RoG Maximus VII Gene

$206 Asus

This wins not only the ‘longest name in test’ award but overall top performance too. And all that from a micro-ATX.

The features are up there with the best; only the next-gen storage connections are lacking. Asus has decided that SATA Express doesn’t fit with its RoG brand, so the Gene has only M.2. My only concern is that it’s placed between two PCIe 3.0 GPU slots—a position that can get very hot under load.

At stock settings the CPU performance is best in class. It’s also top of the boards in gaming—the highest minimum fps scores look especially good. In overclocking it shares the top spot with the full-size Z97-A. So why is this board languishing here instead of at the start of the test?

In a word: money. The Gene is too expensive. The more versatile Z97-A manages the same performance for a lot less cash.