14 DAY TRIAL // After being announced at the Computex 2011 fair, Asus has now finally released the Maximus IV Gene-Z micro-ATX motherboard that is based on Intel's Z68 chipset and is designed to run LGA 1155 Sandy Bridge processors.
Just as it is the case with all the other Republic of Gamers series motherboards, 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 Asus has also included a USB 3.0 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 a whopping 250A of current to the processor.
According to a post made by an Asus rep on the XtremeSystems forum, the recommended retail price is set at $185 and the Maximus IV Gene-Z should reach retail store shelves soon.