Tried it: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme + Core-i7 2600K - the harvest season begins!

An ASUS ROG sheet can be said at first glance to be a ROG series model. The design, the use of color and the equipment, the repertoire of services leave no doubt in the eyes of the investigator. This is also maximally true for the ASUS ROG Maximus IV Extreme.

Before we dive into the analysis, we need to be aware of one thing, and that is the box (and the inscription “REV 3.0 New B3 Revision” on the sticker on the motherboard. We can all still remember Intel’s fiasco in designing the P67 and H67 PCHs). Intel has pointed out that there is no risk of data loss, but the performance of the affected SATA ports decreases over time, which severely reduces the performance of the entire system after a certain period of time. two types of PLL controls are used for current SATA ports.

 

This is specified by the given standard, so one type is used for SATA 6 Gb / s and the other type for SATA 3 Gb / s ports. The former works flawlessly, while the latter has a problem, as the gate oxide layer for one of the transistors in the controller is designed to be thinner than necessary. This is necessary so that the transistor can be opened at low voltage, but the voltage used by Intel is too high, resulting in higher-than-expected leakage current, which leads to a slow but sure decrease in performance of the SATA 3 Gb / s ports, years later, total failure is also very likely. Of course, this affected the market sensitively, and with a slight delay it was immediately announced that the error would be remedied in the form of a new revision. This, of course, is a must-have, it hasn’t helped on motherboards already manufactured, but that’s the past, so let’s not even deal with it anymore.

All of the current motherboards come with the improved B3 release PCH and in stores (unless it’s an existing, stuck inventory in a lower-traffic location, so it’s worth looking at the inscription on the box). So the SATA controller problem is now a thing of the past, as with the Maximus IV Extreme, as the caption already says. From this we have already learned that the board is made for the LGA 1155 platform, i.e. it accepts Sandy Bridge processors with P67 - B3 PCH.

These are the products, the box of which is already good to take, the person is in no hurry, he is not in a hurry, he enjoys the moment, he contemplates. The box of the M4E (abbreviated as Maximus IV Extreme) is based on the often seen ROG design, red dominance, no overkill, we get the basic information on it. If we open the top, the contents are divided into two sections, two boxes. In one we find the board itself, and in the other we also find an accessory with an unfocused amount of accessories. Let’s take a quick look at the latter, at the level of an image and a list. SLI bridge, 3-Way SLI bridge, CrossFire bridge, ROG-design backplate, USB 2.0 backplane outlet (2 buckles), cable ties, 4 × 2 pieces (1 pair just used for the test) SATA cable, ROG cable stickers, ROG sticker, temperature sensor (4 pcs.), Q-connectors, cables for measuring points, RC Bluetooth card, ROG Connect USB cable, installation plate, user manual, extra services guide.

It would be hard to say what was left out of this pack, we don’t even know. Let's move on to the motherboard itself!

Maximus IV Extreme is certainly not made in the spirit of one of its predecessors, Maximus III Gene. This model is based on a huge Extended ATX standard printed circuit board measuring 30,5 cm × 26,9 cm. The color scheme is familiar, black PCB, black surfaces, turning red in some places, that is, the traditional ROG colors return. The LGA 1155 socket is powered by the previously known Extreme Engine Digi + power supply (8 phases), which is decorated with a stylish, beautifully crafted rib in an L-shape. It also draws over the NF200 bridge using a flattened, thick heat pipe, with the ROG logo on board during which it shines with light.

     

On the other side of the CPU slot is the four DDR3 memory slots, which can hold up to 32 GB of memory in dual-channel mode at speeds up to 2400 MHz OC. The sockets are also powered by the Extreme Engine Digi + with 3 phases. Below the NF200 chip are four full-width (red) and two shorter PCI Express rails, one × 4 and one × 1 (black). In this way, SLI, 3-way SLI, and CrossFireX are also supported (they may require molex power connectors at the bottom of the board and above the top socket), and full-width rails can operate in the following modes: single @ × 16; dual @ × 8, × 8; triple @ × 8, × 16, × 16.

Oddly enough, the flattened rib behind the rails hides the P67 PCH. Let's continue with the right edge of the motherboard! The list starts with a microswitch named BIOS Switch. There are two BIOSes on the Maximus IV Extreme, with the help of the switch we can choose which one we want to use. The nearby LEDs inform you of this. This is followed by eight "turned" SATA connectors: the four black ones are SATA 2.0 standard (from PCH), while the four red ones are the new SATA 3.0. The internal pair is powered by the P67, and the external pair is powered by the Marvell 9182 PCI-E controller.

The next area of ​​interest starts after the 24-pin power connector, we saw almost the same thing with the Rampage III Black Edition, there it was called OC ZONE, it is not highlighted here in this way. Here we find special things integrated into the printed circuit board that make even the best tuning bottles run into liquid nitrogen. The operation of the CPU, DRAM, VGA and BOOT DEVICE is indicated by small LEDs next to each other. Q-LED fixture. Next to them, a GO_LED and another microswitch (= GO_BUTTON) are watching, pressing MemOK before the post process! launches an application, and under the operating system we can start and test a temporary tuning profile with it. There are also eight measuring points on the edge of the PCB (DRAM, CPU_SA, NF200, PCH_PLL, PCH, CPU_IO, CPU_PLL, CPU, GND), obviously built for hardcore tuners. All major voltage values ​​can be easily read with a multimeter (if necessary, we can plug cable connectors into the connectors, making our operation easier).

Above them is the larger button, the red START and the slightly smaller, black RESET, which is practically a basic requirement in this product category. Another four "slidable" microswitches can be observed, with these four PCI Express rails can be turned on and off manually. There is one more delicacy in this part, and this is the LN2 mode switch. Liquid nitrogen tuning specialists will love it, it tries to start the system despite the cold bug at extremely low temperatures and often succeeds. In the event of an error, the debug LED will also help us, which is actually two seven-segment displays next to each other, for diagnosing error codes (the codes can be found in the manual).

The rear panel terminals of the Maximus IV Extreme look absolutely to the future. On the left, the story starts with a combo PS / 2 (keyboard or mouse) connector - perhaps the only one on which the future can’t be fitted as a beacon - and then continues with two pieces of USB. Related to this figure: A total of 4 USBs are available on the ASUS M19E, including the pin terminals. Of these, 8 (!) Are USB 3.0, which means that all USB ports on the back are 3.0 standard, except for ROG Connect and the two red eSATA / USB combo connectors. Parentheses closed. The next switch is the BIOS flashback button, which can be easily reset from the BIOS flash drive in a matter of seconds. This is followed by an optical audio output (this can’t even be missing from a tuning sheet), followed by a tall tower. There are USB 3.0s on the top two floors of the tower, with two eSATA / USB 2.0 combi connectors below them. At the top of the building next to them is the first RJ45 LAN connector, with two more USB 3.0s below. The area that follows is for extra services. Here you will find the ROG Connect USB connector as well as two sync buttons. The bottom pairs ROG Connect with a cable to the external device, while the top pairs ROG Connect with Bluetooth (for an existing RC BT card) and connects the system to a smartphone. This is followed by another trio of RJ45 - USB 3.0, and finally the analog audio terminals remain.