Asus is one of the leading motherboard makers in the market. As such, they are still cranking out LGA 775 motherboards. Their latest offering sports Intel's popular P45 chipset, two PCIe 2.0 slots, CrossFireX capability, and support for 16GB of DDR2-1300MHz memory. Furthermore, all of these features are available on a microATX form factor that seems ideal for a LAN or HTPC system where size definitely matters. Is this the board you've been looking for? Find out as HardwareLogic throws the Maximus II Gene on the test bench to see if good things really do come in small packages.
With the introduction of Intel's Core i7 platform, enthusiasts faced a tough and expensive decision. As you know, jumping on the Socket 1366 bandwagon consists of a CPU, motherboard, and memory upgrade. The move probably is not appealing to those on a budget and still rocking a decent 775 system. But just because Core i7 is on the scene, Core 2 processor owners still have plenty of options when the upgrade bug bites.
Asus is one of the leading motherboard makers in the market. As such, they are still cranking out LGA 775 motherboards. Their latest offering sports Intel's popular P45 chipset, two PCIe 2.0 slots, CrossFireX capability, and support for 16GB of DDR2-1300MHz memory. Furthermore, all of these features are available on a microATX form factor that seems ideal for a LAN or HTPC system where size definitely matters. Is this the board you've been looking for? Find out as HardwareLogic throws the Maximus II Gene on the test bench to see if good things really do come in small packages.
Product / Model Form Factor / Size CPU Support Chipsets Memory Expansion Slots
- Single max x16
- Dual x8 speed Onboard Audio
- EAX Advanced HD 4.0
- X-Fi CMSS 3D
- X-Fi Crystalizer
- Creative ALchemy
- Supports Optical S/PDIF out ports on rear Onboard LAN USB Ports Storage / SATA Drives
- Six SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
- Intel Matrix Storage Technology supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10
- One Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33 for up to two PATA devices
- One SATA 3.0 Gb/s port
- One External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA on-the-go) Onboard 1394 ROG Exclusive Overclocking Features
- 8-phase CPU power
- 2-phase DRAM power
- 2-phase NB power
- Turbo V
- OC Profile
- COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX)
- Voltiminder LED
- Asus CPR (CPU Parameter Recall) Current Pricing
Bundle
When shopping for motherboards, one of the main features to consider is the bundle. We've noticed that high end boards typically include more accessories than less expensive ones. Let's check out what Asus decided to include with the Maximus II Gene.
| ACCESSORIES |
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| CABLES |
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| APPLICATION DVD | Asus Motherboard Support DVD
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| DOCUMENTATION |
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With higher end boards, we like to take a closer look at the design to see what kind of issues an enthusiast might come across during installation or use of the product. Historically, the Asus motherboards we've reviewed have been impressive in this regard and the Maximus II Gene is not an exception. The color scheme is the same used in other ROG boards we've seen recently, such as the Maximus II Formula and Rampage Extreme. Obviously, Asus decided not to mess with a good thing. In addition, we find the power and data connections along the edge of the motherboard, allowing for easy cable management.
| Expansion Slots (top to bottom) |
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There are four expansion slots available on this motherboard. Two PCI Express x16/x8 slots are reserved for graphics cards. Each slot provides 4GB/sec bandwidth and supports CrossFire technology. The PCI Express x1 slot houses lower bandwidth intensive cards, such as modem or LAN cards, and provides 250MB/s bandwidth. And the lone PCI slot supports expansion possibilities such as LAN, USB, or SCSI cards.
You'll find four 240-pin DDR3 slots on the board. Each slot supports up to 4GB sticks for a maximum of 16GB of total RAM. Dual channel operation can be achieved by using both blue or white sockets.
Along the edge of the Maximus II Gene are the onboard reset and power buttons. For a board that targets the enthusiasts, having these buttons available is a nice touch. In addition, there are six SATA ports found on this corner of the motherboard. As always, we're very glad to see the ports with the right angle design in order to avoid conflicts with large GPUs.
| Rear Panel Connectors |
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| Audio Ports |
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Test System | |
| Processor |
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| Motherboard |
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| Memory |
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| Video / Graphics |
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| Hard Drive |
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| Cooling |
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| Power Supply |
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| Operating System |
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To evaluate the Maximus II Gene, we used the some of the best components on the market for our test bench. Our QX9770 runs at 3.2GHz stock, 400 FSB with an 8x multiplier, and is watercooled. The 4GB memory kit from OCZ runs at 1200MHz at only 1.8V while the HD4870X2 is still one of the fastest videocards available.
In order to push a motherboard, a dual core processor like the E8400 should be used to find the maximum front side bus speed. Unfortunately, we did not have a Core 2 Duo CPU handy but we still successfully overclocked the QX9700 quad-core to 4.5GHz with watercooling and the Maximus II Gene.
Benchmark | Maximus II Gene 3.20GHz 400x8 | P5Q Pro Turbo 3.20GHz 400x8 |
System | ||
| PCMark Vantage Overall Score | 7776 | 7717 |
CPU | ||
| CPC Benchmark Image Editing Video Editing Multi-Tasking Overall | 1146 1863 1165 1391 | 1179 1864 1146 1396 |
| Cinebench 10 Single Multi | 3942 14074 | 3908 14244 |
| Sisoft Sandra 12 Aggregate Arithmetic | 48.27 | 47.47 |
| Everest 4.5 Queen Photoworxx | 22828 25418 | 22825 25052 |
| WPrime v1.61 32M 1024M | 12.027 383.058 | 12.03 |
Memory | 1200MHz 5-5-5-15 2T | 1200MHz 5-5-5-15 2T |
| Sisoft Sandra Aggregate Memory | 8.6 | 8.5 |
| Everest Read Write Copy Latency | 8626 8506 8726 59.9 | 8243 8503 8686 64.3 |
| Super Pi V1.5 1M 32M | 14.508 14.24.333 | 14.555 |
Gaming | ||
| 3DMarkVantage FarCry2 | P14291 14.39 | P14280 14.28 |
Section | Score | Comments |
| Layout | 10/10 |
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| Features | 10/10 |
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| Bundle | 8/10 |
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| BIOS | 8/10 |
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| Stock Performance | 18/20 |
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| Overclocking Performance | 18/20 |
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| Warranty & Support | 8/10 |
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| Price/Value | 6/10 |
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Our Recommendation
The Maximus II Gene brings a lot to the table despite its size and represents another solid addition to the Republic of Gamers product line. It supports the latest DDR2 memory speeds while providing overclocking options that enthusiasts look for. It offers almost every feature a Socket 775 motherboard can have and adds exceptional design and overclocking ability.
Despite being a great product, our biggest concern is availability. At the time of this review, we were unable to find this motherboard at any of our favorite online retailers. With that, we also cannot provide a solid opinion on market value until the board shows up and we see how much stores are selling them for. But judging from similar products in the ROG line, we would assume that the asking price would be approximately $200 US. If that is the case, consider the Maximus II Gene a niche product aimed towards enthusiasts who desire a high end P45 board in a microATX form factor.
When the Maximus II Formula came out, we were very impressed with its looks and capabilities. The same can be said for the Maximus II Gene, which essentially is a smaller version of its predecessor. Although we've had the release of Core i7 since then, users still want upgrade opportunities for their Core 2 processors and Asus does not disappoint. Enthusiasts looking for a mATX board that offers overclocking ability, CrossFire support, and the latest DDR2 compatibility should definitely check out the Maximus II Gene motherboard.
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