Asus, a Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer, produces a number of motherboards. Both Intel-based and AMD-based, Asus motherboards target overclockers and gamers, small business owners and general users. A number of Asus motherboards are compatible with Windows 7 and with Linux and offer Energy Star 5.0 features. Due to their popularity with the overclocking community and their stability, Asus motherboards have received a number of awards from hardware review sites.
Energy Star 5.0 Compliance
Asus became the first motherboard manufacturer to release products that met Energy Star 5.0 requirements. Energy Star initiated new Off Mode, Sleep State, and Idle State standards as of July 1, 2009, and a number of Asus motherboards are compatible with these updated specifications. These modes reduce energy consumption of PCs by shutting down unused and unneeded hardware components. Energy Star 5.0-compatible motherboards include Asus' P5Q and P5KPL Intel series and M4A78 for AMD CPUs.
Windows 7 Compatibility
The Asus P5Q Pro was the first motherboard to attain Windows Hardware Quality Labs' (WHQL) certification for the 32-bit version of Windows 7. Asus now offers a wide range of Windows 7-compatible motherboards, including several in the Republic of Gaming (ROG) series, Intel Socket 1366, Intel Socket 1156, Intel Socket 775 and AMD boards.
TUF Series
Asus unveiled the TUF (The Ultimate Force) series of motherboards on Oct. 1, 2009. The first TUF motherboard, the Intel-based SABERTOOTH 55i, features CeraM!X heat sinks that cool through ceramics-based compounds as opposed to anti-oxidant compounds. According to Asus, the TUF motherboards undergo more extensive testing than their other motherboards. Further, the motherboard's capacitors are certified for military-grade usage.
Linux Compatibility
Asus has tested and supports a wide range of both Intel-based and AMD-based motherboards on four different Linux distributions---Fedora Core, Red Hat, Suse and Ubuntu. Asus offers a list of motherboards supported, along with the Linux distribution and version number.
Awards
The Asus Crosshair III AMD-based motherboard has won the HotHardware.com Approved Award and the Editor's Choice HardOCP Silver Award. Intel-based motherboards such as the P7P55D Deluxe and the P7P55D EVO have won Bjorn3D.com's Golden Bear Award and Benchmarkreviews.com's Golden Tachometer Award, respectively.
Republic of Gamers
Asus manufactures motherboards, video cards and laptops under its "Republic of Gamers" (ROG) brand. Founded in 2006, the current ROG motherboard line-up includes the AMD-based Crosshair II and III, the Core 2 Duo-based Rampage Extreme and Striker II, and the iCore7-based Maximus III and Rampage II.
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