interface panel, the second allows you to connect up to two USB 3.0 ports using an internal connector. As for the number of USB 2.0 ports, the Intel Z68 Express chipset has twelve of them: eight are connected to the interface panel, and four more can be connected using internal connectors on the printed circuit board.

Expansion options ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z is represented by two PCI-Express x16 slots and a single PCI-E x4. Since the PCI-Express x16 2.0 slots are quite distant from each other, this arrangement allows you to create powerful gaming configurations from two large-sized video cards using NVIDIA SLI or ATI CrossFireX technologies, however, in this case, only 8 PCI-lanes will be allocated to each video card. E. To work with one video card in full-speed x16 mode, you must install it in the first PEG-slot.

For temporary storage of executable code and data on the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, there are four 240-pin DIMM connectors of dual-channel architecture for DDR3 RAM. The maximum total RAM capacity can be up to 32GB with four 8GB modules. The maximum possible guaranteed frequency of RAM is an impressive 2200 MHz in overclocking mode. To organize memory operation in two-channel mode, you must first fill in the slots colored red.

The power supply regulator of the processor on ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z is made according to the 10 + 2 phase scheme, and is controlled by a proprietary PWM controller with a built-in Extreme Engine Digi + power management system. All the components that make up the processor power unit are highly reliable - solid-state capacitors are used, and chokes with a ferrite core. Such a rather reliable and powerful power regulator is not found on every elite mainboard of the standard ATX format.

The cooling system of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard consists of an aluminum heatsink on the chipset and a bundle of heatsinks that cool the MOSFET, which are connected by a heat pipe. The radiators are securely fastened with a screw. The chipset heatsink uses thermal grease as a thermal interface, the rest - thermal pads.

According to the documents, the sound subsystem of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard is based on the SupremeFX X-Fi 2 HDA 8-channel audio codec, which in practice is nothing more than the widespread Realtek ALC889 codec. The Intel WG82579V Gigabit LAN controller is used to support network connections.

The following ports are displayed on the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z interface panel:

• 1 x PS / 2 (keyboard / mouse);
• 1 x LAN (RJ45);
• 2 x USB 3.0;
• 8 x USB 2.0;
• 2 x eSATA 3Gb / s;
• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x optical SPDIF;
• 1 x BIOS reset button;
• 8-channel audio output.

The white-marked USB connector is designed to connect the system to a laptop or other PC using ROG Connect technology, with which you can easily overclock and monitor system parameters... For video signal output, there is only one HDMI connector, which is the most demanded today. Well, the button for resetting the BIOS settings will be very useful with numerous experiments with the settings of the latter.

The ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, in addition to two 4-pin connectors for the CPU cooler fans, has three 3-pin connectors for case fans to organize additional cooling inside the system unit.

EFIBIOS

On the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, as on many other high-end solutions, EFI is used as a preloader, in which settings can be selected with just one mouse. Another positive aspect of using EFI is the ability to choose a language, including Russian.

Numerous overclocking settings are concentrated in the "Extreme Tweaker" section of the BIOS; for convenience, we have summarized them in the following table:

Parameter	Menu name	Range
Processor technology	C1E, EIST, Virtualization Technology, Multi-Threading, Intel Turbo Boost Mode
System bus frequency	BLCK / PCIE Frequency	80 - 300 MHz
Turbo Boost Frequency Multiplier	Core Ratio Limit
Divider for memory	Memory Frequency	8, 10.66, 13.33, 16.00, 18.66, 21.33, 2.4
Maximum graphics core frequency	iGPU Max. Frequency	1100 - 3000 MHz
RAM latency	DRAM Timing Control	CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, RAS PRE, RAS ACT, COMMAND Mode, RAS to RAS, REF, Cycle, DRAM Refresh, WRITE Recovery, READ to PRE, FOUR ACT WIN, WRITE to READ, CKE Minimum, CAS Write, RTL ( CHA), RTL (CHB), tWRDR, tRWDR, tRWSR, tRR, tRRSR, tWW (DD), tWW (DR), tWWSR
CPU multiplier
Power limitation during sustained acceleration	Long Duration Power Limit
Duration of long acceleration	Long Duration Maintained
Power limitation during short-term acceleration	Short Duration Power Limit
Maximum value of the additional voltage of the CPU supply during Turbo Boost	Additional Turbo Voltage
Main current limit	Primary Plane Current Limit	0.125 - 1023.875V
Secondary current limit	Secondary Plane Current Limit	0.125 - 1023.875V
Fixed frequency power circuit	VRM Fixed Frequency Mode	300 - 550 kHz
	CPU Current Capability
	iGPU Current Capability
Additional voltage on the processor, V	CPU offset Voltage	0.005 - 0.635V
	CPU Manual Voltage	0.8 - 2.155V
Additional voltage on the graphics core, V	iGPU Offset Voltage	-0.635 to +0.635 V
Voltage on memory modules, V
Northbridge tension		0.8825 - 1.70925V

In this section of the EFI BIOS of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, there are several modes for setting parameters. In addition to automatic and manual configuration modes, it is possible to set X.M.P. profiles. RAM and activation of proprietary technology CPU Level Up.

Naturally, here you can adjust the value of the processor multiplier for overclocking processors in which it is unlocked, as well as increase the performance of processors with a locked multiplier by increasing the value of the turbo multiplier.

The choice of the operating frequency of the RAM can be carried out within a very wide range, provided that there are appropriate RAM modules.

All main timings (delays) and sub-timings (secondary delays) of RAM are also available for tuning in sufficient quantity.

In addition to overclocking the processor and RAM, the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard is capable of overclocking the graphics core built into the processor in 50 MHz increments from 1100 MHz to 3000 MHz.

Power management settings allow you to set voltages in fairly small steps over a fairly wide range. There are also settings to compensate for voltage drops on the processor and graphics core.

In addition, a specialized information point is of interest, which contains data on installed PCI-Express devices and their modes of operation, as well as on the filling of memory channels and the frequency at which the modules operate.

In addition to extensive overclocking capabilities, the EFI BIOS of the motherboard offers the same in-depth monitoring of all system parameters. In the "Monitor" section, you can separately access the monitoring of voltages, temperatures, fan speeds - in a word, you can see all the parameters important for serious overclocking.

In addition, in this section, you can enable the function of automatic control of the CPU cooler CPU Q-Fan Control and case fans, which has different intensity modes.

Utilities

Overclocking the system and changing the supply voltage of various components can be done directly from the OS using the ASUS TurboV EVO multifunctional utility that comes with the motherboard.

The GPU Boost tab contains the settings required to increase the maximum frequency of the integrated GPU and increase the supply voltage on it.

Overclocking of processor cores is supposed to be carried out by changing the maximum multiplier of the Turbo Boost technology.

A unique feature, typical mainly for ASUS motherboards, is the ability to adjust the operating mode of the processor power stabilizer.

Overclocking capabilities

In order to determine the overclocking potential of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard, we overclocked the processor with an unlocked multiplier by raising the latter in the BIOS. As a result, by raising the multiplier to 47 points and slightly increasing its supply voltage to 1.44 V, we managed to reach the frequency of 4.7 GHz for the processor core. Quite a decent result, which confirms that this motherboard is aimed at overclockers and enthusiasts.

By the way, the EFI BIOS of the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard has more aggressive Turbo Boost settings by default in order to please fans of high performance. So, on the test processor, the multipliers of all cores simultaneously accelerated them to 3.7 GHz, and not to 3.4 GHz, as is the case with standard settings Turbo Boost mode, if all cores are accelerated at once.

In addition to extensive manual overclocking capabilities, the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboard allows you to overclock the processor in automatic mode by activating the CPU Level Up function. This technology provides an opportunity to choose between two stages of processor overclocking: for the test Intel Core i5-2500K it is 4.2 GHz and 4.6 GHz. Unfortunately, when choosing the upper stage, the system was unstable due to insufficiently high voltage on the processor, which also increases automatically. Perhaps with the release of more fresh versions EFI BIOS will eliminate this drawback, and the voltage will be selected more correctly.

But an attempt to overclock to 4.2 GHz was crowned with success, and the system successfully passed all tests. It should be noted that memory overclocking is not provided by this technology, so you can use standard modules without fear.

Testing

The following equipment was used to test the capabilities of the motherboards:

CPU	Intel Core i5-2500K (LGA1155, 3.3 GHz, L3 6MB) Turbo Boost: enable C1E: enable
	Scythe Kama Angle Rev.B
RAM	2x DDR3-2000 1024 MB Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3T1K3 / 3GX
Video card	MSI R4850-2D1G-OC (Radeon HD 4850, 1 GB GDDR3, PCIe 2.0)
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB SATA-300 NCQ
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Seasonic SS-650JT Active PFC (650W 120mm fan)
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120 mm blower / blower fans)

Test results with a discrete video adapter:

When comparing the test results of ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z with the results of other motherboards based on the Intel Z68 Express chipset, you can see that in some cases the motherboard under review shows slightly higher performance, which indicates a perfectly debugged version of the EFI BIOS with additional optimization. ...

Test results with an integrated video adapter:

In the mode of operation with integrated video, the difference in performance between ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z and other solutions is even more noticeable. Obviously, such a rather significant difference is a consequence of the non-standard Turbo Boost mode, including for the graphics core.

Testing the audio path based on the codecSupremeFXX- Fi 2 (RealtekALC889)

General results ( RightMark Audio Analyzer)

Operating mode 16-bit, 44.1 kHz

Noise level, dB (A)		Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)		Very good
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz,%
Overall score		Very good

Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz

Frequency response (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB		Very good
Noise level, dB (A)
Dynamic range, dB (A)
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
Harmonic distortion + noise, dB (A)
Intermodulation distortion + noise,%
Interpenetration of channels, dB
Intermodulation at 10 kHz,%
Overall score		Very good

Built-in SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio codec (Realtek ALC889) provides very good quality sound reproduction, which indicates that its capabilities will be sufficient in most cases.

conclusions

Motherboard ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z is a very modern and functional solution, which is practically devoid of drawbacks. Based on the latest universal Intel Z68 Express chipset, this board combines the advantages of Intel P67 and H67 Express chipsets, that is, it has wide overclocking capabilities, and at the same time allows working with the graphics core integrated into modern Intel processors.

The compact size of the MicroATX form factor, in which the motherboard tested today is executed, did not in any way affect performance or functionality - and this is one of the most important advantages of ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z. In this case, on a smaller area of ​​the PCB, such technical solutions are embodied that cannot always be found on motherboards of the standard ATX form factor. These are two PCI-Express x16 slots with AMD support CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI, a sufficiently high-quality processor power supply unit and the availability of technical solutions useful for overclockers - control points for measuring voltages, a "Go" button, which is designed to load a pre-created overclocking profile in real time directly into the OS, an indicator of POST codes, and others. amenities. All this and its high overclocking potential make this board interesting for overclockers.

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