Conclusion

Overall	+	-
At a first glance the Maximus VII Formula definitely leaves an excellent impression. The mix of overclocking features and high quality audio hardware makes this a state-of-the-art motherboard for ATX-gaming. And next to a very nice looking design you find useful features like for example GameFirst III. This software allows you to configure your network device the way gaming traffic gets prioritized (keyword traffic shaping). Furthremore you get ASUS' RAM Disk Software and lots of other goodies, which make this board even more appealing. From a design perspective the "ROG Armor" looks excellent. Together with the possibility to watercool the VRMs, this board is perfect for modding, The Maximus VII Formula is one of the rare complete Z97 motherboards on the market, since it features M.2 and dual SATA Express.	- Design - Layout - Features
Layout	+	-
Basically the ASUS Maximus VII Formula's Layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons. There is also a debug display which is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. The placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots is very well chosen too. There is a total of three full sized PCI Express slots and inbetween the first two there is two slots space. Should you want to build an SLI/CrossFire rig, then the card will be able to suck in fresh air perfectly, since there is plenty of space inbetween. Apart from that it's also not problem to install a large CPU cooler, since there is plenty of space to even install todays largest air coolers. Another feature gamers will like is the onboard audio solution. Subjectively compared to the Maximus VII Formula, the sound with this board is clearer and more accurate in a linear manner. The layout is also good for extreme overclockers, since there is plenty of space between the memory slots and CPU socket. This make the board easy to use, when you drive memory and CPU at subzero temperatures. Like on previous models from ROG power and reset button as well as debug LED can be frozen easily and they are not usable anymore but when we pay attention to the rest of layout we can see there is no space to replace them.	-Angled SATA connectors - Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Space around the CPU socket

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Layout
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery	Page 5 - Connectors and I/O
Page 3 - Features	Page 6 - Conclusion

Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch Luca Rocchi l.rocchi@ocaholic.ch