ASUS Maximus III Gene Motherboard

Main Specifications

ASUS Maximus III Gene motherboard main features are:

• Socket: 1156.
• Chipset: Intel P55.
• Super I/O: Winbond W83667HG.
• Parallel ATA: None.
• Serial ATA: Six SATA-300 ports controlled by the chipset (RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10) and one SATA-300 port controlled by a JMicron JMB363 chip.
• External SATA: One eSATA-300 port controlled by the same JMicron JMB363 chip.
• USB: 14 USB 2.0 ports, nine soldered on the motherboard rear panel and five available through three headers on the motherboard.
• FireWire (IEEE 1394): Two ports, one normal-sized soldered on the rear panel and one available through a header on the motherboard, controlled by a VIA VT6315P chip.
• On-board video: No.
• On-board audio: Produced by the chipset together with a VIA VT2020 codec (8-channel, 110 dB signal-to-noise ratio for its outputs, no more technical information is provided). On-board optical SPDIF output.
• On-board LAN: One Gigabit Ethernet port controlled by a Realtek RTL8112L chip, connected to the system through one PCI Express x1 lane.
• Buzzer: No.
• Power supply required: EPS12V
• Slots: Two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (first one working at x16 if the second slot is free or at x8 if the second slot is used; the second slot always work at x8), one PCI Express x4 slot and one standard PCI slot.
• Memory: Four DDR3-DIMM sockets (up to 16 GB up to DDR3-2200 through overclocking).
• Fan connectors: One four-pin connector for the CPU cooler and four four-pin connectors (PWM control) for auxiliary fans, two of them supporting thermal sensors.
• Extra Features: External clear CMOS button, POST diagnostics LEDs, ROG Connect connection.
• Number of CDs/DVDs provided: One.
• Programs included: Motherboard drivers and utilities .
• More Information: https://www.asus.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 140.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this First Look article.