ASUS Maximus Formula Motherboard Review :: ASUS Maximus Formula Bundle

• ASUS Optional Fan
• SupremeFX II Audio card
• LCD Poster
• 3 in 1 Q-Connector Kit
• UltraDMA 133 Cable
• FDD Cable
• 8 SATA cables
• 4 SATA Power cables
• 2-port USB 2.0+1 PORT IEEE1394A module
• I/O Shield
• Cable Ties
• User’s Manual
• Drivers CD
• PC Probe II
• ASUS Update
• AI Suite
• Futuremark 3DMark06 Advanced Edition
• Kapersky Anti-Virus

ASUS provides a top notch bundle with all of their gaming related motherboards including this Maximus Formula. Special features of the bundle include the inclusion of a LCD Poster, Cable ties, a 2-port USB and 1-port IEEE1394 bracket and the SupremeFX II Audio card. The LCD Poster is a device that gives error messages when the system is POSTing.

Box

Bundle

The SupremeFX II is a novel concept for ASUS motherboards. While many motherboards use onboard audio via a CODEC from Realtek or other company, ASUS put the CODEC on a PCI card that needs to be plugged into the top PCI slot. The SupremeFX II has all of the audio jacks on the card itself, saving room on the rear I/O for more USB ports. The onboard sound chip is a SoundMAX AD1988B which is fully HD Audio compliant.

Software-wise, ASUS has done a wonderful job with the included software. The drivers can be installed at a single click of the button via InstallAll or individually. PC Probe II is a Windows based Hardware monitor that keeps track of the voltage, clock speeds and more of the system. ASUS Update allows the user to update the BIOS, drivers and more via the Internet or a file. Ai Suite is the overclocking suite. Kapersky’s Anti-Virus is an ok AV program as I prefer Norton’s. 3DMark06 is a benchmark to show video card performance. The last part of the software bundle is STALKER Shadows of Chernobyl, an early DX10 game that we use in video card reviews. The inclusion of a game in a motherboard bundle is interesting.