Asus Maximus Formula (Special Edition)?

Hey Guys, I think I finally made up my mind on which MB to get for my next system that I am working on. Just like the title says, "The Asus Maximus Formula (Special Edition)." I went with the DDR2 version because DDR3 is really EXPENSIVE and also Intel plans to introduce a new socket at the end of next year, so I will get a new board with DDR3 support. So ya, I am gona go with The Asus Maximus Formula (Special Edition).

My question to you guys that, what if I don't plan to Do Water-Cooling? Should I still get this board. I know it's Water-Cool Ready, but I don't plan to do Water-Cooling. So the question is that "Can I still use this board without Water-Cooling?"

If you guys can comment on this, it would really help me out. I just wanted to be sure before I get this Board. So if you can, Please Comment On This!

THX,

P.S. Fusion

 

you are fine to use it with air

 

Yep, you can use it without air. The Maximus' have already been tested and I've just got to write them up now.

 

the board will run fine on air as sugested.

but if you do not plan to water cool, do you really want this board, it is not optimum for air cooling if you plan to run high overclocks
i have also seen reviews against the other asus boards in the series sugesting its not quite as fast, although i suspect this was a bios issue.

 

The mobo rocks, im using it on air too and its solid and stable currently running my Q6600 at 3.2 but completely stable at 3.5. can't recommend it enough.

 

So just for an FYI, Does Asus include anything special to block the Water Cooling Tubes. I am glad that this Board will run fine on Air Cooling and It doesn't require you to have Water Cooling. I am gona do some Hard-Core reviews on this board before I order it. Thx for the input guys!

 

iirc ive seen pictures of it with rubber covers on the water cooling barbs

 

If you don't want watercooling just DON'T buy the special edition. The standard edition comes with just a simple heatsink.

 

If there is not a BIG difference in Price for Regular Edition Compared to SE, why not get the Special Edition. I haven't made my final decision yet. I will do that once I read up on some Reviews on this Board. This is my first time getting ASUS MB. And the only thing that I plan to Overclock (Maybe) is the processor.

Also just for FYI, Should I get the X38 Chipset or the X48 Chipset. I haven't heard anything good that really grabs my attention for the X48. Asus's MB already support 1600FSB. You thoughts?

P.S. Fusion

 

Great Bindi; can't wait to read it! I've been eying this board as a middle upgrade (as I have an unhealthy love/hate relationship with my p5n32-e sli plus...), and I don't want to upgrade to DDR3 just yet.

 

Since using the Plus again, I've found it has some serious overheating issues, like a couple of Asus boards recently tbh. If you plop it into a low airflow case it just burns itself out.

From educated guess' and from what I've already heard the X48 is just a performance chipset and will only be used on the highest end motherboards. I recon it'll be made on a smaller, cooler process (smaller chipset = more per wafer for Intel and the 65nm process is awesome yielding) so it should overclock a ton more but at stock won't be that much faster than the X38 unless you pair it with a 1600FSB CPU.

 

Bindibadgi, thx for the info on the overheating problem.

I also wanted to ask you guys on the Asus Maximus Formula SE MB, Can I remove the heatsinks. The reason for that is, I want to put my own thermal paste and I might just put Chipset Fans on the North and South Bridge. Keeping the SYSTEM COOL is my main thing. The only thing that I plan to OC right now would be the Processor. That why I bought the Stacker 830 for the system that I am building. So if you guys can comment on this please. Thx for all the help guys!

P.S. Fusion

 

I've not looked at it that closely yet - it *is* just held down by screws but the NB heatsink is pretty massive already, so I don't see why you'd want to. Using your own TP might help though.

Tim's just nabbed the board for testing certain AMD cards so I can't get to it atm

 

I've read around that you can change the TIM (I certainly intend to if I go for this board), BUT...you apparently must do it before booting up the board for the first time. The paste crap they use apparently sets after the first bootup, and makes it almost impossible to remove afterwards. There's a guy that removed the chipset as well as the sink! Here's a link to the pic on another forum (if I'm stepping on any toes, just remove this post, kind Mods!). Ouch.

 

I will look specifically for you, just because you asked (if I remember :|)

Dont mind links at all! I like to nose at what others have done to get ideas

EDIT: LOL @ PIC. Maybe I won't remove it then :|

 

It's a rather frightening thought, that. 10 mins old board, and he kills it. Painful!

 

So in your guys opinion, Should I remove the heatsink setup or just leave it along. Heck, if the Heatsink do a really good job keeping the Chipset cool, I am not gona touch it. I don't really want to open up a Brand New MB for no reason.

 

It works great, don't **** with it. It's also connecting all the heatpipes together which will require some significant engineering to fix

 

What's scary is I was reading a thread on another forum, and one of the early adopters/reviewers of this board was claiming that the WB actually fell off the sink while they were using it, not to mention the hosing popped off the barbs while using a high-flow pump (think they were using a DDC Ultra). That scares me. I was intending to just go single block loop and using the stock solution to cool down this board instead of the 4 blocks I'm running on my current setup. Figured it'd clean up the layout a bit in the rig. The poster claims Asus uses a poor epoxy unevenly on the WB attached to the sink; so much so that it doesn't really give much of an advantage over just air-cooled because of the poor surface contact of the block. The sink's TIM itself was apparently only covering 60% of the chipset. Scary too, but nothing new as far as manufacturing goes. I generally rip the sinks off a new board and reinstall with silver or the like anyways (and rightly so most of the time IME), so I don't really see it as a con. But this Maximus Formula SE looks like a beast to even do that! I'd need 5 hands to remove the stock solution without damage! 'Course, in defense of Asus it apparently was an early engineering sample, so they probably fixed these issues before streeting. But still. I'll wait patiently for B-T's review of the board before jumping on anything at this point.

 

I am also scared that water might leak onto the board and that maybe the reason why I don't plan to do Water-Cooling anytime soon. Bindibadgi thx for the input. I will take your advice and I WILL NOT touch the Heatsink Setup. Thx to all for your help! Now I am gona read-up on some good reviews on this board and I will tell you guys know my FINAL Decision!

THX Again!

P.S. Fusion