Hey guys, i have a couple of questions here which i hope you can answer: Firstly i have read that the Asus Maximus 3 Formula doesnt support the Asus auto tuning Turbo Evo utility, whereas the Maximus 3 Gene does, is this correct? Secondly, does anyone have any idea when the Maximus 3 Extreme is due for release and whether that will also feature the Turbo Evo utility? Thanks for any info you can offer! Noz
Turbo V utility? The Max III Form does. Why buy a Maximus to just use the software that's similarly available on plenty of other (cheaper) motherboards?
Thanks for the reply! I was going to buy the Rampage 3 Formula anyway for a number of factors, but having practically no knowledge of overclocking whatsoever, the idea of a software program which automatically overclocks and stability tests your system was rather apealing. However after reading numerous reviews including Bit-Tech's own i came across one which said that said that the Turbo Evo Auto Tuning utility does not work on the Rampage 3 Formula and running the program just sets it into an infinite loop or something, since it doesnt have the necassary chip on the motherboard. And now i am completely confused! XD
Rampage III Formula? I've never reviewed such a motherboard! Which review exactly, please fetch me a link! The last Rampage we saw was a very, very long time ago. Gigabyte has a nice OC tool as well: Easy Tune 6. The TurboV is very simple though. What CPU are you buying for?
Doh, sorry, i meant Maximus 3 Formula, i keep getting those two names mixed up! Whilst i was tempted to get an x58 mobo, there doesnt really appear to be a significant performance increase from the reviews i have read, not to mention the higher price. I was going to settle on an i7 860 or maybe 870 if i can save enough money for that. Now, this is what is confusing me even more; Turbo V is different from Turbo V Evo isnt it? The Turbo V Evo utility has the auto tune feature : http://techreport.com/r.x/intel-p55/asus-turbov.jpg Now from the specs it seems that only the Maximus 3 Gene and P7P55 Asus mobos support this feature, whereas the Maximus 3 Formula doesnt apparently because the mobo doesnt have the required chip. :S
OK Now I see your point. You're from the US? You get far better prices on the 860 than we do on it over here, it's a pretty good buy. If you are new to overclocking don't waste your cash on the Max III Form. I'd opt for the Gene if you don't need the slots or extra SATA ports (six is usually plenty), plus it looks just as pretty. The overclocking will be 99% the same for you whatever P55 board you use to be honest: you could buy an £80 Gigabyte UD2M and follow our overclocking guide to learn the BIOS and get an equally good result We've hit 4GHz on one, plus the BIOS is just as excellent.
gigabyte motherboards are very good aslo and as mentioned the easy tune on the mobo is very simple to use. it practially does it for you on preset programs
US?! Oh nononono... Im a Brit I dont really want to upgrade again for a good few years so i was trying to get the best components i could. An Asus ROG mobo would go nicely with my Asus GTX285 Matrix i think, but im open to suggestions on alternate motherboards if they are better chocies. I was also looking at the EVGA P55 Classified, but that seems to practically nonexistant in the UK for some reason, though i would very much like to see you guys do a review of that board... *hint hint* I hear it is very impressive. Im just looking at some vids of the Gigabyte overclocking program at the moment and it seems pretty good! The reason i wanted to avoid normal overclocking methods were that even with guides i dont really have the confidence with that kind of thing. An automatic program appealed to my paranoid and slightly lazy side. I dont really have the moneiz to risk cooking a motherboard and processor due to my complete lack of bios knowledge either.
Then the 860 and 870s are insanely high priced for what they offer. You're better off buying a 920 and X58: you get more base memory to start with and considering the amount you're willing to spend it's well within your budget. Look up the P6TD Deluxe. It's an excellent board and easily overclockable. Again, as nice as it is, I don't think you'd use a P55 Classified to its potential. You're not water or extreme cooling it, where the EVGA Classified series make a difference. I can see the appeal: they look nice and promise a lot, but honestly, it will waste your money. You will get the same experience elsewhere. You can still cook the chip just as easily with Windows software as you can in the BIOS - the both include voltage adjustments. Just follow the i7 overclocking guide in the hardware forum and our "overclocking core i7 920" article we did last year and you'll be fine If you really want an automated overclocking - try the MSI P55-GD65 or GD80 motherboards then, they have the OC Genie which is a one button overclocking system. 2 seconds later, you've an automatic overclocking. The P7P55D series also has it but it's a BIOS switch to do the same thing. Check our P7P55D Deluxe or P55-GD65 reviews, they are featured EDIT: Actually the i7 860 is now just a smidge over £200! That's really not bad when coupled with a cheaper P55 board! but you will only get 4GB of memory not 6GB compared to X58. The i7 920 is also ~£15 cheaper.
Thanks for the advice mate, its much appeciated! So an x58/i7 920 combo, or an MSI P55 or Asus Maximus 3 Gene / i7 860 combo is what you would recommend? Is the onboard audio on the Gene up to scratch with the more expensive ROG mobos is what im wondering.
*poke* Anyone have any other suggestions? Mobo, CPU and RAM are the only things i still have left to buy, and i cant get one without knowing what the others will be. Anyone know when the Maximus 3 Extreme is due for release, out of curiosity?
