Coming soon company Intel will present its new line of processors Rocket lake, which will replace the modern Comet Lake… However, tests of launching new “stones” on modern chipsets have already appeared, namely on Z490… This is certainly encouraging, as gamers who are updating their PC this year will not have to think about replacing the motherboard for quite a long time in the future.
Company ASUS provides a wide selection of motherboards based on this chipset, and today we are going to take a look at the most uncompromising premium segment. It is suitable for wealthy and demanding gamers. This is still not a professional solution, but it is great for home cars that are assembled without regard to the price tag for maximum performance.
Specifications
- Model – ASUS ROG Maximus XII EXTREME;
- Socket – LGA 1200;
- Chipset – Intel Z490;
- Intel Core i9 / Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium Gold / Celeron processors; support for Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 and Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technologies;
- RAM: 4 × DIMM DDR4, support for memory modules with a frequency of up to 4800 MHz, possible total memory up to 128 GB, support for OptiMem III and XMP technology;
- Expansion slots: 2 × PCI Express 3.0 x16 (x16, x8 + x8 (SLI / CrossFire) modes) (CPU), 1 × PCI Express 3.0 x4 (Z490);
- Support for AMD CrossFireX and NVIDIA 2-way SLI technologies;
- Storage interfaces:
– 8 × SATA III, throughput up to 6 Gb / s;
– 2 × M.2, throughput of each up to 32 Gbps;
– support for Intel Optane Memory technology;
– 1 × ROG DIMM.2 Module (Intel processors only).
- Network interfaces:
– 1 × Intel I225-V Ethernet 2.5 Gbps;
– 1 × Marvel AQtion AQC107 (Ethernet 10 Gbps);
– 1 × Intel Dual Band Wireless AX201NGW / CNVi (Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax (2.4 / 5 GHz) + Bluetooth 5.0).
- USB interfaces:
– 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 on the rear panel, 4 are connected to the system board);
– 10 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (6 on the rear panel, 4 connected to the system board);
– 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3 – 2 Type-A and Type-C – on the rear panel of the board and 2 are connected to the connectors on the system board);
– 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 Type-C port.
- All ports are ESD protected;
- Sound Card: 7.1 CH ROG SupremeFX 7.1 S1220 HD Audio Codec, 5 MiniJack Connectors, Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps, ESS ES9023P D / A Converter, Texas Instruments RC4580 Operational Amplifier, all connectors are gold-plated;
- It is possible to flash BIOS from a flash drive, and there is also a BIOS reset button on the rear panel;
- 2 OLED displays on the board itself;
- Warranty: 3 years.
Contents of delivery
ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme comes in the classic black and red color scheme for the ROG gaming series. The box is heavy and inside protects the board well during transportation with polymer material. The box has no handle. On the front side we see the symbols of the ROG series and the inscription with the motherboard model made in the corporate design, there are also dies notifying about the supported standards.
On the back side of the box we see the detailed characteristics of the board.
The board itself is in a box under a plastic retainer. There is a double bottom underneath that stores additional cables and expansion cards.
The complete set includes:
- Instructions and documentation;
- Flash media with drivers;
- Branded stickers;
- ROG branded keychain;
- Expansion board with two Type-C and mini DisplayPort connectors;
- Wi-Fi antenna;
- Eight SATA cables;
- Small cooler for mounting on a motherboard;
- Expansion card for two additional M.2 SSDs;
- Five interface extension cables;
- Three external temperature sensors;
- Board for connecting additional case coolers;
- Bolts and fasteners to the body;
- Adapter for 6-pin power supply;
- Two adapters from DisplayPort to mini DisplayPort;
- Branded screwdriver with a set of bits.
- THUNDERBOLTEX 3 expansion card;
Appearance and interface solutions
This is most likely the most massive and unusual motherboard that we have in our editorial office. It weighs more than two kilograms and is protected by metal, glass and plastic inserts. The textolite is translucent quite a bit, we can see it well only from the reverse side.
The board design is strict and laconic. The entire front part is made in gray and black shades, without colorful and “gamer” inserts. Next to the VRM area and the south bridge, there are two small OLED screens that display useful information about the computer’s operation, such as the temperature of the board, during operation.
The board is delivered right away with a connector protection plate. It houses many of the inputs and outputs described above, but it’s worth noting that HDMI is not present here. Instead, you can connect monitors using the expansion module that comes with the kit.
Technical features
The ROG MAXIMUS XII EXTREME takes a lot of attention to everything when it comes to power and cooling. It is worth starting with the fact that a massive radiator with copper heat pipes is installed on the VRM zone, and if desired, it can be supplemented with a complete cooler so that during overclocking the space around it does not heat up and the power circuits remain cold.
Twelve case coolers with a 4-pin connector can be connected to the board, which can be controlled automatically, either via BIOS or a proprietary application from ASUS. The board supports the connection of up to two liquid cooling systems.
Discerning gamers with designer system units can connect the included Fan Extension Card II module to the board. It allows you to expand the number of plug-in coolers by four, makes it possible to use temperature sensors and use additional LED strips. The modular card is connected to a special Node connector on the board.
All backlighting is controlled by the AURA microcontroller. ROG MAXIMUS XII EXTREME is illuminated around the perimeter and even behind it.
The processor socket is equipped with a differential voltage monitoring circuit. This solution is unique and allows you to track temperatures more accurately than if the board were equipped with conventional temperature sensors.
The processor socket is surrounded by 16 phases without doublers. This is a good solution that will allow you to overclock the processor without fear of running out of power.
The processor is powered by two armored 8-pin connectors.
The chipset does not emit much heat, but it is covered with a metal radiator connected by heat pipes. Thanks to this solution, you can be calm about the cold temperatures of the chipset zone.
The motherboard is equipped with four DIMM slots for DDR4 RAM. The connectors are not reinforced, which is strange for a product of this price segment, because even in modern mid-price motherboards we can find these solutions.
Next to the RAM slots is the unique ROG DIMM.2 Module input, which allows you to connect two additional M.2 SSDs.
The board also has two PCIe x16 slots, they are already armored, but there are some problems with the power distribution.
When using a ROG DIMM.2 Module expansion card with one SSD, the power is distributed so that the first PCIe slot gets 8 power lines instead of 16, and the second 4. When using two SSDs through this card, the second slot will be completely disabled. It should be noted that the module only supports NVMe drives, regular M.2 drives will not work.
CrystalDiskMark – SSD via motherboard
CrystalDiskMark – SSD via ROG DIMM.2 Module
So with a tandem of two video cards in SLI or CrossFire mode, the ASUS invention will not work when two additional SSDs are installed.
M.2 ports that are near PCIe do not suffer from this problem. They have a bandwidth of up to 32 Gbps. These ports are also covered with a massive metal plate with thermal pads, which removes heat well from the drives.
The board has a unique TPU chip that automatically controls CPU and RAM overclocking. A very handy feature that allows gamers not to worry about adjusting frequencies and voltages on components. But in this case, you need to be careful about their resource and temperature.
In general, this board can be very interesting for overclocking fans. It contains special points for measuring voltages on power lines, as well as switches for operating modes of components. But ordinary users are not recommended to touch them.
The network card on the motherboard has two connectors with a bandwidth of 10 Gb / s and 2.5 Gb / s. And a Wi-fi module supporting Wi-fi 6 and 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax and Bluetooth v5.1 standards
On the rear panel of the board we can find 12 USB inputs, two of which are Type-C, two are 3.2 GEN-2, six are 3.2 GEN-2, and two are 2.0, Ethernet ports of different bandwidth, outputs for Wi-Fi antennas, five minijack and S / PDIF connectors.
The audio card on the board supports 7.1 surround sound, it is implemented by the ROG SupremeFX 7.1 S1220 audio codec. The board also features high quality Japanese capacitors and an amplifier. The card itself is separated on a PCB by an aluminum plate, which protects against electromagnetic interference.
The motherboard also comes with a THUNDERBOLTEX 3 expansion card, which makes it more than suitable for professional use, as you have access to multifunctional Thunderbolt connectors.
We also attach screenshots of benchmarks before and after overclocking the processor. The motherboard was tested on a Core i9 10900k with one memory stick with a frequency of 2333 MHz and an RTX 2080ti video card. The processor was overclocked automatically by the Intel XTU program.
3DMark – Before Overclocking
3DMark – after overclocking
Cinebench – Before Overclocking
Cinebench – After Overclocking
AIDA64 Cache & Memory
AIDA64 CPUID
AIDA64
It makes no sense to measure temperatures on the motherboard, because it is immediately obvious that they physically cannot be high due to such an advanced cooling system. However, we did it anyway. On the south bridge, on the near-processor space, and in the VRM zone, temperatures do not exceed 35 degrees, which is an excellent result. And this is even without a complete cooler that can be placed in the VRM zone. The measurement was carried out during a stress test of the processor.
The BIOS in this board is classic for the ROG gaming series. It stands out with a beautiful graphical interface and many options for settings. You can see both simplified presets of hardware overclocking settings and more advanced ones. Of course, there is an intelligent overclocking function using a newly minted chip.
Motherboard ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XII EXTREME is the most premium and uncompromising solution for gamers and enthusiasts. When it was designed, the number of interesting features was generous. This model is ready for any task and even fits the new generation processors. However, this is still the Z490 chipset, which has its own PCI-e lanes limitations. But ASUS in this product offers players a choice between a large number of simultaneously working SSD-drives, or solutions with several GPUs. The motherboard, in particular, because of this, turned out to be truly universal.
Author: Alexey Sarafanov (ASarafanov)
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