ASUS Maximus XI EXTREME and Maximus XI Gene pictured
ASUS Maximus XI EXTREME and Maximus XI Gene pictured
Videocardz‘s spies at ASUS HQ has provided them with images of the company’s upcoming Maximus XI EXTREME and Maximus XI Gene motherboards, ultra-high-end mainboards for the EATX and MATX form factors, both of which feature DIMM.2 support.
Despite what it says on Videocardz’s article on these motherboards, ASUS’ DIMM.2 slot is not designed for use with “high-capacity RAM”, as G.Skill and ZADAK’s double capacity DRAM uses standard DDR4 pin layouts, which are incompatible with ASUS’ DIMM.2 slot design. ASUS’ DIMM.2 slots are based on a DDR3 memory slot and are modified beyond that. ASUS’ DIMM.2 slots are not designed for DRAM and have so far only been used as a low-latency connection point for a DIMM.2 to M.2 add-in card.
The ASUS ROG Maximus XI Extreme ships in the ultra-large large EATX form factor, offering its users two large VRM heatsinks with plenty of cutouts to increase its surface area and cooling potential. It is likely that this motherboard will support three M.2 cards, one at the base of the motherboard and two via a DIMM.2 to 2x M.2 NVMe add-in-card, which itself is covered by a large heatsink.
On the Maximus Extreme ASUS plans to attach an OLED screen to the board’s IO cover, allowing users to see the clock speed of the CPU used within the motherboard. It also appears as if this motherboard supports at least 12 connected 4-pin PWM fans.
Moving down to the Maximus XI Gene, we can see that ASUS has returned their Maximus brand to the MATX form factor, investing in heavy-duty heatsinks to deliver a high-end overclocking experience within the compact form factor.
Strangely, this motherboard only features a single PCIe 16x connection as well as a single 8-pin PCIe slot. DRAM-wise the motherboard also features two standard DIMM slots, as well as a DIMM.2 slot. Separating the DIMM and DIMM.2 slots is space for an M.2 slot, which is covered by a long M.2 heatsink. At this time it is unknown whether or not this M.2 slot overs one or two M.2 connections.
Intel’s Z390 motherboard platform and 9000-series processors are expected to release sometime in October.
You can join the discussion on ASUS’ Maximus XI EXTREME and Maximus XI Gene motherboards on the OC3D Forums.