Asus Maximus II Gene

The Maximus II Gene is just a smaller sized version of the Maximus II Formula motherboard. Its small form-factor design allows it to be incorporated in smaller-sized cases for easy portability. It is a compact micro-ATX motherboard and can be easily mounted into an HTPC case.

Those interested in building a high-performance HTPC with gaming capabilities can opt for this board that also incorporates an 8-channel sound solution using Creative’s X-Fi audio codec. The heatpipe cooling design with low profile fan-less graphics cards and the 8-channel audio creates a perfect noiseless high-definition environment. Those opting for this motherboard should ensure that proper cooling methods followed - ample amount of cooling inlet and outlet fans for a smoother airflow.

The board features excellent voltage stabilization for the CPU, Northbridge and the memory by employing a total of 12 phase voltage regulators to protect the important components. The LED voltage ‘Voltiminder’ includes three color LED voltage indicators, one each for the CPU, memory and the Northbridge. The green LED lights up when the voltage supplied to the components are in normal operating range. When tweaked to a higher voltage level, the yellow LED lights up and when the voltage is bumped to the maximum it can take, the red LED lights up.

The board features excellent voltage stabilization for the CPU, Northbridge and the memory by employing a total of 12 phase voltage regulators to protect the important components. The LED voltage ‘Voltiminder’ includes three color LED voltage indicators, one each for the CPU, memory and the Northbridge. The green LED lights up when the voltage supplied to the components are in normal operating range. When tweaked to a higher voltage level, the yellow LED lights up and when the voltage is bumped to the maximum it can take, the red LED lights up.

Additionally, the MEM OK switch on the motherboard can be used to get the memory settings back to default values in case of abnormal or incorrect settings allotted to the memory modules in the BIOS.
The backpanel shows off the regular features of six USB ports, an optical S/PDIF, and an eSATA and FireWire port each.

The BIOS can be flashed in three ways - using the BIOS itself, a DOS utility and a Windows utility. If the BIOS gets corrupted during a flashing process, safe recovery can be done by simply booting the system with the driver CD.