Motherboard Guide
Add to WishlistASUS Maximus V Formula Preview
Extreme Formula
One of the latest members of ASUS’ elite Republic of Gamers (ROG) motherboard line, the Maximus V Formula is based on Intel’s Z77 Express chipset, which means it is designed to support third generation Core processors. First spotted during Computex 2012 in Taiwan, the motherboard boasts the latest Fusion Thermo technology. Similar to its mATX sibling, the Maximus V Gene, the Maximus V Formula is also bundled with an mPCIe expansion card and integrates a variety of ROG-exclusive features such as ROG Connect, ROG Extreme OC Kit, Extreme Tweaker, ROG UEFI BIOS, and a lot more.
Following ROG’s familiar color scheme, the Maximus V Formula is fierce-looking in its black and red paintjob. The motherboard is of the EATX form factor just like the previously-reviewed Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3. The upper half of the board features an LGA 1155 socket surrounded by sizeable heatsinks, cooling the voltage regulator module (VRM) that uses ASUS’ Extreme Engine Digi+ II design (digital VRM and 10k Black Metallic caps). Adjacent to the CPU socket region is a set of 4x DDR3 DIMM slots that can support memory speeds of up to 2800MHz and capacity of 32GB.
The remaining half of the Maximus V Formula hosts three PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8 or x8 x4 x4), PCIe 2.0 x4, three PCIe 2.0 x1, and a mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 for expansion. With a Lucid Logix Virtu MVP chip controlling the PCIe 3.0 lanes, users of the board will be able to easily implement an SLI or an AMD CrossFireX multi-GPU setup. For storage, the board employs SATA controllers from ASMedia (SATA 6Gbps only) and Intel (SATA 6Gbps and 3Gbps connectors). Tweaking the board is made convenient, thanks to its onboard power and reset buttons, Q-LED for device monitoring, and ProbeIt for real-time voltage monitoring.
Most notably seen on the Maximus V Formula is the VRM cooling system that ASUS has opted to use, dubbed as Fusion Thermo technology. A closer look at the board’s substantial heatsink assembly, it has an embedded pipe that allows for water cooling. With this feature, PC enthusiasts can push the limit of their processor by means of overclocking.
Watch the video below featuring the Maximus V Formula in action at Computex 2012:
By and large, the Maximus V Formula is a fierce-looking motherboard that brings together the best features and technologies found on the previous and current ROG iterations. Price-wise, do anticipate the board to be an expensive treat from ASUS. Just to give you an idea, the ‘lower end’ Maximus V Gene carries a price tag of PhP 14,990. But if you are a hardcore PC enthusiast and you really don’t mind the possible cost associated with it, the Maximus V Formula might be the motherboard you’ve been yearning for.
