ASUS ROG Maximus VII Gene Review

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview

Up Close

In our recent review of the Maximus VII Hero we found it to be a great looking motherboard that offered a lot at a nice low price. In fact we particular loved the looks of the Hero. We’re not deaf to the fact that many of you like a smaller form-factor motherboard these days, and for those of you who instantly dismiss the Gene and similarly compact motherboards just because they’re small, you must have been living under a rock for a few years. They’re easy as good as an ATX.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview     ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview  

At a glance you could be forgiven for looking at the picture on the left and thinking we’ve shown you the Hero again. In a world where brand identity is vital, it’s great to see ASUS retaining the ROG design of the Maximus VII. Clearly though, as you look at the right hand image, it’s obvious that this is the mATX Gene. Even so we still get two PCI Express slots, but if you plan on using any PCI x1 card then you’re going to be limited to a single GPU. It’s a great looking board. Sure black and red is everywhere now, but stockings are common and we don’t hear anyone complaining about them.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview     ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview  

As befits a more compact arrangement the Gene sticks to providing 8 SATA 6Gb/s ports rather than giving up vital PCI Express lanes for SATA Express. We’ve still to see SATA Express taking off, so it makes sense to stick to current hardware.

Round the back we have all the ports you could hope to find, and perhaps a few more. 8 USB ports split between 4 USB 2.0 and 4 USB 3.0, a combined PS2, ROG Link and Reset, HDMI and LAN. Audio you say? Keep scrolling.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview     ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview  

It’s initially odd to find the audio as a break-out PCB rather than included on the main motherboard. However when you see how full the Gene already is then there just isn’t space to include all the necessary components for the SupremeFX audio. So actually this is a very neat solution.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview     ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview  

Finally, every last available inch of space has gone something to play with whether it’s the MemOK! or the power buttons.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview     ASUS Maximus VII Gene Preview