Digital-Daily : Motherboard Reviews : asus_maximus_ii_formula_intel_p45

Print version

ASUS Maximus II Formula (Intel P45)

Author: Date: 26.09.2008

Late in 2007, we tested ASUS Maximus (Intel X38). An in 2008 this manufacturer is offering the next generation of this series: Maximus II. This product is part of the "Republic Of Gamers" line and is positioned in the same way: for overclockers and computer enthusiasts. But what makes Maximus II different is that it is built on the mainstream Intel P45 chipset. Is such a replacement equivalent?

From the viewpoint of expansion options - yes, it is! The thing is, the most recent south bridge ICH10(R) by its specifications meets ICH9(R) installed in the first Maximus. The number of expansion slots has remained unchanged as their configuration. The only fine point is that the X38 chipset allows arranging two PCI Express x16 (v2.0) slots, with 16 bus lanes allocated to each. The P45 also allows symmetrical distribution of the PCI-E bus lanes, but merely 8 lanes are allocated to each slot. In fact, the user is unlikely to see any essential difference in performance of the combination of video cards in the CrossFire mode: the bandwidth of the PCI-E 2.0 bus is twice is much as that of the previous specifications, which is quite enough for modern video cards.

There is no essential difference in the kit of overclocking tools as well as in the overclocking capability. First, engineers at ASUS are quite thoroughly working out such features, and all the high-end boards are fully equipped with them. Secondly, the overclocking capability of P45 is at least no worse than X38. Thirdly, on ASUS boards all the features function quite well.

The latter point is especially important. Perhaps you noticed the conclusions in reviews containing the phrase like "Powerful overclocking tools but middling results". How to interpret that? All is quite simple: to get the topmost overclocking, we need a motherboard built on the "right" chipset, a powerful and good quality power converter for the CPU (north bridge, and the DIMM modules), as well as a complete pack of overclocking tools (a standard set, including adjustable voltage on the CPU, memory, FSB, and the chipset. That is not all - most importantly, all these features ran correctly, and the motherboard itself be factory-tested in the modes of nonstandard frequencies. Unless the latter is done, we get a board in which all the required conditions are met, but the board itself won't run at high frequencies.

For examples, just read an overview of overclocker motherboards by MSI and Gigabyte built on the Intel P45 chipset. Both the boards are based on the perfect Intel P45 chipset, offer a powerful cooling system and well-made power converters. In the BIOS of both the boards, there are all the main overclocking tools, but in practice the Gigabyte's motherboard made the most of the CPU test specimen E6550 (FSB > 560 MHz), while the MSI's board was hardly able to get over the FSB=450 MHz bar.

We are coming back to ASUS Maximus II Formula. At the very start of the tests, we came across some queer hangs and reboots which came up at a strange regularity. Then we noted the very high temperature of the north bridge which in the idle mode was over 70 ° C (while the radiator was cold).

We also note that the north bridge of P45 is manufactured following the 65 nm process technology, unlike X38, X48, and P35 which are manufactured following the 90 nm process. At the same time, the heat emission of P45 is 22W. That is a rather middling factor, lower than that for X48 (26.5W), and higher than that for P35 (16W).

Is that an error in the BIOS? Updates and experiments with various firmware versions did not give any positive result.

Then we noticed that the radiator is loosely fitted to the surface of the chipset.

So we dismantled the nice-looking but faulty cooling system of the Maximus II board and installed two modest radiators. As a result, we attained an absolutely stable operation in both nominal modes and at increased frequencies.

Generally speaking, faulty motherboards are a rare occasion at our test lab. So we can't make any judgments regarding the percentage of faults in motherboards of this model. However, the situation with Maximus II is different: on Internet forums, they actively discuss the faulty cooling systems of this board, and computer enthusiasts have already found out a few workarounds to solving this problem (various spacers under the screws, replacement of thermal paste, replacement (or removal) of rubberized washers). We are also enthusiasts, albeit not to that extent. If we get a motherboard that costs about $280, we absolutely not enthusiastic about polishing it to perfection using a file (but.. if the board cost about $50, then we would "enjoy" ourselves).

Anyway, many buyers point out that there are no issues with overheating the NB. Therefore, we can't say precisely how many boards have a faulty cooling system, or which product lots should be avoided for purchases. All we can recommend is to purchase a motherboard from a trusted shop (as our tests have proved, this board is a really good product) that offers the money-back service.

ASUS Maximus II Formula Specifications

Package

The box with the ASUS Maximus II Formula board is pretty massive and has a handle to carry it around:

One page tips up, and the user can get a brief idea of all ASUS' proprietary technologies. Through the transparent windows, you can see a massive radiator on the chipset, and an additional sound card.

Package bundle

• motherboard;
• User's Manual in English;
• 1x software & drivers DVD;
• one ATA-133 cable, one FDD cable;
• 6x SerialATA cables + a power supply adapter (2 connectors);
• a bracket for 2 additional USB 2.0 and one Firewire ports;
• ASUS corporate logo sticker;
• kit of additional connectors;
• a cap for the rear panel of the housing;
• additional sound card;
• additional fan;
• kit of clamps;
• LCD Poster;

Despite the high retail price and status of the motherboard, the number of standard components is not enough to implement all the features. In particular, the number of power adapters for SerialATA devices (needed are adapters with four connectors) is insufficient, although there are enough SerialATA cables (only six).

Also missing is a pair of brackets for four USB 2.0 ports; the bundle includes only one bracket for two USB and one Firewire ports. On the other hand, there is a special additional connector (Quick Connection Kit) to which all the cables from the housing can be plugged in (the "Power", "Reset" buttons, a cable from the "HDD" indicator, etc.), and then plug them in to the board with a single motion.

The user's manual has nothing to complain about. The bundled DVD contains a complete kit of all the required drivers and ASUS' proprietary utilities (including the drivers for 32- and 64-bit Windows versions, drivers for Linux and MS Vista). Besides, the disk contains Norton Internet Security 2006 (including a version for Vista - 2007.1), InterVideo WinDVD 8 Trial, DVDCopy5, MediaOne Gallery, Ulead PhotoImpact, CyberLink PowerBackup 2, and Corel Snapfire Plus.

Note that the package bundle contains an additional turbine fan which is installed on the radiator of the power supply module. The audio subsystem is located on a separate board which is called SupremeFX X-Fi, with AD2000B used as the codec:

The card provides output of 8-channel HD Audio and offers support for Creative X-Fi, Creative CMSS3D, and Creative Crystalizer.

Finally, the user gets an additional device named LCD Poster. This device is pluggable to the motherboard and upon the system start-up it indicates the current status.

Unfortunately, the package bundle lacks additional thermal sensors with which the user could measure the temperature of any of the system's components. This is a definite shortcoming since such sensors are rarely available in the retail. Moreover, the package bundle lacks a game which used to be a proprietary feature of the 'Republic of Gamers' series. On the whole, we rate the package bundle in view of the retail price (for the moment of tests) as "3 of 5".

Next

	Content:
	Page 1 - Specifications Page 2 - Board layout and features Page 3 - Expansion options Page 4 - BIOS, system monitoring Page 5 - BIOS, monitoring Page 6 - Performance and conclusions Top Stories: MoBo: ECS X58B-A (Intel X58) ASUS Rampage II Extreme (Intel X58) MSI DKA790GX and ECS A780GM-A Ultra MSI P7NGM (NVIDIA GeForce 9300) Intel X58 and ASUS P6T Deluxe MSI P45 Neo2 (Intel P45) Foxconn A7GMX-K (AMD 780G) VGA Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 – a new leader in 3D graphics! ECS HYDRA GeForce 9800GTX+. Water-cooled and SLI "all-in-one" Radeon HD 4830 CrossFire - better than Radeon HD 4870! XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition in the SLI mode Leadtek WinFast PX9500 GT DDR2 – better than GeForce 9500GT DDR-3 Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic: exclusive, with unusual features Palit HD 4850 Sonic: almost Radeon HD 4870, priced as HD 4850 CPU & Memory: GSkill high-capacity memory modules CPU Intel Core i7-920 (Bloomfield) DDR3 memory: late 2008 CPU AMD Phenom X3 8750 (Toliman) AMD Phenom X4 9850 – a top-end CPU at affordable price CPU Intel Atom 230 (Diamondville) Chaintech Apogee GT DDR3 1600