ASUS Republic of Gamers reveals the Maximus VII Formula motherboard
There are a lot of weird people on the internet, into all sorts of bizarre fetishes, interests and behaviors -- I wont judge. Well, maybe I will condemn Bronies. However, I too have a very strange fetish -- PC hardware. Yes, I love drooling over pictures of PCI cards, power supplies and motherboards to name a few.
Today, ASUS' "Republic of Gamers" enthusiast brand announces a beautiful piece of hardware -- the Maximus VII Formula. What is it? A super-sexy motherboard. If you are a tech nerd, this should definitely get your motor running.
"ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the Maximus VII Formula and Maximus VII Formula/Watch Dogs Edition motherboards that are engineered with new and exclusive ROG game-boosting features. With ROG exclusives such as Hybrid-cooling with CrossChill Copper, SupremeFX Formula 2014 gaming audio, Intel Gigabit Ethernet with GameFirst III and LANGuard, Extreme Engine DIGI+ III, TrueVolt 5V USB power and ROG Armor to improve rigidity and provide board protection the Maximus VII Formula has the features every enthusiast and gamer needs", says Asus.
The company further explains, "the exclusive ROG Armor is a dual design that compromises a strong and stylish ABS-plastic cover and an SECC (steel, electro-galvanized, cold-rolled coil) back-plate. The ABS cover blocks heat from graphics cards to help lower system temperatures for better performance, while the SECC backplate supports the motherboard to prevent bending and also employs thermal pads to conduct heat away from crucial components. Similarly, Q-DIMM's one-sided clips means handling memory modules is a cinch, and resettable fuses provide DRAM over-current protection that minimizes the chance of short-circuit damage to memory and connection ports".
ASUS lists the following specs:
| Processor/CPU socket | LGA 1150 for the 4th-, new 4th- and 5th-generation Intel Core i3, i5, i7, Pentium, and Celeron processors |
| Chipset | Intel Z97 Express |
| Memory | Dual-channel memory architecture; 4 x DIMMs, up to a maximum of 32GB, DDR3 3300+ (O.C.)Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) |
| Expansion slots | 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (Single at x16, dual at x8/x8 mode) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (Maximum at x4 mode) 3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots1 x mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 slot on mPCIe Combo III card |
| Graphics (VGA) | Integrated Intel® HD Graphics processorDisplayPort 1.2 with maximum resolution of 4096 x 2160 (4K x 2K) at 24Hz and 3840 x 2160 at 60HzHDMI with maximum resolution of 4096 x 2160 (4K x 2K) at 24Hz / 2560 x 1600 at 60Hz Intel InTru 3D / Quick Sync Video / Clear Video HD Technology / Insider |
| Multi-GPU | Quad-GPU NVIDIA SLI and AMD 3-way / Quad-GPU CrossFireX Technology |
| Storage | 10 x SATA 6.0 Gbit/s (4 shared with SATA Express) 2 x SATA Express1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key, type 2260 storage devices supported (on mPCIe Combo III card) |
| Networking/LAN | Intel I218-V Gigabit LAN with GameFirst III and ASUS LANGuard |
| USB | 8 x USB 3.0 ports (6 on back panel, 2 mid-board)6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 on back panel, 4 mid-board) |
| Audio | ROG SupremeFX Formula 2014 8-channel high-definition audio - SupremeFX shielding technology - Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC (SNR: 120dB)- WIMA film capacitors - Texas Instruments LM4562 high-fidelity audio operational amplifier- ELNA® premium audio capacitorsSonic SoundStage / Sonic SenseAmp / Sonic Studio / Sonic Radar II DTS Connect, optical S/PDIF-out port on back panel |
| Dimensions / form factor | ATX, 12-inch x 9.6-inch (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
Good lord. As you can see, this motherboard is chock-full of features and top-notch specs. Best of all, this will support 5th-generation Broadwell processors, so it is very future-proof. Quite frankly, ASUS has created something special for both gamers and general enthusiasts alike. However, features and specs are only part of the story -- it is also extremely sexy. Does a motherboard need to be attractive? No, it doesn't need to be. But, why shouldn't it? Even if you do not have a window on your case and even if no one else will ever see it, you will know.
Of course, to own such a beast will cost you -- $369 for a special bundle with the Watch Dogs video game and $319 for the unbundled Standard Edition. The Watch Dogs Bundle goes on sale next week at Newegg and Tigerdirect. Unfortunately, if you do not care about that game being bundled, you will have to wait for a later undisclosed date.
Does this motherboard turn you on? Tell me in the comments.