I had a similar issue with a Maximus X38 board.. Asus had it forever, sent me 2 faulty boards.
Finally Mason Winner ( yea for Mason) Upgraded me to a Maximus II Formula P45 board.
I honestly wanted my X38 SE board back but happy with the upgrade none the less. Even tho my X38 SE clocked better.
I hear people all over forums bash Asus for RMA, clearly they have never dealt with Gigabyte's RMA policy
I tried to buy a EVGA board, had it loaded in my cart ready to check out... when suddenly a wierd feeling came over me. I felt dirty in need of a shower, the filth was so bad. I quickly realized what I did and cleared my cart and bought a Maximus IV. I have never been more sastified.
4770K@4500mhZ
Asus Maximus VI Hero
2x Sapphire Tahiti core 7870 Crossfire @ 1150/1500
8GB Patriot Viper @ 1866MHz
Intel 520 SSD - 2x1TB Raid0 - 2TB WD Green
Corsair AX860i
Cosmos S Custom
H20 Cooling