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ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z LGA1155

cadaveca

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ASUS has updated their microATX ROG offerings with the latest chipset from Intel, and we take a look. A red and black racer, the ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z is ready for high speed gaming without a doubt, and packs in many exclusive features that just might see it hit the finish line first. Ready? Set? GO!

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bought this mobo couple months ago and i can honestly say the best mATX mobo i ever bought

pcie spacing might be con for others but definitely not for single users like me and i have 3 slot vga
 
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cadaveca

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bought this mobo couple months ago and i can honestly say the best mATX mobo i ever bought

pcie spacing might be con for others but definitely not for single users like me and i have 3 slot vga

Totally a minor issue, but it must be mentioned. The board is fantastic.

A big part if that is now the BIOS is pretty mature, boy, is it ever a difference from products I've had that weren't in the retail space, every single memory kit I have just plain old worked, and that's a big thing in my books.


It's a little weird that they have 3800 MHz as stock, and they kinda cheated the scores there, but htey aren't the only one, either.
 
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cadaveca

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yeah just noticed that now you pointed it out

Yeah, I had to. The BIOS that was on the board when I got did not do this, and I received a revised BIOS that did. I was a bit shocked, to be honest, but I trust ASUS has tested this functionality enoug hthat it won't be an issue for anyone, and everyone gets an easy free performance boost without even trying.

It seems that the voltage did increase from stock a tiny bit too, so I am 100% confident they considered the consequences of enabling this function in the BIOS.
 

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Great motherboard review as always Dave, i really like that you keep taking off the heat sinks and showing the VRM set up and also the impression of the components on the thermal pads.
 

cadaveca

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Great motherboard review as always Dave, i really like that you keep taking off the heat sinks and showing the VRM set up and also the impression of the components on the thermal pads.

Thanks man. Really, I do this for you guys anyway, so you don't encounter problems that may come out of things like that. I do feel that cooling is important, as there used to eb a time, back when I was part of the extreme cooling scene, when taking off heatsinks and repalcing thermal paste is jsut something everyone did when they got a brand new board...

I mean, i've got to compare the boards somehow. Cooling is one obvious thing that differs from product to product, so I examine the cooling.

I also had requests for pictures of the boards "naked", so yeah, I make sure to show all the critical stuff you guys need to know about, and explain what they are, and it's up to you guys to judge whether it's important or not.
 
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Thanks for the review. Depending on how the new CPUS measure up with Sandy Bridge, this board could be in my future.
 
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Well - if I were an Intel guy - this board would certainly catch my interest ...

and yes - exciting review - as always ;)
 
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I WOULD KILL, RAPE, BLOW A HOSPITAL to have identic layout on an am3+ with AMD 9-Series Chipset! :banghead::banghead::banghead:


:cry:
 
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I WOULD KILL, RAPE, BLOW A HOSPITAL to have identic layout on an am3+ with AMD 9-Series Chipset! :banghead::banghead::banghead:


:cry:

You have good point. Been astonished at the absence of MATX 990FX boards.

That alone may turn me off to Bulldozer. :mad:

Maybe ASUS will come through for us there too. :D
 
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anyone know why my asus maximus gene z won't restart. i have to clear cmos and press power button to enter bios or windows but when i try to reset it shuts down. no overclock applied.
????
 
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the cpu temp in the bios is reading 21-23c. can this be an issue?
 

cadaveca

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Could be a bent pin, or memory problem. Is the board flexed under the CPU cooler?

Temps are low compared to my chips, but not that much. I wouldn't think that was a problem.
 
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i'll check. why would it only be on restart? i try to restart it and it shuts down. then when i press power it boots up to bios saying "overclock failed"
 
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TPU must be this famous
 

cadaveca

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i'll check. why would it only be on restart? i try to restart it and it shuts down. then when i press power it boots up to bios saying "overclock failed"

Could be memory, could be an errant setting. Clear CMOS fully, removing battery and using jumper as it shows in the manual, and then try loading "optimized deafaults" and see if the problem persists. Also make sure ram is installed in the right slots(1&3)

TPU must be this famous


;)


:laugh:
 
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Could be a bent pin, or memory problem. Is the board flexed under the CPU cooler?

Temps are low compared to my chips, but not that much. I wouldn't think that was a problem.

turns out the SLEEVED 8 pin ext cable i was using was bad. removed it and all is good :toast: THX GOD:)
 
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turns out the SLEEVED 8 pin ext cable i was using was bad. removed it and all is good :toast: THX GOD:)

That is fortunate. Glad the problem wasn't with your nice new motherborad. :)

Thanks for the review. Depending on how the new CPUS measure up with Sandy Bridge, this board could be in my future.

Now that the new CPUS are out, if I were building a new system today it would be a Sandy Bridge CPU and a Gene-Z.
 
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ruined

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Hi guys,
I've read the review of this board and what an amazing review for an amazing board I must say.
However, being a newbie, I'm overwhelmed with those bios settings and stuff.
So, I would like to know, does the manual that comes with the board teaches you all those?
Thanks.
 
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Hey Dave did you use the Lucid Graphics when doing your testing? I have this board on the bench now, and intended to do that same that I did with MSIs Z68 which was test with and without Lucid, (as with there is a slight performance decrease almost across the board) generally 1-2% IIRC.
 

cadaveca

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I do not use Lucid for testing. It's software, and I'm after hardware testing, so have not put too much into Lucid and benchmarks.

That said, I do use the Lucid software in my personal rigs...2%-10%, depends on the app. I think Lucid launched a new driver recently, too.
 
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Nice review. Quite thorough, and pretty much covers anything that I noted while owning this board for a couple of months. Anyone considering this board, do not hesitate.
 
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