ASUS introduces three Intel Z97-based Maximus VII gaming motherboards

Mumbai: ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced the Maximus VII Gene mATX, Maximus VII Hero ATX, and the new Maximus VII Ranger ATX gaming motherboards. These Intel Z97 chipset-based Maximus VII motherboards feature the LGA 1150 socket and support Intel 4th, new 4th and 5th-generation processors (codenamed Haswell, Haswell Refresh, Haswell Refresh K-series / Devil’s Canyon). 

These three gaming motherboards is built on the ROG gaming legacy. All three motherboards sport the distinctive ROG black and red color scheme, with the Maximus VII Gene and Hero featuring the world’s first dual-color PCB with a matte black and red finish. The Maximus VII series features premium components, black nickel processor socket covers and improved circuit layouts.

The Maximus VII series also comes with an advanced networking and audio for gaming, along with an upgraded UEFI BIOS and M.2 (PCIe x2) with up to 10Gbit/s data transfer speeds. “To let more gamers have the privilege of the ROG gaming experience, we’re pleased to launch another high value ROG motherboard – the Ranger series,” said Joe Hsieh, ASUS Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Motherboard and Desktop System Business Units. 

The ROG Maximus VII series motherboards feature the latest Intel Gigabit Ethernet, that reduces CPU overhead to allot more processing power for gaming and offers good Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) throughput.

ROG has also improved on the RJ45 LAN port with LANGuard; it uses signal-coupling technology and surface- mounted capacitors to improve throughput. LANGuard also features surge-protected and electrostatically-guarded components (ESD Guards) that gives ROG Maximus VII series motherboards up to 1.3 times the surge protection and 1.9 times the static electricity tolerance of traditional boards. 

The latest ROG-exclusive networking optimization utility, GameFirst III, comes upgraded with gamer-friendly features and an intuitive interface. GameFirst III can prioritize game packets, allocating more bandwidth for games. Users can select several preset modes (Optimization, Game, Media Streaming, and File Sharing); they can even manage bandwidth for individual applications.

GameFirst III also has a built-in Network Monitor tool to supervise network traffic and test connection speeds. Immersive audio for gaming, the ROG Maximus VII Hero and Ranger, come with SupremeFX 2014 and Maximus VII Gene with SupremeFX Impact II discrete audio card, which utilize isolation technologies to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI), premium ELNA audio capacitors and 8-channel gold plated audio output ports, to provide precision-engineered audio that is on par with dedicated soundcards.

This seventh generation ROG Maximus motherboards feature new ROG audio technologies such as Sonic SenseAmp, which detects headphone impedance and automatically adjusts the built-in amp; while the onboard Sonic SoundStage button allows a user to apply the audio settings for popular game genres (FPS, racing, combat and sport).

 Maximus VII series’ SupremeFX audio technologies also come with Sonic Studio, a new audio tuning suite that has a one-click Virtual Surround function for 7.1-channel audio even on a 2-channel stereo headset. It also features detailed settings for Reverb, Bass Boost, Equalizer, Voice Clarity, and Smart EQ to tailor audio to users’ preferences. 

Complete command and control the KeyBot lets users instantly “upgrade” existing keyboards by slotting them through the dedicated USB socket to activate the KeyBot microprocessor. Users can assign macros to the function keys for instant shortcuts and commands, and can even program them for one-click application launches. 

TrueVolt USB is designed to provide a steady 5V output to both the front and rear USB ports. This isolated linear power supply minimizes potential voltage fluctuations to ensure all connected devices receive a clean power supply. 

In addition to that, ROG Maximus VII series motherboards comes with a user-friendly mouse-controlled UEFI BIOS for faster setup and advanced features which aid both novice and seasoned users when it comes to over clocking and DIY upgrades. Users can also set their favorite tuning options.

The upgraded ROG UEFI BIOS automatically detects selected ASUS graphics cards; while integrated Secure Erase completely wipes out SSD data to restore factory speeds.

These motherboards are available in the market, Maximus VII Ranger at an MRP of Rs14,900, Maximus VII Hero at an MRP of Rs 18,050, and Maximus VII Gene at an MRP of Rs16,710.