First Look: ASUS ROG Maximus V Extreme (Z77) - An Overclocker's Dream Motherboard

[siopao1984]

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Last month we looked at the much coveted Maximus V Formula and today we have another board from the ASUS Republic of Gamers team in our hands. Featuring 4-way SLi/CrossfireX support and a host of overclocker centric features in an extended ATX form factor, could the Maximus V Extreme be the Z77 motherboard that hardcore Ivy Bridge enthusiasts have been waiting for?

Here we have the box of the Maximus V Extreme, which includes a flip-open section highlighting some of the features of the motherboard and specifications.

The package includes accessories like SATA cables and wireless antennas and the mandatory documentation and driver CD.

First introduced with the X79 Rampage IV Extreme, one of the key attraction of ASUS's top Z77 offering is the "OC Key", a pass-through dongle which adds a menu overlay on the active DVI display signal to adjust usual overclocking parameters, without incurring any precious CPU interrupts. The latest version also allows direct trigger of OC Key without touching the ROG Connect button on the motherboard and can monitor actual CPU load with the amount of electrical current supplied.One minor drawback is that it only supports up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz (our Dell 30-inch native resolution is 2560x1600), due to the fact that it takes single link DVI only.

Also found on the other Z77 ROG Formula/Gene boards, the bundled mPCIe combo card comes with a mSATA expansion slot and a wireless module capable of Wi-Fi 802.11 AGBN + Bluetooth 4.0.

In addition to the standard ribbon cables for CrossFireX and SLi, ASUS has also bundled convenient 3-way and 4-way SLi hard bridges for multi-GPU operation.

Read more: First Look: ASUS ROG Maximus V Extreme (Z77) - An Overclocker's Dream Motherboard by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

So here we have the Maximus V Extreme, which is the literally the biggest (eATX form factor) in the Z77 Republic of Gamers family. Although it is not as asthetically dashing as the Red LED heavy Formula we've seen earlier, it is certainly no slouch feature wise and more catered for the extreme subzero overclocker, as we will see in the following sections.



Over at the I/O panel we get a mix of the new and the old.

From the left, we get single-port 10Gb/s Thunderbolt connectivity in the form of a mini-DP connector, followed by a pair of vertically stacked buttons to trigger CMOS reset and the OC Key menu. Eight USB ports (four of them USB 3.0 and one for BIOS flashback) is augmented by a full sized DP/HDMI for the integrated IGP, Gigabit LAN port and standard jacks for integrated 7.1 channel audio.

A legacy PS/2 port is still present on this year 2012 board, which is appreciated by benchmark record chasing users as USB keyboards incur precious CPU interrupts, albeit minicule but every bit matters guys like Andre and Shamino.



Another I/O expansion can be installed to add two more USB 2.0 and one eSATA port.



Thunderbolt functionality is serviced by the Cactus Ridge 2C DSL 3310 host controller, which takes up 4 PCIe 2.0 lanes.



A no-frills Intel 82579V Gigabit PHY is used for networking. Truth be told we would have preferred dual Gigabit LAN or even 10gE since such controllers are now in mass production.



ASMedia's top performing ASM1042 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 controller, with UASP and Fast Charge support adds more ports on top of those from the native Z77 Panther Point USB 3.0.



Unlike the fancier dedicated audio pathing and shielding on the Formula and Gene, the Extreme opted for a more unassuming design based on Realtek's ALC898 codec.



At the other end of the board, we get a fairly reasonable eight onboard SATA ports. Next to them on the left is ASUS's propietary Subzero Sense feature, which accepts two K-type thermocouples, doing away the need for expensive dedicated thermometers.





As seen on most other recent ASUS boards, a ASMedia ASM1061 takes a single PCIe 2.0 lane to enable two more SATA 6Gb/s ports on top of the six from the Z77 PCH.



Moving on to the PCI Express-only slot layout, there are five x16 slots and one x4 slot for expansion (disabled if Thunderbolt is used). When we examine the PCB soldering points behind, we see that the first two red slots are capable of up to x16 operation, while the third, fourth and sixth slot can do up to x8.





To achieve four-way multi-GPU, a PLX8747 multiplexer is used. This 48-lane bridge chip handles 16 PCIe 3.0 signals from the CPU and can be configured for x16+x16 or x8+x8+x8+x8 for the GPUs.



Another interesting feature which will come in handy for multi-GPU operation is the "+3.3v Power Generator" on the PCIe slots. This auxiliary source of power apparently helps the GPU PLL/Vsync stability during extreme overclocking.

[siopao1984]

In this section we will explore the area around the CPU socket, which has a number of interesting gizmos.



At edge of the board we find an 8-pin EPS and 4-pin ATX connector. These should supply extreme amounts of current to the CPU without catastrophic melting.



We also have additional 6-pin PCIe and floppy plugs to aid PCIe and memory OC.



The heatsinks used on the Maximus V Extreme are relatively modest unlike the liquid cooled ThermoFusion design found on the Formula. Still, they should suffice as the heat output from the PCH and MOSFETs of Ivy Bridge Z77 platform isn't as monstrous as its Sandy Bridge-E X79 counterpart.





We find a no-nonsense 8+4 phase (CPU and Uncore) VRM design once we take off the heatsinks.



The Maximus V Extreme uses TrenchMOS FETs, with NXP 7030AL on the high end and NXP 5030AL on the low side,. Each pair is capable of 68A @ 25C, more than enough for any kind of overclocking.



Like on recent boards, ASUS's industry leading DIGI+ VRMs are capable of very precise digital control and monitoring of the MOSFETs to prevent blue smoke incidents during intense loads.





Moving on to the action packed section of the board, we get fifteen voltage probe points for various overclocking parameters, the all-important Power/Reset button and a perpetually helpful PORT-80 diagnostic LED. A jumper selector marked "LN2 mode" enables extra BIOS options and profiles and a slow mode selector switch is there for the extreme tweaker. A set of DIP switches controls PCIe slot on/off for troubleshooting and red-black pinouts are for the VGA Hotwire (voltage sensors and variable resistors) cables.



Another new feature on the Maximus V Extreme is "VGA Power Control", allowing the motherboard to directly interface with up to four sets of I2C controllers on the graphics cards to adjust voltages, OCP, LLCs and switching frequencies.



So, stay tuned on VR-Zone for the next Vaseline filled LN2 episode of the Maximus V Extreme review!

[gamemailxxx]

akong idol na mobo lami kaayo hasta ang presyo makalipong saon man low budget ra jud ko. Thanks for the info boss.

[acronis]

taman ra ta tan-aw ani.... hehehe.

[salbahis]

pila diay price ani sa atong neighboorhood nga mga shop?

[cointoss]

haha overclocker's dream.

[dark_humbz]

wit wiw, aha ta maka procure ug LN2 diri sa cebu? hahahaha! naa ba?

[mr.nicejohn]

ka yati ra ani nga board....LAMIA