ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Good features, large board for more options

Cons: no hdmi input

Pros: Big and beautiful looking board. looks mean, plenty of ports, configurations, features, power pins, options

Cons: no onboard hdmi input not that you would use it since most likely your gonna put a high end graphics card but would be nice for test purposes

Other Thoughts: after an onboard update it is also capable for ivy bridge cpu's

Pros: I have had this motherboard for well over two years now and I haven't had any issues with it. I have not tried to overclock with it yet just because, I have no need to overclock yet but it is still going perfectly strong, still doesn't have a spec of dust on it. Black ops 2, Battlefield 3, Starcraft II, Dota 2, every game I run on it, champ.

Cons: Free pizza next time?

Other Thoughts: Computer Specs:
CoolerMaster HAF X (Case)
ASUS VW246H (Monitor)
CoolerMaster SilentPro Gold 1200W (Power Supply)
EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ 4gb (Graphics Card)
Intel 520 Series 240GB (SSD "Amazing") + Seagate 1TB (HD "junk")
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z (Motherboard)
Intel i7-2600k Sandy Bridge 3.4ghz Quad Core (Processor)
Corsair Vengeance 16gb 1600 mhz (Memory)
200mm x4 red LED /CoolerMaster/, 140mm x1 red LED /XIGMATEK/ (Fans)
Logitech G9x (Mouse)
SteelSeries QCK+ Heavy (MousePad)
SteelSeries Siberia V2 (Headset) /// Backup SteelSeries 7H (Headset)
Cyborg V.5 (Keyboard)

Pros: When it runs it runs well. Like the OC software...

Cons: I have had many times where it will crash during boot, also have had many issues where it will lock up after the OS is loaded. Also, had problems with USB ports not working, having to switch my mouse and keyboard to others to get them to work - seems to be random. Also had situations where the power switch would not work - had to use the button on the board itself to boot. This is also random.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We're sorry to hear about your experience with the motherboard. Please try to flash to the latest BIOS which may improved system stability and enhance compatibility with some USB devices. After BIOS flash completes, enter UEFI and press F5 to load defaults, save and exit. Please check if the issues mentioned persists. Do not overclock at this time until the system is stable. To continue support or if you have questions, please contact me below. Thank you.

For support information, please visit http://support.asus.com. For service, visit http://service.asus.com. For motherboard warranty, visit http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!Motherboard%20Warranty/c1c20; Refurbished products/accessories: http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!refurbished-warranty/c16us. For RMA status, visit: http://am.eservice.asus.com/rmaweb/search/rmCustomerQueryAction.do?.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-benson@asus.com

Pros: It was good when it work.

Cons: The board began to lose it's USB 3.0 and immediately started to messed up. Then the PCI-E lanes went full ret'rd and gave out. I switch to all 4 lanes to no avail! This is definitely not top of the line at all. I pay the premium price to get low standard card. POST LED went brain dead as well. No point in RMA to Asus you will get the standard "you bent your CPU pins zomg no!" line. Bottom line no. Go with EVGA or something else.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Sorry to hear about the experience you had using this motherboard. Please RMA it to as at your earliest convenience by using the online submittal form at: http://vip.asus.com/eservice/usa_rmaserv.aspx or call us at 1-812-282-2787 so that we can investigate the issues mentioned.

For support information, please visit http://support.asus.com. For service, visit http://service.asus.com. For motherboard warranty, visit http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!Motherboard%20Warranty/c1c20; Refurbished products/accessories: http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!refurbished-warranty/c16us. For RMA status, visit: http://am.eservice.asus.com/rmaweb/search/rmCustomerQueryAction.do?.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-benson@asus.com

Pros: Overall great specs.

Cons: The USBs are terrible.. Two different boards and neither of them had working USBs. Both times the USBs kept going off for weeks at a time randomly then starts to work again. Slightly after that another couple of slots stop working. -2 eggs for the terrible support and quality. Something this expensive should not take a few replacements to get a working one.

Other Thoughts: I highly recommend to not buy this product. The customer service was terrible and not worth the risk. Since I have had mine for probably around 9 months now I doubt there is anything besides buy another brands board once these USB slots go out for good. I knew I should of gone EVGA.

Pros: has a crazy amount of settings for the overclocking fans out there. more than enough USB2.0/3.0 ports than i'll ever need. overall great mobo glad i didn't get a DOA. we'll see how long she lasts.

Cons: wish the red LED's were blue. no biggie.

Pros: Fast! Asus Auto Tune to 4.6 is a breeze and very easy to handle. Upgraded from a EVGA 750i SLI FTW mobo to this one.

Cons: Had some wierd issues at one point with the usb ports "surging" so to speak or atleast Windows was saying that. But, it has not happened anymore. Only lasted about a day.

Pros: Nice board. Everything worked. No compatiabilty issues.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Wanted to build intel system. Had built two AMD Systems previously. This was one of the most simple builds. Everything worked perfectly. My next system will be around intel

Pros: Amazing feature set with enough tweaks available to keep an OCD hummingbird busy forever

Cons: The first one I purchased was open box and had a faulty USB port, returned it and paid the extra for the boxed version that conveniently was on sale at that point for less than the open box version I had.

HOWEVER this new boxed version was a newer one and it comes with a small bluetooth attachment that isn't detailed in the manual so initially i left it sitting out until i figured out what it was weeks later and had to disassemble my whole rig to get it in, now I'm glad I have though because the remote controls via bluetooth really help when you have to shut down or reset your computer.

also, nothing on this board but PCIE slots so you won't be able to recycle older components like your wireless card and have to buy a whole brand new one and be without internet for weeks waiting for it to come

Other Thoughts: the error code LEDs are superuseful, make sure you have a case with a mesh-style or clear acrylic top/side so you can see them.