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The Asus keeps the enthusiasts happy with the Maximus Formula Special Edition. Intel's latest X38 chipset with DDR2 support.

INTRODUCTION

Enthusiasts who are still using DDR2 ... don't despair. If you think that latest Intel X38 based motherboards will only support DDR3 ram ... then you're wrong. The Asus Maximus Forumla Special Edition is Asus's latest addition to their enthusiasts range, and this could be the answer for all those enthusiasts still using DDR2 ram. This motherboard is truely designed for the enthusiasts, with features that will attract even the most hardcore of overclockers and extreme gamer. Asus will only be producing a limited number of these boards ... so it'll be "very special"  if you manage to get hold of one. I recently spoke to an Asus respresentitive, who descibed this motherboard as the most overclockable ever, with the ability to achieve higher than 500Mhz FSB ... that would equate to 2000FSB !! Could this be true? If so, I would love to see how well our Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping) could overclock.

I have to admit ... I'm only a modest enthusiast. So, no Quad SLI setup, DDR3 ram or Quad Core Extreme Edition for me. I don't see any reason why anyone should spend over £500 for a high-end processor or invest in expensive DDR3 ram, when current mainstream products which are affordable can do just fine. What I usually do, is try my best to get the most of a mainstream product by overclocking or othwerise. So when I got the chance to test a motherboard that's designed and aimed at the enthusiast, I just couldn't wait to see what it can do.

In this review we will be testing the Asus Maximus Formula Special Edition, and see what it's capable of. The motherboard utilises the latest Intel X38 chipset and offers support for 1600FSB, future 45nm Penryn processors and . However this time round, the Asus have decided not to support DDR3 ram on this motherboard, but instead it will support DDR2 ram upto DDR2-1200* (overclocked) and DDR2-1066 (standard). This is great news for enthusiasts who's currently using DDR2 ram. It will mean that they can easily upgrade to the Asus Maximus Formula without having to invest a hefty, bank-breaking £400 (USD £800) for new DDR3 ram.

In order to make this motherboard more suitable for the enthusiasts, and to help reduce costs, Asus have removed all the non-essential features that's more common on their Deluxe range. Things like the costly dual wireless LAN, USB IR Remote, Asus Express Gate and DDR3 support. Instead, Asus have replaced them with special features more suited for enthusiasts. These include external clear CMOS switch, internal power-on and reset switches, and a special silent chipset cooler combining heatpipe technology with a copper waterblock. This is great for watercooling enthusiasts wanting to archieve high overclocked results. Other features include the ability to support DDR2-1200* (overclocked), an external "LCD Poster" module that's used for diagnostic functions, and a seperate 8-channel high definition sound card that fits into a PCIe (x1) slot. So, you can see from all of this, the Asus Maximus Formula could have what it takes to become THE enthusiast board of choice.

Everything tells me that we will enjoy testing this motherboard. I'm expecting some really good overclocked results from our Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping), and would love to see how far we can push the FSB. OK' let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the Asus Maximus Formula Special Edition.