ASUS Maximus II GENE P45 mATX Motherboard Review

Conclusion

When we first heard about the Maximus II GENE we loved the concept, since there aren't exactly an abundance of enthusiast microATX LGA775 motherboards on the market. In fact, there is only one to our knowledge, the DFI Lanparty JR P45-T2RS that we reviewed way back in October. It was a decent enough board, but it had some awkward shortcomings like a 4-phase PWM, 4-layer PCB, a PCI-E x16 slot that could only operate at x8 even when only one card was being used, etc. As a result, given the extra time that ASUS had to design the MIIG, we obviously had high hopes for this model, especially since it is part of the illustrious Republic of Gamers product line.

Did they meet our lofty expectations? Yes, in most respects. For a small form factor microATX motherboard, the layout in itself is a tremendous achievement. Somehow ASUS have managed to cram and squeeze onto this motherboard two physical PCI-E x16 (8x electrical) 2.0 slots, one PCI-E x1 slot, one PCI slot, seven SATA-II ports, one Gigabit LAN port, six USB 2.0 ports, eSATA and FireWire connectivity, an 8-channel HD audio codec, diagnostic LEDs, onboard power/reset buttons, a decent cooling system, and more. Most importantly, almost everything has been placed exactly where it should be to maximize usability and minimize compatibility issues. We are particularly glad to see that no SATA ports need to be sacrificed when using a CrossFire configuration, which is an issue that still needlessly affects far too many motherboards. Obviously, if two dual-slot graphics cards are installed on this motherboard the PCI-E x1 and legacy PCI slot go bye-bye, but that is to be expected on such a compact motherboard.

While the specifications list is impressive enough given an mATX motherboard's space constraints , what really stood out and won us over was the MIIG's stability, solid performance, and awesome BIOS. It is worth restating that the BIOS really has every feature and setting that we would expect from an enthusiast motherboard. At the same time, it is also simple and functional enough to allow novice users to achieve respectable overclocks without needless BIOS fiddling. Admittedly, we were a little disappointed with our overclocking results, if only because we were limited in our ability to attain eye-popping system clocks. However, a 100% stable 520Mhz FSB is still a very good result. In fact, it is more than 99% of users will need to achieve their 24/7 system overclocks. More importantly though, these results were achieved with an immature bios, and based one our experiences with the other P45 motherboards, we know that ASUS will shortly release a BIOS that further improves overclocking headroom. Just make sure to get some airflow going over the chipset cooler, since it does get quite toasty once you start doing some heavy overclocking.

When it comes to voltage regulation, the Maximus II GENE excels once again. Generally speaking, whatever voltage you set in the MIIG's BIOS is what the motherboard outputs, and even under load the voltages remain steady. The only very minor exception to this is the vCore, but thanks to the introduction of Loadline Calibration, vDroop can be effectively eliminated. As a bonus, the PC Probe II utility is actually very accurate at monitoring voltages, so you can keep a close eye on all eleven voltage readouts from within Windows. Not all the the software was as pleasant to use; TurboV gave us the occasional error message when we attempted to increased the FSB above a certain point in Windows, at least it did not crash or lock up the system though. We hope to see this little issue fixed, but we also wouldn't mind seeing the whole app simplified and made more compact.

Overall though, this motherboard is arguably a dream come true for those who like the mATX standard and who have been patiently waiting for a proper enthusiast-class LGA775 motherboard to hit the market. Sure, Intel is releasing a brand new mainstream platform very soon, but the Intel Core 2 / P45 chipset combo will be not disappearing anytime in the near future, and can still make a potent little configuration when centered around the MIIG. The Maximus II GENE does have one Achilles' Heel at the moment...availability. This model cannot be found in-stock, or even for sale, anywhere in North America. We also don't yet have a firm confirmation as to how much it will cost, and that will also obviously be a determining factor as to whether this model is a worthwhile purchase.


Pros

- Compact dimensions.
- Excellent layout given the mATX form factor.
- Solid overclocking capabilities.
- Terrific BIOS.
- Abundance of temperature & voltage readouts.
- Impressive features list.
- CrossFireX support.
- Worthwhile alternative to full-sized ATX motherboards.


Cons

- Slightly immature BIOS limits extreme overclocking.
- Software suite needs to be revitalized a bit.
- Passive chipset cooler can run a little toasty.
- Some people may need more SATA & USB ports.
- It's not available in the retail channel yet.
- Perhaps might have been a little more relevant 4-6 months.

Our thanks to ASUS for making this review possible!