ASUS Maximus II Gene micro-ATX motherboard review

When ASUS launched, and we subsequently reviewed, their micro-ATX Maximus II Gene part, we derived a lot of pleasure out of seeing Intel's latest enthusiast-oriented chipset squeezed into such a small footprint without losing anything in terms of features, performance or overclocking - If you were looking to build the Small Form Factor PC to rule them all, it certainly looked like a perfect choice of motherboard solution.

Of course, not everyone wants to splash out on the latest and greatest, and even with Core i5 and another new CPU socket on the way, Intel's Core 2 architecture is still going strong with plenty to offer system builders.  Today we'll be taking a look at a part which seeks to call to both overclockers and those looking to build SFF systems with an eye towards placing the tried and trusted Core 2 architecture at its heart, in the form of another micro-ATX motherboard from ASUS - The Maximus II Gene.  Can it serve as an impressive last hurrah for the P45 chipset before P55 and Core i5 are ushered in a few months from now?