14 DAY TRIAL // Asus North America has recently announced, through its Twitter and Facebook accounts, the long-awaited Maximus IV Gene-Z micro-ATX motherboard, which is compatible with Intel's second-generation Core processors, code named Sandy Bridge.
Just as it is the case with all the other ROG series solutions, the Maximus IV Gene-Z includes an important number of advanced features like AMD CrossFireX and Nvidia SLI support, ROG Connect support and an on-board Supreme X-Fi sound chip.
In addition to the two PCI Express x16 slots that are required for dual-GPU setups, Asus has also included a PCI-E x4 slot.
Right next to it, users will find the on-board Power and Reset buttons as well as a BIOS debug LCD.
Storage is provided by six SATA ports, two of the 6Gbps variety, and the Asus motherboard also features a USB 3.0 pin header which allows for two such ports to be routed to the front of the case.
Another two USB 3.0 ports can be found on the rear I/O panel along with an impressive number of USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA connectors, 7.1-channel audio with a digital S/PDIF output and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Since we are dealing with an Intel Z68 board, the Taiwanese company has also included an HDMI video output, which is placed right below the S/PDIF connector.
This means that the Maximus IV Gene-Z is fully compatible with the LucidLogix Virtu on-the-fly graphics switching technology as well as Intel's Quick Sync technology. Smart Response is also supported.
CPU power is delivered by a complex Extreme Engine Digi+ PWM with an 8-phase design that Asus claims it can deliver an impressive 250A of current to the processor and the maximum memory speeds of the Gene-Z is rated at 2200MHz when overclocked.
The Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z micro-ATX motherboard is already listed on Newegg where it is available for $179.99.
