Introduction

Sales figures don't lie: ASUS is THE force on the market when it comes to motherboards. Since its inception in 2006, ASUS's ROG line of products has been at the forefront of catering to the desires of PC technology enthusiasts around the globe.

ASUS says this of their ROG line-up:

As a hardware vendor that is in tune with the pulse of PC gamers needs and wants, ASUS is in sync with the industry. With the ASUS ROG brand, we take an active part in the global gaming community, helping develop the industry by sponsoring popular events such as QuakeCon, Dreamhack, and BlizzCon. As a result of our dedication to the gaming industry, renowned game publisher Blizzard has selected ASUS as the official hardware sponsor for two consecutive years. ASUS is proud to be an integral part of the industry and community and will continue to provide the latest hardware to enhance the gaming experience.

ROG stands for "Republic of Gamers", and the products under its wide umbrella encompass the needs and wants of gamers everywhere. What gamers as a whole want is fast, reliable gaming. For many years there's been a tradition of gamers tossing fancy graphics aside in a search of more performance for a competitive edge. In further recognizing the gains in performance leading to gains in points, one thing cannot be overlooked: overclocking.

With the launch of Intel's Z77 Express platform, high-performance was also coupled up with low power draw. With it came huge flexibility in clockspeeds, both for CPUs based on Ivybridge silicon and for system memory, with many claiming overclocked memory speeds of 3000 MHz+. Not every product can get there, and it does depend on the motherboard, but with Futuremark's 3DMark titles being many an extreme enthusiast's favorite game to play, ASUS's ROG team has a product, the ASUS Maximus V Extreme, to meet that need.

Lately, I've looked at quite a few high-end Intel 77 products. Many cost around $400, and the most common feedback to all these motherboards is "Why do I need to spend so much?" Each board maker has different takes on the answer to that question, but the constant between all of them is about delivering a product that has no limits - the Maximus V Extreme is definitely ASUS's "no limits" product. With ASUS, "no limits" has a different meaning for sure, and the ROG vision covers a huge area of functionality. Prepare yourself...this is my largest review yet.

Specifications

Intel Z77 Express Chipset

Intel's launch of their latest desktop platform in the first half of April 2012 began with board products. The Intel Z77 Express platform is an incremental upgrade from previous platforms. It adds additional features and provides a wider level of functionality with full support for the 3rd Generation Core i5/i7 family of CPUs commonly called Ivy Bridge in enthusiast circles.


The Ivy Bridge CPUs are made using a new 22nm process technology that lowers power consumption and gives a bit more performance-per-clock over previous Intel 2nd Generation Core i5/i7 products. Also changed is the onboard GPU that's part of the Ivy Bridge silicon, now taking up more of that slice of silicon that sits under the integrated heatspreader.


The integrated PCIe bus on the CPU has also been upgraded. It can, compared to the two devices and PCIe 2.0 connectivity that are found inside Sandy Bridge products, be split differently from SandyBridge CPUs, with IvyBridge natively supporting three devices over a single bus with 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity. Taking advantage of that added PCIe functionality requires a motherboard design change from previous Sandybridge-supporting motherboards. Backward and forward component compatibility for both SandyBridge and IvyBridge platform products, including CPUs and chipsets, is still possible with updated firmware for older Socket 1155 board products, but using a new IvyBridge CPU with an older P67 Express or Z68 Express motherboard may limit PCIe functionality. PCIe functionality would, naturally, with SandyBridge only supporting two devices, be limited. The tertiary slot provided on some Z77 Express boards will not work with some products when a SandyBridge CPU is installed.

Packaging

Proudly wearing the standardized red ROG packaging, the ASUS Maximus V Extreme looks like many other ASUS ROG products, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Flipping the box over, I found familiar items, but nothing that really stood out.


Opening the flap of the box exposed a view of the ASUS Maximus V Extreme itself through a window. The inside of the flap has some detailed information about several features of the ASUS Maximus V Extreme.


Inside the box, I found two smaller boxes, as is usual for ROG items. A box with the board itself protected by a removable plastic cover and another that opens to reveal all included accessories. There's so much stuffed into the box, I had to put it all on its own page!