ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Great BIOS UI, very easy-to-use overclock menus, if you download it - comes with decent software. I love the LED codes on the board for easy troubleshooting. Raid configuration is a breeze!

Cons: Well, this would have received 5 eggs if it weren't for a manufacturing defect. The two right RAM slots do not work, and 4 prongs where the processor sits were bent enough to cause me panic. I don't know if the two are linked somehow. Also, make sure your RAM is running at the correct speed. This board likes to underclock it out of the box.

Other Thoughts: The motherboard looked great until I removed the plastic protective cap and noticed 5 pins were bent. It's very odd that the pins would be bent right there along the edge, and I wasn't sure if I did it when I was removing the cap or if it came like that. Considering the cap popped right off, I doubt it was error on my part.

In any case, I decided to gently bend the small pins back into place so that they would at least touch the processor, and if it didn't work, hopefully I could get it replaced. Considering I wanted my new system up and running THAT NIGHT, I was strongly considering driving to Tiger Direct to pick up a board and RMA this one back.

I installed the RAM and booted it up only to get a memory error. I took the sticks out and used one stick to test out each slot. The two closest to the processor do not work, if I try to install them in the dual channel slots as well, the computer does nothing. I put both 8gig sticks in the two slots furthest from my CPU and it booted fine.

I striped my two OCZ vertex 3's and mirrored my two 500gb HDD's and away I went installing Windows. I ran every benchmark I could find, overclocked my 3570k to 4.5 very easily and cool. I haven't run into any other problems except that. I'm not overly concerned. All CPU sensors are fine, temperature is cool under liquid, so no issues with the CPU.

Aside from the two slots not working, the board is great. If I ever TRULY need to go to 32gigs, I'll just buy another board, but that's probably not going to happen for a while. I would have given it 5 eggs if everything worked perfectly. Overall, I'm satisfied.

Pros: Beautiful board for the price. I've had no issues with Asus products in the past, works with SANDY BRIDGE. Technically works with Ivy with some "workaround".

Cons: You have to borrow a Sandy Bridge CPU in order to update bios, you may or may not get a board with current Bios.

A product titled

"ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard"

"GEN3"

Should work with GEN 3 Processors, I remember when all I had to worry about while building a PC was Socket type. This mother board should be re-titled and specs updated UNLESS all boards have updated Bios that support Ivy bridge.

Other Thoughts: Asus has always come through with their products, I recommend them 100% to anyone. I am going to spend the extra $20 and buy the newer " ASUS Maximus V Gene LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard " with the newer bridge and Stated support for the Ivy CPU's. Its a lack of information supplied from either manufacture or Newegg that created the error.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your feedback on this motherboard. The Maximus V Gene-Z can support Ivy Bridge CPU's with a BIOS update. Depending on the BIOS version the motherboard was shipped with, you may or may not need a BIOS update. Please see here what BIOS version is required for your CPU: http://www.asus.com/ROG/MAXIMUS_IV_GENEZ/#support_CPU. For example, Core i5-3570K will require at least version 3203. You can find your motherboard's BIOS version as the last four digits of a bar code label on one of its sides. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me below. Thank you.

For support information, please visit http://support.asus.com. For service, visit http://service.asus.com. For motherboard warranty, visit http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!Motherboard%20Warranty/c1c20; Refurbished products/accessories: http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!refurbished-warranty/c16us. For RMA status, visit: http://am.eservice.asus.com/rmaweb/search/rmCustomerQueryAction.do?.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-benson@asus.com

Pros: I love Asus.

I'll just start with that. Mainboard is flawless. It's a very small board but is fully capable of handling anything you throw at it. Boots with SSD without issue, BIOS doesn't take too long to boot up and it's very nice layout overall, no complaints.

Also this thing came with a wicket decal that was very fun to apply to my case (as it's a cheap case... e.e;)

Packaging was well done, sturdy, and the build is solid. Screws provided very nice, as well as the cables (locking SATA? Thank you Asus!), and the backplate is very sturdy and well build. Reset button on the back is nice, haven't needed to use it though, so far everything running great. Good for those that like to be ultra throughout and boot the device up after each added piece of hardware.

Form Factor is very small, as a note, it gave me a lot of room inside the case and despite the small size there really was no sacrifice in performance for that size, this even has two PCI-E slots for SLI/CrossFire.

Cons: This is a rather pricy board but I will say this much: You get what you pay for.

The Decal only faces one direction, with was the left side of the case, and that's facing my desk... so no one can see the awesome. That's not enough to take off an egg, but you all asked for a con so there it is.

No third GPU slot, but if you're looking for that Asus has others out there...

Other Thoughts: This thing is solid, sturdy, and has not given me a single issue so far. Chipset drivers and such still working find out of box, not a single issue has occurred in this hardware, highly recommend this product.

Pros: Great board...no issues so far. Sandy bridge i7 sli gtx 660 TI with 16gb kingston ram. Zero issues...

PS: Works with my cousins i7 IVY bridge as well...he bought same board.

Cons: Wish it had built in wifi :)

Pros: Well, it looks real pretty

Cons: Won't POST. Has red CPU LED on it, no error codes. Tech support says to replace the CPU (i7-2600k) which I bought new at same time from Newegg, along with memory, video card and case. Reading some of the reviews, I have my doubts, but since Newegg doesn't pay for shipping, I guess I'll start one piece at a time. I don't have CPUs just lying around to test with.

Other Thoughts: I'm frustrated. First time I've ever had an issue ordering from Newegg. Hate that they don't pay RMA shipping and don't cross-ship.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We're sorry to hear about your expeirence with the motherboard. Since the CPU_LED is on, our suggestion is to swap the i7 2600K CPU for another and retest. To continue support, please contact us at 1-812-282-2787 or me directly at cl-benson@asus.com (reference #C1037-6639 in the subject line).

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: The board looks really, really cool. Has an error code reader for when you boot it. Nice versatility, lots of PCI slots for a Micro form board, and neat little LEDs make it a slick looking package.

Cons: THIS BOARD DOES NOT WORK WITH IVY BRIDGE 3rd GENERATION CPUs!!! I bought a i7-3770 and I needed to have a Sandy Bridge chip on hand to flash the BIOS so that it would work. THIS BOARD DOES NOT HAVE USB FLASHBACK LIKE OTHER ASUS BOARDS. Worse, after I found a 2320 Sandy from a friend, I flashed the BIOS, and restarted with the i7 back in, the whole thing just wouldn't start. RMA'ed it with NewEgg this morning. Going to find a board with proven compatibility with my $300+ chip.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the issue you had with the motherboard.

The MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z/GEN3 does support Ivy Bridge CPU's. For i7 3770 to be used, BIOS version of at least 3203 required. If you received a motherboard with an older BIOS, you can use a Sandy Bridge CPU to update it, pay a small fee to have them flash an updated BIOS, RMA the motherboard to our service center for BIOS update, or purchase an updated BIOS chip from our eStore (http://estore.asus.com).

If BIOS update was successful, you should be able to POST with the 3770. Please try to clear CMOS after unplugging from the outlet or switch off the power supply. Furthermore, your motherboard comes with our Q-LED feature that tells you if you have a problem with the CPU, memory, video card, and boot drive. These LED's are labeled as CPU_LED, DRAM_LED, VGA_LED, BOOT_DEVICE_LED respectively. Do you see any of these LED's on?

To continue support, please contact me at cl-benson@asus.com reference #C1037-4425.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Full of features that can only be found in high end board but in a Micro ATX format.
Great sound on board.

Cons: None. One minor issue is that it displays the boot (logo) screen 2 times on boot but it is only a flash and still boots faster than any other MB I have owned.

Other Thoughts: I build systems and work in the IT field for a living. I have worked with many brands of boards but I always go back to Asus. Only thing I hate about Asus is thier poor web site (very slow) but it has improved over the last year.

Owned about 6 months runs all games
EVGA 560 TI
2500K CPU
Antec 300 case
corsair 750 PSU
16GB Corsair vengence 1600 Ram

Pros: Don't know...

Cons: It don't support the new Intel Ivy Bridge chip and it's pretty buggy, you'll likely to end up google for different error codes for hours. The motherboard is pretty costly for Z68 board, cost doesn't match with quality on this one. I've got a gigabyte z77 micro board for $30 less with about the same spec, which work like a charm.

Other Thoughts: Intel Ivy Bridge 3770k CPU
Evga GTX-660ti
Gigabyte Z77...

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

The MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z/GEN3 motherboard supports Ivy Bridge CPU's such as your 3770K with BIOS version of at least 3203. For a complete list of CPU's supported by BIOS version, visit: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Maximus_IV_GENEZGEN3/#CPUS
If the motherboard has a BIOS version older than 3203, you can bring the motherboard to a local computer shop and pay a small fee to have them flash an updated BIOS, RMA the motherboard to our service center for BIOS update, or purchase an updated BIOS chip from our eStore (http://estore.asus.com).

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Ran really well while working. Good overclocking. Small board.

Cons: ASUS used to have good customer service. It has plummeted in recent years. I'd recommend other companies at this point. Board died after 3 months. ASUS support told me they would send an email with an RMA form for replacement. Never came. I called again--told it would take a few more days. Never came. Called again, and esd told that it was entered improperly on their part, but that they would get the email out quickly. Indeed, it came through 3 hours later. Filled out the form, which requires actual handwritten sig, so I had to go to kinkos (no scanner at my house). I send it to them and don't hear back for 3 days, until I get an email saying I submitted the wrong form, and asked me to fill out a new one (with a different form number but all the exact same information--seriously). Yes, after messing up on their end for a week, they got me to the wrong form, and then delayed it another 3 days, then asked me to fill out basically the same form. 3 weeks later, still no motherboard.

Other Thoughts: If you use your computer for work, not just play, like I do, stay away. It should take no more than 4 days to get an RMA from a good company.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the issue you had with the motherboard and with RMA service. Was there any hardware change before the motherboard failed? Please email cl-benson@asus.com reference #C1037-3234 with your case # so that we can complete your RMA request as soon as possible.

Regards,
Benson
Asus Customer Loyalty

Pros: mATX - Will virtually fit into any case on the market.
Came with newest BIOS 3305.
Great RAM expansion up to 32GB
More than enough SATA3 ports, can double as both a small gaming rig and a workstation.
Booted on the first try.

Cons: Should have move the PCIe x1 slot to the front, pain to use if you want to install a WiFi card and have graphics card installed.

Other Thoughts: Would buy again, great board!