ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Pro Reviews

The Maximus IV Extreme has lots of features, technologies and innovations. Not all of them are invented by ASUS but we are really impressed to see them all packed into a single device and implemented perfectly. You can take the two BIOS chips as an example. Gigabyte mainboards have long had the dual BIOS feature but users didn't benefit much from it. On the contrary, a mainboard could occasionally decide that the main BIOS chip was damaged and rewrite it. The two BIOS chips work the same way on MSI mainboards. As opposed to them, the Maximus IV Extreme offers two full-featured independent BIOS chips, each with its own settings, even with different BIOS code versions. You can easily synchronize their data and switch between them using a button or a corresponding software option. So, we've finally got what we've missed in Gigabyte's Dual BIOS feature.

The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme is the best overclocking motherboard we have ever reviewed. It is chock full of features both in hardware and software. While it is not cheap, it is far from expensive as you might think. Do not however think this is a simple motherboard if you intend to get into the BIOS and start tweaking. The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme BIOS is complex and deep. This motherboard is meant for the serious overclocking hardware enthusiast. Others need not apply.

The Maximus IV Extreme is an excellent board and performs very well with many pluses that cannot be denied. The board overclocks within the blink of an eye, though most P67/Z68 boards do as well–this is an architectural benefit. This leaves all board makers in a stalemate of sorts as their only option is to offer better features, which is what the Republic of Gamers line is known for. The price makes it a somewhat difficult decision as the GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD7 costs $60.00 less. Though the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme has the edge in the UEFI interface, ROG Connect and Bluetooth, these are not necessarily worth the extra money, as many users will not even need the Bluetooth connectivity or ROG Connect. For those who do, however, the features are there, along with a great layout, excellent overclocker support, and regular BIOS updates.

If you are an extreme enthusiast looking for the best possible performance, this is the motherboard you should buy. It costs twice as much as a mainstream P67 motherboard, but it is worth every penny. Of course, if you are a “normal” user or don’t have the money to buy it, there are several other more cost-effective motherboards around.

ASUS' Maximus IV Extreme was probably one of the favorites at the start, thanks to the enthusiast cred that the company has built up with its ROG brand. While many of the ROG features are not new, the performance of this board stood out. Overclocking was a hassle-free process, with profiles and saves, not to mention the various hardware touches for the really hardcore crowd. The BIOS was also one of the best of this generation, with extensive options that are clear and accessible. It may be one of the most expensive P67 boards you can find, but it's definitely worth its price if you can make full use of all its features.

ASUS comes to the table with an extensive lineup of P67 based motherboards. You have pretty much every price point and feature set covered. I did not look at all of the boards available from ASUS but a grouping that covered three distinct areas. The average home user, the work station and hardcore gamer with the P8P67 Pro, P8P67 WS Revolution and the Maximus IV Extreme.

If you can afford it, we've little doubt the Asus Maximus IV Extreme RoG represents your best chance of maximising the CPU performance of Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors. It's also packed with seriously desirable features such as wireless overclocking and comprehensive USB 3.0 connectivity.