I am not usually one to do this but with the amount of guys we have overclocking now I thought I would pass on some info.I just swapped boards to the New Asus Maximus Extreme. It is $$ at $349US but holy cow!!!Just a few features on the board itself, I will get into the BIOS shortly... It is based on the X38 chipset with PCIE 2.0 and SATA 3.0 so it is definitely based on latest h/w but regardless of all of that, how about this for thinking about us overclockers...How about a CMOS reset SLIDER instead of a having to set it with a Jumper :)It also has a CMOS reset on the OUTSIDE of the board by your USB inputs in the rear. OMG, all I have to do is hit a button on the back to reset BIOS defaults, it is amazing.It also has a Power button and Reset button on the board itself so if you are testing outside a case no need to hook anything up, they really thought it through.This is my favorite...It came with an external LCD that displays BIOS Post messages for you. When it wouldn't boot it actually told me on this little LCD it was my DDR3 Voltage. I hit the reset button on the back, loaded my saved BIOS and then adjusted my DDR3 Voltage and Voila it boots.It also has LED's on the board itself to show how hard it is being Overclocked and how close you are to limits w/voltage etc...It also has the CPU restore feature that will restore default BIOS settings in the event the machine doesn't POST due to CPU overclocks anyway.Just those features alone make it worth it for me. I think I am finally in heaven LOL. I will report more later as the build progresses.-PaulPrimary Rig being rebuilt now...Liquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

What liquid cooler are you using?

Dual Koolance Systems but the board does not require liquid it is just pre-configured for it...-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E6600 @3.2 gigsAsus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @810Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Nice report on the Asus Maximus Extreme. That motherboard is on my short list for my new build. I was thinking of running a quad on it though, maybe with 4 gigs of DDR3 ( $$ ouch).RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Nice Paul!Mine has the little LED thing on the mobo too, which is neatThat CMOS slider sounds nice, the Asus A8n32-sli that I had had something where it would reset the BIOS to default settings if it would not boot after an unsuccesful OC.

That is a nice feature. I hardlocked my A8N-E, tweaking mem settings, back when I first built this box in late 05 and my first thought was "oh ____". I had not hardlocked a box in several years...then I remembered the BIOS reset jumper...but the switch solution is better yet!RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Yeah, the slider instead of the Jumper is great but the button on the back of the board which is accessible from outside the case is even better :)The LCD that displays your POST information is a really useful treat as well.Not to mention it natively picked up my DDR3 1333 with no issues at all.I actually just got my Acronis Universal restore up and running on the new Array. I am going through driver installs and I am almost done with one of my two XP builds now. I always dual-boot. One for FS9 and another for FSX and everything else so I have to go through everything 2x but it is sooo worth it. BTW, the CPU recall feature is something that Asus has had for a while. This is the first board I have seen that does a FULL O/C restore. Memory, Voltage, CPU, anything...More to report later when the O/C begins ;)For now, it could be placebo but this board with the E8500 stock at 3.16 and the matching DDR3 1333 seems faster stock than my previous Mobo w/ the 8500 @ 3.8 and DDR2 OC'd to 936...I will run a few tests to confirm or deny.-PEdit, Build 2 is done. That is my non FS9 drive so I always test everything there ;)

OK, so I am starting to see differences already...My old board was peaking the E8500 @ ~3.8 being stable at 3.75This board with the DDR3 running @ 1333 is already pushing 3.9 with CPU temps @ 38 and system temps @ 31. I picked up 4 seconds in a 2M SuperPi alone. I am seeing a 6k Aquamark3 jump already and noticing ~ a full 1k jump in 3DM 05. Yeah, they are dated benchmark programs but they are what I have always used with FS9 so it is a good baseline. It is also great to see both Video Cards at full 16x as well. I am about to start pushing the 4 gig barrier but at 3.9 this system is just SOOOO fluid... Time to go save the BIOS :)Cheers guys,-PHa, Just hit 4.0... Woo-Hoo :)D*mn at 4.0 I am at 45C under full load and just pulled another second off Super PI. AM3 is up 10k points off the old board and memory with the same chip. 3DM is up by almost 1500 now.The only real question at this point is how far she will go...Edit 2: Testing 4.18 now...CPU is at 40C now seeing close to 50C under full load...SuperPi 2M is down to 26SAM3 just jumped another 6k. I am scoring close to 235,000 at 1920*1200 highest settings... 3DM05 is ~ 2k higher points than old board.Do I dare try higher? My goal was 4.2 and I think I nailed it :) 4.19 is pretty close. I think I am going to save this BIOS and make one shot at 4.2+And she posts and boots @4.25 :)This is actually turning into a pretty serious OC now... I am keeping the DDR3 Down as close to 1333 as possible. I am at 1338 now. Amazingly I am still at 36C Idle temps...Primary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 @ 4.19Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs Corsair OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

So for tonight I think I am done. I hit the BSOD mark at 467X9.5 @ 4.45 but my VCore is only 1.4 so I think if I wanted to I could continue to play around. It looks like my stable range is between 4.25 and 4.37 with the sweet spot right around 4.3 and the wall right now at 4.45 Not too bad :)I actually get better Benchmarks at 4.27 than over 4.3 because I can keep the memory tighter under 4.3. Temps are not even a concern. 36-37C CPU and 31C for the system. I am pulling mid 40'2 under full load.I have to say the BIOS reset button on the tower got quite a workout tonight. For a guy with 6 back operations it was a life saver...Cheers everyone,-Paul Primary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 @ 4.27 @36CAsus Maximus Extreme2 gigs Corsair OCZ Reaper DDR3 1359Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTXRaid-0

Good morning everyone...So after some more testing and tweaking I have settled in @ a nice 445 X 9.5 @4.25 with the DDR3 @ 1338 maintaining my 6 6 6 timings. I just fired up FSX this morning and actually said "holy cr*p" out loud without even realizing it when it fired up. It was simply amazing. I am working on my FS9 build now. Let's see how she handles ImagineSim KEWR with the big boys (PMDG, LVL-D and yes PSS...)More reports to follow today.-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 OC'd @ 445x9.5=4.25 Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Hey everyone,First off my acceptance speech for this setup LOL :) I know I always see great H/W but wonder how it will actually handle FS so here you go.I would like to thank Tom, Avsim and the Mods for allowing me to have this forum to post in...Carl, Thank you for your original post on the E8500 which is what got this project rolling.Thanks to Acronis Universal restore for allowing me to change boards, memory, Raid controllers and everything else without having to re-install which is what is allowing me to already be in full FS flightand last but not least, thanks to my fellow simmers for not flaming me for repeatedly responding to my own posts...In return here is my unofficial review of the ASUS Maximus Extreme Motherboard.All I can say is this setup has created a FS nirvana. Again, if you did not check the sig I am running an E8500 @ 4.25 on the Asus Maximus Extreme w/ 2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333 w/ Dual 8800GTX (at 16x 16x) and 2 new SATA 3Gbps WD Caviar HD's in Raid-0. The rest of the system is fluff...I am actually blown away right now. First for the Hardware and then for what you care about in FS.This processor is unreal. I went from 3.16 Stock to 4.45 max O/C before I had a BSOD and started to back off. I have not gone above 55C under full load.I already covered some of the HW features of this board above that I have never ever seen before. In addition to that the BIOS on this thing is UNREAL. It steps your memory to match your CPU so it automatically shows aggressive as well as more relaxed speeds that match your CPU O/C. No more guesswork on what your memory should be. It also shows you in yellow the advertised speeds of your memory in the BIOS and it was dead on in terms of timings. In other words, it showed me that despite AUTO setting at 9 9 9 24 It was designed for 6 6 6 18. Yep, right their in the BIOS. It has more memory and voltage options than you could dream of. You can tweak for days (if you wanted too)It has the ability like most ASUS boards to store multiple OC profiles.The FSB seems to go on forever. You could easily pull 5.0 with this board if set up correctly, especially with the onboard liquid and the OC options.-Reset Slider on board instead of Jumper-Power and Reset on the board itself for configuration outside of the case without hooking up to a tower.-BIOS reset button on back of board external to case (reset BIOS without even cracking your case)-Automatic BIOS recall due to a CPU O/C failure (Just reset power switch and it will POST at default)-External LCD to display POST errors-LED's onboard to display O/C limits voltage limits etc...-8 fan connectors-3 thermal monitors that can be displayed on External LCD-X38 Chipset-1600/1333/1066/800 FSB-8 gig DDR3 support @1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066-3 PCIe Gfx dual PCIE 2.0 @ 16x, 16x, 8x each w/ 6 monitor support-2PCIex1 2xPCI 2.2-It is an ATI crossfire board but I am running Dual 8800GTX-6 3.0Gb/s SATA ports RAID 0,1,5,10-1 Ultra DMA 133/100/66 PATA for 2 devices-2 ESATA connections on back of board-Dual Gigabit Lan-SupremeFXII Audio Card 8 Channel High Def (I am using X-Fi though)-2 x1394-12 x USB 2.0And you get all Asus Software including PCProbe, AI NOS, AI Booster, AI Overclocker and a full version of Stalker. 3DMark 06 Advanced and Kaspersky A/V.Now for FS. I am doing more in FS9 still as that is my primary sim but I did fly a couple of Just Flight Rescue Missions in X and I have to say it was smooth as butter and I have never tweaked FSX at all. The image results were amazing and that was with everything at high to very high settings. For the first time I could "theoretically" see myself using X and enjoying it. I had no stutters or blurries. Textures were clear crisp, no popping and the same goes for FS9.FS9 is even more impressive. Running 3 monitors at ImagineSim KEWR in the LVL-D 767 running ASV, ASG, PFE, FS2Crew, FSPassengers, UTUSA, GEPro with ALL settings pegged right except for AI @ 60% (I wanted to fly today LOL)it is smooth as butter. Not only are textures crisp and clear with no popping or blurring but it is completely smooth. No stutters or micro-stutters at all. AI is completely smooth on the ground as well as in the air. Taxiing is a joy. Again, no stutters at all, EVEN when turning on the ground at KEWR in the LVL-D 767. I could read taxi signs even as performing 90 degrees turns. Watching AI taxi without any stutter is something I have never seen in my FS days. Lighting was like I have never seen and it seems like everything FS9 could possibly do was being done. The takeoff was awesome as I felt the speed of the sim. Things were happening much faster and more importantly smoother. Climbout over NYC with 100% autogen was a joy. Flying through thick full clouds resulted in no stutter and to the contrary gave the sensation of flight and speed. I do not know how to describe it and you can call me crazy but it felt like I was "flying" through the clouds LOL. Additionally, PFE was able to keep up with ALL traffic communications now. There was no delay and it did not miss a single movement. The system was handling anything thrown at it.Now that I am at FL370 I again have the sensation of very fast movement when flying past the clouds and looking down. There is no stutter looking straight down at the ground. The Water is clear and I can see wave movement for as far as my system is rendering. Textures are clear and again there is no popping of textures or Mesh. I just had a CO737 pass me at 350 and amazingly I could see it was a CO 737 approaching. Textures were clear and visible for miles and there was no stuttering as she FLEW past LOL.Also, I do not know if AI is a set %. In other words, 60% traffic on this system at the same time of day and same airport produced a significant increase in AI. Perhaps 60% at 4.25 is different to 60% at 3.2 or 3.7.Finally, because I used Acronis this is the EXACT same setup as my old rig. I did not install or modify anything. It is all the same .cfg files as before so there are no external factors other than HW.So In conclusion, if you already have a good video card, sound card, hard drives etc... you can do a MotherBoard, Processor, Memory Upgrade for $750 that is IMHO mind blowing. I have no regrets at all and to the contrary I am finally seeing the FS experience I knew the E8500 should deliver.This Setup LOVES FS. For anyone thinking of upgrading I hope this info helps you a little bit.-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 445X9.5 @ 4.25Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR 1333Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2.0 16XSAA/16XAF24 inch Widescreen LCD Dual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Nice mini-review. Did you ever consider building with 4gb system mem (2 x 2gb)?I'm presently wrangling with the idea of 2-core or 4-core cpu; X38 (ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME) vs. X48 (ASUS RAMPAGE); and XP vs. Vista64. haha! Any comments?RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>Nice mini-review. >>Did you ever consider building with 4gb system mem (2 x 2gb)?>>I'm presently wrangling with the idea of 2-core or 4-core cpu;>X38 (ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME) vs. X48 (ASUS RAMPAGE); and XP vs.>Vista64. haha! Any comments?>>>Rhett>>AMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS>A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150>gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb>5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster PraetorianRhett,I'm now using a P5E3 Premium x48. You should also take a hard look at this board for your short list. I have also made the switch from 4x1GB DDR3 Supertalent modules to 2x2GB DDR3 Patriot Viper modules. I had zero problems getting the Patriot modules to run at advertised settings with the processor overclocked. I had alot of issues getting the 4x1GB kits playing well together but that was partially due to the P5K3 mobo. As you are well aware, it is alot easier getting two slots of memory running well vice four in an overclocked setup. When I updated the motherboard I also made the switch to Vista x64 and I couldn't be happier. Everything has run just fine. I know your also aware that I tried a 3870X2 when I changed things up this go around. That's one piece that I would definitely remove from your short list (I think you have) but incase you haven't, It can't perform anywhere near the 8800GTX in FSX.

>I know your also aware that I tried a 3870X2 when I changed>things up this go around. That's one piece that I would>definitely remove from your short list (I think you have) but>incase you haven't, It can't perform anywhere near the>8800GTX in FSX.You probably don't know this because I have not mentioned it in any of my posts...but after much consideration, Monday, I ordered a BFG 8800GTX with 768 mb vidmem.I think the 8800GTX's are going to disappear from the market soon, so I figured I had better get that 384-bit memory interface card while I could. New cards oddly enough seem to have 256-bit mem interface. I believe now, very firmly, that FSX is all about the BANDWIDTH, due to the design decisions ACES made (such as with respect to autogen...see Phil Taylor's latest blog post).Regarding the mem sticks; yes indeed I am going for 2x2gb for sure. And the Patriot Viper DDR3 1600 sticks are one of the final candidates. I still need to research some of the latencies on some of these DDR3 modules but I'm getting there.Regarding the motherboard, thanks for mentioning the P5E3 Premium. I do need to take a long hard look at it. The idea of spending $250+ for a board always grates with me, but then, I have no budgetary constraints, and I won't rebuild for at least 2.5 years anyway.Right now I'm having a time picking a case. Yes, a case. :) I want to make sure my 8800GTX fits well in whatever I get.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>Right now I'm having a time picking a case. Yes, a case. :) I>want to make sure my 8800GTX fits well in whatever I get.Rhett,This case will take anything you can think of. It's a beast.With Power Supply:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119136Without Power Supply:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119122--Bob