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My Maximus III Formula Review!

Kaboom
Level 8
The Maximus III Formula motherboard is one of Asus’ latest Republic of Gamers (ROG) models. This motherboard is a P55 Express chipset, meaning it supports Intel’s Core i7’s as well as i5 processors. It’s also sporting what’s called LGA 1156 which is the CPU socket where the CPU chip is placed. Unlike older sockets, such as the LGA 775, the new one, has more pins. More pins equals better performance and that’s what this motherboard aims for – optimal performance. The Maximus III Formula’s wide range of overclocking features, for both novice and expert gamers, really makes it stand out of the crowd.

Motherboard items include:

1 – Supreme FX X-Fi Sound Card
1 – Multi-functional module
1 – Asus Q-Shield (I/O shield)
3 – Serial ATA signal cables
1 – ROG Connect cable
1 – SLI Cable
1- 2-in-1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit
Cable Ties
User Guide
ROG Support DVD
1 ROG Theme Label
1 ROG Cable Label


Note: In my picture the motherboard was prepped for water cooling; hence the thermal paste, and mount for the cooler on the cpu. It does NOT come like that.

One thing that always frightened me about mid to high end products is the fact that most beg to be overclocked. Having not dealt much with overclocking in the past, I was a bit intimidated at first, until I found out just how simple this board has made it. With options such as CPU Level Up, overclocking is one click away. Plus, they’ve made it safe. All you have to do is select your processor, and the motherboard does the rest.


Some main features include:

MemOk! – With the push of a button you can patch memory issues and get your system back up and running. To make things even better, it’s technology can determine fail safe settings to improve system booting success.
MemPerfect – This will allow you to optimize your memory in no time. Messing around with something when you’re not sure can lead to more problems. You can let MemPerfect do all the work for you by fixing any errors and adjusting settings for optimal system stability and efficiency.
Speeding HDD – You can easily double your hard disk drive performance by simply using Speeding HDD. It utilizes dual channel design to boost transfer rate.
GameFirst – Gaming with a high ping can end up giving you a headache. This feature manages the flow of traffic according to your needs. Now you can listen, download, and talk without having the problems of lag.
ROG Connect – For those hardcore overclockers, you’ll be able to monitor the status of your desktop in real-time through another notebook. Link yourself up to your main computer with the ROG Connect cable, and you’ll be able to keep track of POST code and hardware status readouts.
With other features like Extreme Tweaker, iRog, Voltminder LED, and COP EX, it helps keep your PC running at optimal performance without the worry and frustration; something I especially love since I’m no rocket scientist when it comes to this stuff.

Along with your board, you’re also given a Supreme FX X-Fi sound card which takes the place of the first PCI-e x1 slot. It might be small, but it packs a big surround sound punch. My ears were loving the 5.1 surround sound; plus, it’s easy to install AND it’s free! Doesn’t get much better then that.
The Maximus III Formula also features Voltage LED warnings which tell you how much energy you’re using for each part. Green means good, yellow is moderate, and red means crazy. You don’t have to browse through software to tell you; just lean over and look inside your case. Once again, things have been made simple so I can game without worrying.
When it comes to USB ports, it’s a necessity for gamers. When you think about it, how many do we need? Two, four, or maybe six? That wasn’t enough for Asus, so they threw in nine USB 2.0 ports; one of which is their very own ROG Connect. Since we’re all not perfect when it comes to overclocking, they’ve also added a “clear CMOS” button which will allow you to reset all your overclocking settings… just in case you over do it. Towards the bottom of the board there’s a Start and Reset button, which I suppose if you’re too lazy to hook up your front connectors, you could always use those just in case.

There’s a total of three PCI-e x16 slots, two PCI-e x1 slots and two PCI slots. Don’t let those numbers scare you though, it’s quite simple. The x just means “by” so for instance, x16 means “by 16”. The larger the number, the more lanes, or connections, the slot has. More lanes means faster connections. That’s why larger cards such as video cards require x16 slots, so they can have more lanes to help render and transfer textures, shadows, and other visual aspects of games. Think of it as traffic in a city. With 1 lane, the traffic won’t be able to pass as quickly, but with 16 lanes things will flow along smoothly.

Moving on to the memory, there’s four available slots which are in a dual channel configuration. Dual channel configuration as compared to a single channel configuration, allows two channels for data to pass through simultaneously instead of just one going one way, then back when it’s done. This basically doubles the amount of available memory bandwidth. The memory is held securely in place with locking latches which help prevent any sort of disturbance to knock it out of place. If you’re serious about your memory, the Maximus III Formula can hold up to 16GB!


Cosmetically, this motherboard is gorgeous. It’s flattered in deep black and bright red colors. Since a lot of cases (as well as parts) come in standard colors such as red, blue and green; it’s easy to match it with just about anything! Most of the slots are either red, black or a dark grey, and the heat sink in the middle lights up in red with the “Republic of Gamers” label. Not only does this board look great, it works great. Gamers truly were being thought of when the Maximus III Formula motherboard was put together with design and performance in mind.
I’ve been using this motherboard for about two weeks and so far am loving it. I feel less lag when multi-tasking (thanks to its GameFirst feature) and am also a huge fan of its external voltage LED lights (and I’m sure my electric bill is, too). As for the overclocking features, I have a date with them later this week so I’ll let you know how that goes in the future.
Honestly, with all this board has to offer you think it would break your bank, but right now you can find it on Newegg for just $229.99 Overall, I’m impressed, and if you’re a moderate to hardcore gamer, I would highly recommend it for any PC.
Worth every penny.




http://www.girlgamer.com/zine/article/889/

Now it's time to start overclocking.. muahaha.
11,064 Views
8 REPLIES 8

ottoyu34
Level 9
Nice review! I enjoyed reading it.
I'm sure your unlock CPU begs to be overclocked.

Kaboom
Level 8
Indeed it does. I'll be honest though, I'm still a bit scared to try it out.

ottoyu34
Level 9
No worries, cause hardware nowdays are harder to destory. Almost the only way to kill them is by over-volting

Retired
Not applicable
just watch the memory voltages and you'll be fine! Enjoy Its a great board

Park828 wrote:
just watch the memory voltages and you'll be fine! Enjoy Its a great board


To be specific the memory controller is not intended to supply over 1.65v to the memory and common wisdom states that the memory voltage shouldn't be more than .5v higher than the uncore (ie dram at 1.62v means uncore at least 1.12v). So as long as you don't go outside of those bounds you should have trouble breaking anything.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

Retired
Not applicable
Nice job on the review Boom. If you need any help on your oc's, just ask any of the OCA guys...we are always happy to help.

Kaboom
Level 8
Thanks 🙂 Appreciate it a lot!

V2-V3
Level 8
Kaboom, A++++++ on that Review, simply well done and worded for the masses, I throughly enjoyed the read and am excited to see your style rather than the standard monotone whitepaper reviews.....

I cant wait to see more from you!