The newest entry into ASUS' already huge lineup of socket LGA-1156 motherboards based on the Intel P55 chipset, is the new Republic of Gamers Maximus III Gene. Unlike the Maximus III Formula, this one is based on the micro-ATX form-factor, with four expansion slots in all, to spare. The LGA-1156 socket is powered by a high-grade 10-phase digital PWM circuit. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory. With two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (electically dual x8 when both populated) wired to the CPU, the board utilizes the feature-set of the P55 PCH completely. An open-ended PCI-E x4 is located between the two x16 slots, and a legacy PCI slot below. Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, Firewire, USB, eSATA, and 8-channel ASUS SupremeFX X-Fi, implemented in the same way as on Rampage II Gene and Maximus II Gene. The ASUS Maximus III Gene motherboard is expected to start selling by the end of this month, its pricing is yet to be known.