Monday, June 15th 2009

ASUS ROG P55 Maximus III Formula in Pretty Pixels

ASUS' P55 motherboard lineup seems to have come a full-circle, complete with a Republic of Gamers (ROG) series model. The Maximus III Formula takes over its name from the X38-based Maximus, and P45-based Maximus II. The board is based on the new Intel P55 chipset, which supports the upcoming Intel Core i5 series processors.

The board is a sprawling metropolis. The CPU is powered by a massive 19-phase power circuit. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory, with its own 3-phase power circuit. A sporty cooler sits atop the board's VRM while a pseudo-heatsink gives it the industrial feel of having a northbridge which it doesn't, while a flat, large heatsink cools the P55 chipset. The board packs several ROG-exclusive features, such as iROG, Voltmeter LED, and ROG-Connect. The two red PCI-Express x16 slots arrange as dual x8 slots when both are populated, while the third white slot is electrically x4 and connected to the the P55 PCH. From the looks of it, a SupremeFX audio card will be bundled. Gigabit Ethernet, LCD poster, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, and a CMOS reset switch make for its rear-panel. It is expected to arrive in Q3 2009. More pictures of the board can be viewed here.
Source: PC Games Hardware
Add your own comment

35 Comments on ASUS ROG P55 Maximus III Formula in Pretty Pixels

#27
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
Musselssingle card yes, crossfire not so much.

I tested my 4870's on a 1.1 16x/4x board, and then on a 16x/16x 2.0 board. There was 10-15% difference at most. I assume this is because the secondary cards ram isnt used in crossfire, therefore its bandwidth requirements are much lower.
Look closely, in some tests, X48 made the difference between "playable" and "slideshow" clear, and we were very much talking about how PCI-E 2.0 x8 "doesn't matter" for today's graphics cards. If HD 4850 CFX is affected, we can't expect anything better from higher cards.
Musselsedit: they dont mention video ram size at all? that could play a part.
How? More RAM = more data to transfer at higher settings = PCI-E x8 sucks. Unless you're refering to less RAM = more read-backs = PCI-E x8 sucks even more.
Posted on Reply
#28
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
btarunrLook closely, in some tests, X48 made the difference between "playable" and "slideshow" clear, and we were very much talking about how PCI-E 2.0 x8 "doesn't matter" for today's graphics cards. If HD 4850 CFX is affected, we can't expect anything better from higher cards.
i did an edit. those "slideshows" are at 2560x1600 res ffs!
Posted on Reply
#29
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
Musselsi did an edit. those "slideshows" are at 2560x1600 res ffs!
So are the "playable" framerates on X48 for the same tests.
Posted on Reply
#30
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
btarunrSo are the "playable" framerates on X48 for the same tests ffs!
ffs ffs!

I definately beleive it makes a difference, but in my own testing its just not that large. Maybe the drivers are more optimised, maybe its cause i used two crossfire bridges - someone needs to do better testing, i dont have the P35 board anymore so i cant.
Posted on Reply
#32
[I.R.A]_FBi
hayder.masteri still prefer core i7 mobo's
Why?
Posted on Reply
#33
Fitseries3
Eleet Hardware Junkie
it should be called maximus II extreme... the orriginal maximus formulas had ddr2 and the max extreme had ddr3 so to keep naming in good form this has to be maximus II extreme really.
Posted on Reply
#34
overclocking101
omg!! im getting this board!! one questin does anyone know what goes here and why its not there??
Posted on Reply
Add your own comment
Nov 22nd, 2024 00:18 EST change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts