ASUS Maximus Extreme - the Extreme Benchmarker's Choice?

Test Setup

We decided to use our base QX6800 CPU with our standard tests run on the 9x multiplier to simulate the attractively priced Q6600 CPU and to match previous benchmark results. In this section of testing, we aim to remain within realistic cooling capacity temperatures and current CPU stepping capabilities. This better shows an overall picture of motherboard performance potential using widely available parts. With such a vast array of overclocking BIOS functions at our disposal, we decided to stick with a single operating system environment.

We selected Microsoft Windows XP SP2 due to its maturity, taking away some of the time burden looking for possible software level conflicts that may exist on a newer OS (though we ventured to run our standard Vista test suite for the non-overclocking benchmarks). This does not mean the board cannot work with Vista when overclocking; we are just trying to eliminate possible downtime on non-motherboard/BIOS related issues. There's also the fact that a vast majority of overclocking enthusiasts have not switched to Vista (yet).

We ran 1280x1024 resolution game benchmark tests in order to cross-compare CPU MHz related gains in our board specific tests. We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. Our 3DMark results utilize the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score to reflect a repeatable average. We limited our standard Vista test suite to a few benchmark results to indicate the general performance of this board when compared to current P35 motherboards.

Since the ASUS Maximus Extreme is for the overclocker and gamer as opposed to your typical internet browsing activities, we decided to take a different look at this board and focus on overclocking for this particular article with results compared to the P35/X38 motherboards we have reviewed recently. Memory timings used for the tests are as follows: 9x266 = 4-4-4-12 1N, 9x333 = 5-5-5-15 1N and 9x400 = 6-6-6-15 1N.