Maximus III Gene Overclocking + SubZero review

[Vivi]

Hi! This is my 1st review, so go easy on me ^_^.

There are allot of reviews online regarding the base features of this board so i don't intend to elaborate on that, i am here to review the overclockability and performance of the:

Asus Maximus III Gene P55.

Lets get started!

This is the best looking micro-atx P55 board around no doubt.
Sorry for the JPEG images, we have to keep South African internet in mind.









Ok so visually the board is very impressive. But with looks like that it better be a performer right?
And did it performmmm!
This little beast compares to any atx motherboard, it is not held back by it's size at all.

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Chilled Water

Test Setup:
•Asus Maximus III Gene
•Asus GTX 295.
•Intel Core i7 860. Batch L934B371
•Corsair 2000mhz CL8 Dominator GT's (2x 2048mb)
•Corsair HX 1000W Power Supply
•200gb Seagate Sata Hard drive


To clock this board in windows i used this Tool. The Asus TurboV controll panel. VERY useful.




The bios was really easy to navigate. Clocking was a breeze.
Water at 8c kept the cpu at 20c in windows resulting in a very high cpu-z screenshot.
This was the maximum i achieved with the Maximus III Gene. a wopping 150mhz higher than i could get with any other board.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=814888
5GHZ on Water


I was 3D stable at 4.75ghz (no HT). But cold water was not enough, the next day (after my maths exam can you believe it) I got some Dry Ice.

Question:
Is the Maximus III Gene worth the money as a All round (subzero + air) overclocking board?

Answer:
Hellyea! See the results Below

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SubZero Testing




Test Setup:

•Vivi's Bahamut CPU pot
•Dry Ice Cooling (-66c)

•Asus Maximus III Gene P55 socket 1156
•Asus GTX 295.
•Intel Core i7 860. Batch L934B371
•Corsair 2000mhz CL8 Dominator GT's (2x 2048mb)
•Corsair HX 1000W Power Supply







1st impressions:

Once again the board held its own very well. Super stable under Subzero temperatures (-63). But like every other board on SubZero, you first have to figure out what makes it boot ^_^. In this case, with my i7 860 cpu under Cold i cannot set the highest QPI multiplier like i could on water, i have to select the lowest QPI multi, (there's only 2 options) in order for the board to boot. (this was the same for the other 2 boards i testes aswel, so it is my CPU that can't handle it under cold).

Once i got it booting it was smooth sailing forward.

The most important setting you HAVE TO ! ENABLE ! is LoadLine Calibration. i will explain.
THE CPU IS AMAZINGLY UNSTABLE with LCC OFF.

CPU VOLTAGE
LLC Disabled = 1.45v (In bios), 1.39v real (In windows), 1.28v (LOAD). Thats a Vdrop of .06v and then a further massive Vdroop of .1v!
LLC Enabled = 1.45v (In bios), 1.44v real (In Windows), 1.43v (LOAD). Thats a respectable Vdrop of .01v and Vdroop of .01v Super STABLE!



Settings IN BIOS UNDER SUBZERO -63c

CPU-V : 1.5435
VTT: 1.325
PLL: 1.6
DDR: 1.65 (and 1.72 for high mhz memory testing)
PCH: 1.15
Loadline: enabled
Phase : Full Phase

Another sweet option is, to enable FULL PHASE. Meaning GIVE ME ALL THE POWER YOU POSSESS LITTLE MOTHERBOARD! And see your cpu explode with Mhz.


RESULTS:


My max CPU-Z screenshot was 5412mhz! But that file was overwritten when i saved my p7p55d results! aaarg

Max BLCK validation.
This was only 1 try. I believe 260 is possible with more time.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=823925



3DMARK2003 4 Cores
103678 3DMARKS
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920085


3DMARK2005 4 Cores
42346 3DMARKS
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920084


3DMARK2006 8 Cores
30675 3DMARKS
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920082



3Dmark VANTAGE 8 Cores
24649 3DMARKS
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920079



WPRIME 32M 8 Cores
World Record 32m for I7 860!
4sec 840
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920073



WPRIME 1024M 8 Cores
World Record 1024m For I7 860 !
2min 38sec
http://hwbot.org/compare.do?resultId=920077


Currently i hold all the benchmarking records with this Motherboard,
see the hall of fame for the Maximus III Gene here:
http://hwbot.org/hardware/motherboar...ll%20of%20fame
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Conclusion:

This board performed spectacularly. The only problem i had with it was when you use the Turbo V application in windows, it saved it to the bios and then when you restart you boot at the clocks you set in TurboV.
Meaning, if you go for validation CPU-Z records and BSOD at 5.4ghz, the board then boots at 5.4ghz (unstable obviously).

Besides that this board is awesome. subzero, lan gaming and 24/7 use. The fact that it's micro atx has nothing to do with it's performance scaling, it's the perfect board for a nice Lan gaming system in a micro-atx case. As for overclocking, if you're going for max validation and high clocks this board won't hold you back!


Pros:
•Very High cpu-z validations
•Great Overclocker, no drawbacks.
•255 blck was achieved 1st try, so thats more than enough headroom.
•Excellent looking, priced for it's value.

Cons:
•Bios sometimes thinks it knows what volts would be better for my memory, resulting in instability.
•Bios Takes settings from TurboV and tries to boot it. But the boot never failed, you just re-apply the settings.

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My verdict

9/10

Hot board, nuff said.
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