ASUS Maximus III Extreme review - Introduction

ASUS added a new P55 motherboard in the Republic of Gamers series motherboards, yes the Maximus III Extreme has arrived in our labs. The Maximus III Extreme is, what I feel is one of the best tweaker / gamer P55 motherboards currently available in the market.

The ROG addition motherboards lure the Guru3D.com audience, it's a perfect match -- it's that simple. This is what you, me and everybody else would like to see in our PCs alright. With the Maximum III Extreme, ASUS built a nearly perfect motherboard, the PCB is stuffed full with goodies. It is a motherboard that caters the mainstream user, the hardware aficionados, the true gurus and the hardcore LN2 overclockers.

The all new Maximus III Extreme P55-based board adds new features to the existing ROG Connect overclocking system: Bluetooth control. You heard that right, ASUS enables users to tweak system settings wirelessly over Bluetooth via a compatible mobile phone. RC Bluetooth allows users also to "review the status of their systems' hardware and tweak parameters wirelessly from a Bluetooth-enabled PDA phone," with examples like controlling music playback and dealing with Skype conversations given.

ROG Connect feature allows users to connect their systems to a netbook, notebook, or a PC via a USB cable, and can be used to change BIOS settings and monitor temperatures remotely. The feature allows users to change BIOS settings and options even when the ROG-powered PC is switched off. According to Asus, updating the BIOS remotely using another PC apparently eliminates the potential of bricking a motherboard due to a corrupt BIOS.

The rest of the specifications of the ATX form factor Maximus III extreme will endear itself to PC enthusiasts and gamers. It supports a maximum of 16GB DDR3 memory, and has a stunning five PCIe (x16) slots: which supports single, dual, triple, and quad graphics card configurations, and supports both nVidia’s SLI and ATI’s Crossfire for the same. To get it some additional PCIe bandwidth we spot an NF200 bridge chip. It also supports USB 3.0, SATA 6G, and on-board 10-channel audio.

All in all, a Guru's wet dream ? Let's go find out and see what this motherboard has in store for us.