Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68 Motherboard Review

Gaming Benchmarks3DMark Vantage

Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7.

3DMark Vantage is the industry standard performance benchmark for DirectX 10 gaming PCs. It includes two graphics tests, two CPU tests and six feature tests. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark Vantage is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 10 under game-like loads.

When overclocked, the true potential was seen, offering over a 2000 points increase in performance compared to stock.

[B]3DMark 11

[/B]3DMark 11 is the latest offering from Futuremark, taking full advantage of DirectX 11 by utilising tessellation features and volumetric lighting. It takes your graphics and CPU hardware to the edge to simulate the most extreme conditions whilst working as a stand point to compare results with other users online.

3DMark 11 saw a little increase in performance but is more GPU focussed so we wasn’t expecting fantastic results from using this benchmark.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure stealth game that uses the Unreal Engine 3. It relies heavily on nVidia’s PhsyX engine to give improved physics throughout if available. and uses lots of textures and polygons to build the character.

Batman saw a slight increase in performance but due to the already high frame-rate received from our GTX 580, the extra few FPS wouldn’t be noticeable. For users with a slightly lower-end graphics setup, you may be able to squeeze something more by use of an overclock when using this board.