Asus Launches the Maximus V Extreme Motherboard, Targeted at Hardcore Overclockers

Asus announced the launch of the Maximus V Extreme motherboard on 18 July 2012. It is clearly targeted at power users. It supports the full range of second and third generation Intel Core processors and is Z77-based. It includes the exclusive ROG(Republic of Gamers) OC Key attachment, which includes detailed OSD TweakIt and OSD Monitor to allow extensive low-level modification of system settings at the hardware level, helped by other methods such as BIOS settings and Asus's own Turbo-V technology. All the goodness does come at a price though. Excluding taxes, the price, as mentioned in the press release, is said to be Rs. 29,800/- and comes with a warranty of 3 years.

Features include onboard 10 Gbps Intel Thunderbolt and mPCIe implementation. This helps increase the performance by combining display and high-speed data-transfer capabilities into one streamlined arrangement for faster, bi-directional dual-channel data transfers and better high-definition display. To allow for radically new means of modding, the motherboard includes Subzero Sense technology, which can quickly detect deep-freeze cooling of critical components and temperatures as low as -200 °C so that users can evaluate their thermal setup. Overclockers can therefore monitor their system in real-time as they make changes to the system parameters.

VGA Hotwire headers have been added for easier but precise and complete DIY voltage regulation so that soldering is made more straightforward and brings about increased synergy between the GPU and the board, increasing performance as a result. Five PCI Express 3.0 slots are included, two of which are native-linked to the CPU for faster and latency-free graphics performance. Out of these five, 4 can use NVIDIA 4-way SLI or AMD CrossFireX for high-performance gaming and GPU-intensive tasks. These are improved with LucidLogix Virtu MVP multi-GPU optimization. This broadens compatibility, giving users increased flexibility to choose the graphics hardware of their choice, at the same time leading to higher frame rates and maintaining a more consistent VSync across different windows. It is claimed that with this setup, users will be able to move a full HD movie in just 10 seconds.

For connectivity, it also adds mSATA, working together with Intel Smart Response Technology to accelerate data access through solid state hybrid storage. As seen in the image, the board is well laid out and generously spaced, although the choice of colours could have been better.

The motherboard can also be very useful for competitive benchmarking. The OC key helps users get detailed system information with no effect on processor utilisation and without requiring any additional software to be installed. Up to six compatible devices are supported to be daisy-chained to a single Thunderbolt port. Thanks to the mPCIe support, the Maximus V Extreme has instant dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth V4.0 support. The motherboard is claimed to be equally adept at CPU-heavy and overall system testing as well, not just graphics.