ASUS RoG Maximus III Formula Lynnfield Motherboard Preview

The Maximus III Formula: A Whirlwind Tour

All recent RoG boards have been packaged in red boxes and the Maximus III is no different. The front features the different certification logos while the back shows us some of the features that the board has. There is also a flip-cover in the front which opens to reveal a view of the motherboard and is used to list yet more features.


The accessory list is without a doubt complete. We won’t go into everything that’s included but let’s just say for now that you won’t be left wanting for anything.


The first thing you will probably notice about the Maximus III Formula is the striking black and red color scheme ASUS has used. This really plays up certain parts of the board and goes to show how much emphasis ASUS is putting onto aesthetics that properly reflect performance potential. Layout-wise, things couldn’t look better with near-perfect spacing of the PCI-E slots along with the CPU and ATX power connectors being pushed to the extreme edges of the board. It should also be noted that the Maximus sticks to the standard ATX form factor.


The area immediately around the CPU socket holds the 16+3 phase (16 phases for the CPU + 3 phases for the VTT) Extreme Power Design as ASUS calls it. While the use of 16 phases for a Lynnfield processor will be questioned by many, we can’t really comment on it efficacy just yet.

The MOSFET heatsinks surrounding the CPU area are specifically designed to be of the perfect height to accommodate any cooling solution currently on the market. They are remarkably thin and are aided by a large heatpipe that runs to an additional heatsink which is positioned over the area where one would normally find a northbridge chip.