ASUS Rampage III Extreme review

Posted by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 04/20/2010 01:00 PM [ 0 comment(s) ]

Introduction

ASUS Rampage III Extreme

ASUS Rampage III Extreme motherboard test

You know, I have a soft spot for the X58 platform and the Core i7 processors that go along with it. And you know what, it is hard to believe that the first Core i7 processors and this chipset were released ages ago. I mean, the Core i7 965 Extreme and X58 chipset were released in 2008, November the 3rd to be precise.

And sure, there have been processor updates but really, our VGA tests systems for example, still run on X58 and that 965X processor. The entire setup is just THAT good, and we expect that it will remain being the case for a long time to come as well. Especially with that delicious six core 980X processor recently released.

Technology is evolving though and the biggest trend over the past few months and the upcoming year will of course be SATA 6G (6 Gbit) and USB 3.0 (5 Gbit). Intel is stalling though, they just won't release new chipsets with the new features. And as a result the ODMs are simply adapting and trying to pick up the trend by placing additional controllers themselves on the motherboard PCB.

As such for ASUS it was time to release their all new Rampage III Extreme. .. a motherboard that is doing it doggy style, with you being the bitch. Yes Sir.

What ASUS today releases with the X58 based Rampage III Extreme is unadulterated performance, quality, versatility, some recently introduced innovation and massive overclockability. It's amongst the most high-end X58 motherboards available. You can overclock it through your laptop, or even through Bluetooth over some (selected) mobile phones.

The rest of the specifications of the ATX form factor Rampage III extreme will endear itself to PC enthusiasts and gamers. It supports a maximum of 24GB DDR3 memory, and has a stunning four PCIe (physical x16) slots: which supports single, dual, triple, and quad graphics card configurations, plus obviously is supports both NVIDIA's SLI and ATIs Crossfireas up you get to run up-to four graphics cards in PCIe x8 mode.

The sky is the limit with the rampage III Extreme, have a look at this brilliant motherboard with revamped features and new looks and then let's head onward into the review after which we'll test it with the Core i7 980X processor to see if we can lift it to 4.5 GHz on air (spoiler -- we certainly did!). Next page please.

ASUS Rampage III Extreme

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ASUS Rampage IV Extreme review
The ROG team this time went wild, releasing a motherboard with all the features that last-gen motherboards should have such as USB 3.0 connectivity, Bluetooth, eSATA connectors, SATA 6.0Gbps, and 7.1 channel audio, but the real x-factor of the Rampage IV Extreme can only be found when we look at its overclocking features. Head on over to the next page where we'll discuss the X79 chipset, the respective ASUS model. Then will throw a decent photo-shoot and a benchmark suite at the products and get an indication what performance is like with the Intel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E) and X79 Platform.

ASUS Rampage III Black Edition review
ASUS are launching the ASUS Rampage III Black Edition and it just has to be the most exclusive X58 motherboard we have ever had our hands on. Improved overclockability, black design (including a black colored BIOS). The spec-sheet might read pretty similar to last year's Rampage III Extreme, but there have been a few tweaks alright. The board now sports a quartet of PCIe x16 slots capable of supporting three-way SLI or four-way CrossFireX, support for 24GB DDR3 at speeds of up to 2,200MHz and then the fun begins, USB 3.0, SATA 6G, a ThunderBolt add-on card that integrates Xonar sound as well as BigFoot's Killer NPU.

ASUS Rampage III Gene review
Within that motto ASUS has it's own Gene series within the motherboard line up. Now if you put that on the X58 platform, it's called Rampage by ASUS. And then when this apocalyptic group of minions and demons called 'Republic of Gamers' aka ROG gets their hands on a product like this, you can expect improvements and extra overclock features.

ASUS Rampage III Extreme review
We test the ASUS Rampage III Extreme motherboard. The X58 based Rampage III Extreme is unadulterated performance, quality, versatility, some recently introduced innovation and massive overclockability. Now with added SATA 6G and USB 3.0 controllers as well.