ASUS ROG P55 Maximus III Formula in Pretty Pixels

[btarunr]

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.



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[h3llb3nd4]

Q3 heh?
pretty quick!
nice colour scheme there!!

 

[tzitzibp]

Q3 heh?
pretty quick!
nice colour scheme there!!

agree, thats like a month from now....
the colour scheme is great... love it! hope it cools as well as it looks

 

[MRCL]

Man Asus sure knows how to make damn good looking boards!

 

[btarunr]

agree, thats like a month from now....
the colour scheme is great... love it! hope it cools as well as it looks

This:

doesn't cool anything:

It's only cosmetic. Maybe the first VRM heatsink offloads some heat to it. The second heatsink is on its own.

 

[afw]

mannn .... thats just damn sexy ......

and i hope it probably comes with a Supreme-Fx III sound card as well

 

[Animalpak]

Oh dear looks simply amazing !



it doesnt seems P55 will be the mainstream chipset...

 

[Mussels]

it doesnt seems P55 will be the mainstream chipset...

It will be. Expect cheaper boards with this chipset later on - have a look at asus P5Q series for an example of what i mean.

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

how much cheaper?

 

[btarunr]

how much cheaper?

$90, $100, $120, etc. (price of the board)

 

[Cheeseball]

That is some sexy power management they have going on here. This board is worthy of the Republic of Gamers name!

 

[X-TeNDeR]

Looks amazing. though i can't help but notice that ALOT of the newer motherboards use this color-scheme. originality anyone?
Me still wishes for some white and red combination, like some of the older sapphire boards

 

[Whilhelm]

Nice looking board. Too bad its only 8x8x4 if you run three video cards.

Interesting to note how the Memory modules are inserted. The bottom catches look like they don't open so you have to hook it in the bottom first and then push it in until the top latch catches.

 

[Mussels]

Nice looking board. Too bad its only 8x8x4 if you run three video cards.

Interesting to note how the Memory modules are inserted. The bottom catches look like they don't open so you have to hook it in the bottom first and then push it in until the top latch catches.

true on the PCI-E, but being 2.0 slots thre arent any modern cards that would be hampered (unless you ran say, three 4870x2's... in which case your CPU would hamper it more )

 

[erocker]

Sexy board. Something to replace my C2D setup.

 

[AsRock]

This:
http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/Capture079.jpg

doesn't cool anything:

http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/Capture081.jpg

It's only cosmetic. Maybe the first VRM heatsink offloads some heat to it. The second heatsink is on its own.

Wouldn't the cooler work better if it was the other way around ?.. As i thought the gases in the pipes travel up the pipes to be cooled down to then return to to be heating once again ?.

If so it just seems like it's just for looks mainly unless you have a BTX case as it would flip the cooler upside down.

 

[btarunr]

Wouldn't the cooler work better if it was the other way around ?.. As i thought the gases in the pipes travel up the pipes to be cooled down to then return to to be heating once again ?.

If so it just seems like it's just for looks mainly unless you have a BTX case as it would flip the cooler upside down.

Which only goes on to show it's more of a cosmetic touch than something worthwhile.

The heat conduction medium is the metal tube, not the gases (yes I know the pipes are hollow, because they want to cheap-out).

 

[LittleLizard]

if the p55 is a single chip design, whats under the other heatsink?

 

[OnBoard]

if the p55 is a single chip design, whats under the other heatsink?

Nothing, look at post #5.

 

[thebeephaha]

Nothing, look at post #5.

I personally don't care if it just hangs there, it looks badass.

If I don't go i7, then this board is high on my list of alternatives.

 

[VIPER]

What does "Voltlminder LED" means?

 

[MRCL]

What does "Voltlminder LED" means?

IIRC they change their colors based on how much volt has been applied.
Safe volts = green
Moderate volts = yellow
Very high volts = red
Uber-brutal-mega-hyper volts = black hole color

 

[VIPER]

No, no, I know what it should do, but it says "Voltlminder" It's a typo on the MB...

 

[MRCL]

No, no, I know what it should do, but it says "Voltlminder" It's a typo on the MB...

Oh, I see, lol

 

[btarunr]

true on the PCI-E, but being 2.0 slots thre arent any modern cards that would be hampered (unless you ran say, three 4870x2's... in which case your CPU would hamper it more )

You could give this a read: http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

PCI-E x8 even hampers an HD 4850.