Overclocking - The Hardware

I cannot deny that regular 24/7 operation isn't exactly what the ASUS Maximus V Extreme is about, although it IS capable just the same. The ASUS Maximus V Extreme is built from the ground up for breaking records in CPU clocks, memory clocks, and VGA overclocking. There are, specifically, a ton of hardware features for VGA overclocking. Most of these are contained in the area between the DIMM slots and the board's right edge. I'll get to that in a minute.


The ASUS Maximus V Extreme has a rather unusual BIOS implementation, but that's not a bad thing. There are two socketed 64Mb Winbond chips located above the lowest PCIe slot. You can choose which is in use by using a button clearly labeled "BIOS Select" at the lower right corner of the board. There is a bright yellow LED near each physical chip, so which one is in use is obvious. My sample board came with an older BIOS for overclocking and Windows7, while the other contained the most recent version available, 1605. There is another red button like the "BIOS Select" button up near the top right. It is used to enable the "MemOK" function that will automatically test installed ram and choose bootable settings should the settings in BIOS prevent booting. It also serves as the "GO_Button" to enable a preset overclock profile - even while the board is running. Just push the switch and wait a second for the new profile to become active. Nice trick!


Right at the top-right corner is a dual-digit POST display, a "SLOW MODE" switch that forces a low multiplier for easy booting when running high clocks, and a jumper that enables the "LN2 Mode" for critical options during sub-zero clocking. On the edge below that are a bunch of LEDs. They serve as a rough guide to describe what's going on during the boot process, which makes failed boots easier to diagnose. I also found another LED down by the SATA ports. It shows HDD activity, which is great for overclocking on a test bench.


There are onboard Power and RESET switches, so you don't need anything other than the board itself and some installed hardware to get clocking. Just below that is a red switch block for disabling PCIe slots and, thereby, a VGA or whatever else might be installed in that slot. This particular function is meant for the diagnosis of particular issues, or while benching with a full board and only wanting to use specific VGAs. There are also a whole bunch of measuring points along the board's edge, 15 little solder pads you can attach wires to or touch directly with a multi-meter, and a set of clips that you can install the included wire clips to before attaching them to your multi-meter for hand-free measurements as shown in the third image above.


There are a few more pin headers here for overclocking. All of them are for VGA modifications. There are dual sets of red and black pins for VGA Hotwire functionality, an option several ASUS ROG and DirectCU II cards support. It involves attaching wires from the card to these pin headers, which allows the board to control critical voltages on the VGA that wouldn't otherwise be possible. There is also a set of black and white pins for advanced VGA controls, although documentation about them is nowhere to be found in the manual or anywhere else. If you're into the extreme side of overclocking, I'm sure you'll be able to find out more on HWBOT or another similar site dedicated to those endeavors.


The VGA Hotwire part, however, is pretty simple and something that really appeals to me personally. Several ASUS VGAs have simple mod points you can solder a wire to, or, in the case of the new ASUS HD 7970 Matrix cards, clip a wire to before attaching it to the corresponding board pin. Some older cards require you make your own harness, but the new Matrix cards come with easy-to-use clips and have wires in the box that, together, make amazingly simple hardware mods for easy overclocking past normal limits.


When you combine all these features together, the ASUS Maximus V Extreme really offers more for overclocking, both for daily and extreme use, than any other board. From the OC Key that enables real-time voltage and clock adjustments - not just to the board itself but to the VGA if you use the VGA Hotwire functions - to the inclusion of many memory profile presets and a lot of possible timing adjustments - all make for one serious overclocking board. Using it for much of anything else seems like a waste and a poorly made purchase.