Asus Z87 RoG motherboards reavealed for 4th Generation Intel CPUs

Asus has announced a new range of Republic of Gamers (RoG) branded motherboards – the Maximus VI Extreme, RoG Maximus VI Gene and Maximus VI Hero – in preparation for the Intel’s forthcoming 4th generation Core processors.

As the new line-up is intended for use with Intel’s next generation processors, we can only pass on limited information until the embargo lifts on Haswell, but we can take a look at the boards themselves, along with some of the Asus-specific technologies associated with it.

The Extreme and Gene boards are evolutions of previous generation motherboards, with the Extreme intended for serious overclockers and the Gene Micro ATX board designed for people who want a compact PC with blistering frame rates in games. Last year’s Formula has been retired, replaced by the Hero, a motherboard designed for enthusiasts who want a gaming-focused board but don’t want to pay a small fortune for it.

As you can see from the images in our gallery, the Extreme sacrifices PCI-E x1 and PCI slots in favour of four x16 slots, the Gene has two x16 slots and the Hero has a sensible complement of two PCI-E x16 slots, three x1 slots and just one PCI slot. All boards have four RAM slots so that you install as much RAM as you can afford.

MPCIEe Combo 2

Only available on selected models, this neat module lets you attach devices such as compact NGFF form factor SSDs and provides support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi so that your PC benefits from the fastest wireless transfer speeds possible – assuming you’re connected to an 802.11ac router.

OC Panel

A handheld device that lets you overclock your PC quickly and easily if you don’t want to open the BIOS to adjust your overclock settings. OC Panel reminds us of a 1970s calculator with its LED screen at the top and control buttons in the middle. It will com bundled with the Maximus VI Extreme motherboard.

Sonic Radar

Designed to give FPS players the edge over their competition, Sonic Radar shows you the direction of incoming threats on a radar screen so you know which direction to turn to engage your enemy – or in which direction to escape. Threats could be gun shots, voices or footsteps, and the utility can also “enhance” sounds to help you identify them.

Asus wouldn’t reveal prices to us at the reveal event, but we were told that the boards will available to buy imminently. With Intel’s Haswell reveal pencilled in for the first week of June, we’ll bring the reviews and more information as soon as we can.