Maximum Formula SE, shpuld I pull the trigger?

firas

firas

2[H]4U
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Oct 29, 2006
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these are my fixed decisions until now:
-Silverstone TJ07 (found it locally yesterday and will buy it next week, it’ll cost me about 430USD)
-I’ll go water cooling (3 loops, CPU/VGA/NB block, 1X360 rad at the bottom & another 1X240 rad on top)
-The new 45nm Yorkfield Q9450 (hope I can go above 450 FSB with it)
-DDR2 (don’t know yet but I’ll pick some high performance 1066 one, 2X2GB mostly)

now I’m looking for the best X38 board I can get
-with DDR2 support
- maximum OC potentials
- don’t care about additional features (raid,eSATA,…etc) but prefer to have as much as possible just in case.
- supports WC, I don’t know how to determine this thing
- saw some non- encouraging posts about the GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 so I prefer to stay away from it

I guess I’ll exclude those:
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi (DDR3 not 2)
ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME (also 3)
ASUS P5E3 (also 3)
P5E3 Deluxe (also DDR3 only)
(that’s another reason why not to wait for X48 cuz seems that they’ll all support DDR3)
ASUS Striker (SLI not X38)
ABIT IX38 (doesn’t look nice)
GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4 (doesn’t seem the best that I can get)

are those the only options left?:
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA SE
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA
ASUS P5E

based on this I’ll exclude the non-SE MAXIMUS FORMULA since I’m planning for WC
E.R said:
The only difference from non SE and SE is the Fusionblock on NB. But that has poor contact between Fusionblock and heatsink and leave temps on the wrong side of 47 celsius when high OC a quad and use 4 dimms. 47 celsius on NB is the breakingpoint where a OC fails since all checkingtool fails around that point.
The barbconnection is also too small, only 3/8", should have been 1/2 at least and a connection for them who wants smaller tubing.
You will however be way better off with temperature with non SE and a EK S-Max and an EK block on SB.

the X48 or Rampage as the ROG-version is named is just a old X38 but with official FSB1600 support, nothing else. Besides X38 already has inofficialy FSB1600 support and can do everything that X48 can do so we who has a Maximus should be sent a free Rampage label since nothing is changed.
Some manufacturer like MSI has just relabled their X38 as X48 and charge full price again.
Click to expand...

I don’t know what’s the difference between the P5E and the MAXIMUS FORMULA SE but I guess the MAXIMUS FORMULA SE is better (I heard that P5E has a buggy bios! and not as good as the MF SE with WC)

I also heard that the MAXIMUS FORMULA SE has some overvolting issue ad heat issue with the supplied heat pipe setup, but I don’t think I have any other options left! do I?
 
I have both P5E and Maximus Formula, they are almost identical except for the Maximus Formula has:

1) All solid caps, the P5E also has good caps.
2) LEDs and Fan connectors
3) Slightly better BIOS for OC(slightly more voltage option), however P5E BIOS is already great for OC.
4) LCD Poster
5) Free game and retail 3DMarks06
6) Another gigabit lan port

Basically you are buying the Maximus Formula when you buy the P5E but with slightly less features. Even the PCB is the Maximus Formula PCB with the Maximus Formula word covered up with a black sticker. Imo, if the Maximus Formula is just within $50 price difference, I would just get the Maximus Formula. Both mobos supports 1600MHz FSB out of the box and can easily OC my Q6600 and E6420 to 3.2GHz at stock voltage.
 
I just want to add the Maximus Formula SE is the best X38 motherboard I've tested thus far. I really liked the Extreme version as well but I don't like the fact that it requires DDR3 memory modules. Mainly due to price.

I'd say go ahead and pull the trigger. I doubt you'll be sorry.
 
The SE is a great board. Its actually the first Asus board I have ever owned and I love their quailty .
 
leoftw said:
The SE is a great board. Its actually the first Asus board I have ever owned and I love their quailty .
Click to expand...

ASUS quality has always been top notch. Their layouts are usually decent or excellent. The largest problem they have is vdroop which is something most if not all motherboards have to a degree. It has never really effected overclockability too a significant degree based on my experienced. The only exception to that rule is possibly the Striker Extreme. Variances on voltage+680i SLI chipset=BAD.

ASUS has had a few sub-par models but I'd put them above most manufacturers generally speaking.
 
I've owned many ASUS motherboards, and the Maximus Formula is the best one I've had yet. I'm getting 3.5Ghz @ DDR2-933 with air cooling from a Q6600 without even trying hard. It's well built, as nearly all ASUS boards are. You just can't go wrong with ASUS, IMO.
 
Malatov said:
I've owned many ASUS motherboards, and the Maximus Formula is the best one I've had yet. I'm getting 3.5Ghz @ DDR2-933 with air cooling from a Q6600 without even trying hard. It's well built, as nearly all ASUS boards are. You just can't go wrong with ASUS, IMO.
Click to expand...

Generally I agree. I disliked the P5B Deluxe originally. The initial BIOS versions for it sucked and sadly at the time I didn't have access to a Core 2 processor when I reviewed it. I found it mediocre when coupled with the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition processor. Even ASUS' own documentation suggested using a Core 2 for the overclocking. Later on as time went on the P5B Deluxe certainly improved. After all was said and done it was one of the finer P965 Express chipset boards made. The P5W-DH had teething problems but overall is one of the better boards I've used in the last two years. The Striker Extreme is probably the worst high end board they've had in some time and the board is still pretty good.

Generally speaking you really can't go wrong with ASUS.
 
I have the non-SE, I think that the non-SE has a better cooler than the SE if you don't use water cooling, the fins should transfer heat into the air better than the block. However when you use water cooling, the SE would be cooler.
 
Maximum Formula FTW, I can’t wait to have it
I’ll add that the board itself looks nice

but I’m not certain about the SE / non-SE thing, frankly I didn’t understand any of the stuff E.R said (quoted in my first post) but I guess it means that the SE is better specially for WC

what is that “barbconnection” thing? is it a fixed part in the mobo? if it was really 3/8” in the non-SE does this mean that I can’t use ½” tubes with the non-SE?

I’m just asking cuz seems that finding the SE model is not easy specially that I could order an SE and end up with the normal one

EDIT:
ok based on the “Water cooling the Asus Maximus SE X38” I mentioned before
and also this topic Official Water Cooling Thread of the Stock Maximus SE ROG NB Club
which is related to the first one
I guess I must find the SE, I don’t really know why but seems that it’s the way to go since I’ll be water cooling it

I have no idea what things like Fusionblock, barbconnection, Mosfet1/Mosfet2 mean but I’ll look’em up when I start building the water cooling system

this is a picture I made so I can understand what’s happening

pc170186copyka0.jpg


what’s Mosfet?

this is the first time I hear about this Mosfet thing, I can go 5 loops with this mobo! maybe 7 after adding the RAM

can anyone help me find the SE version please? I don’t want to order an SE then receive the non-SE cuz seems that it happened with a lot of people not to mention that SE is rare to find now
frankly I’m using an ARAMEX service called ship&shop, they open for me a P.O box in the the U.S and the U.K then I can ship anything through the internet to those box’s, Aramex will ship it to me after that ($15 for each kilo), so if I received the wrong one I’ll never be able to replace it :(
 
I think I understand the difference now
The SE has that “Fusionblock” thing which I’ll remove anyway since it supports 3/8 only and runs hotter than aftermarket water blocks
The non-SE has the “heatpipes” or “Heatsink” thing which I’ll also remove anyway

This picture explains it:

2005356708816811639rs1zs1.jpg


I’m I right? any other difference?
I’ll post this in the topic also
thanks
 
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