ASUS Rampage IV Extreme review -
Product Showcase
Ehm, let's have a look at Rear IO connectivity first and then walk you through the motherboard -- first thing we notice, a legacy PS/2 combo port, preferred by hardcore gamers.
Next to that a Clear CMOS switch followed by a ROG Connect switch. We see two external eSATA ports (6GBs). Weird weird weird, just one Intel Ethernet jack, we see a Bluetooth/EDR module, then USB connectivity wise you'll get 4x USB 3.0 and 8x USB 2.0, optical and coaxial audio out as well as 7.1 audio which is managed by the Realtek ALC892 codec which supports High Definition audio up-to 7.1 channels.
Just behind the Rear IO panel a little switch is hidden away, this is the Q reset button. When the LN2 mode jumper refuses to work you can press this button to temporarily stop power from the PSU to the CPU to hopefully quickly recover to a working state. So yeah, that's a button for the professional overclockers really.
When we flip the board around a little we stumble into the processor area. Reasonably spacious, the DIMM slots draw attention but do cost space. But it makes sense to have them as close as possible to the processor (memory controllers) for optimal signal quality of course. We deliberately used the red Corsair DIMM modules, how cool does that look huh ?
Mind you that socket LGA 2011 typically requires a new retention mechanism, meaning you either need to upgrade the CPU cooler brackets, purchase a compatible cooler or alternatively go with the liquid cooled SKU Intel releases opposed to a tray CPU. However, the ASUS R4E is backwards compatible with socket 1366 coolers with what they call the X -socket. If you remove the backplate pad with the new one included in the box Socket 1366 coolers should fit.
Here we can also spot one 8-pin and then one 4-pin CPU power header.
Components wise we only see quality stuff, solid capacitors, solid core chokes, quality components common these days for most tier 1 manufacturers. There is 8 x DIMM support for 64 GB memory, and support for unbuffered DIMMs at 1.5 Volts, DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866/2133(OC)/2400(OC) DRAM. So it would support 1GB/ 2GB/ 4GB/ 8GB DRAM sizes. Obviously, depending on the number of DIMMS in use, you get support for Single, Dual-channel and Quad-channel (four DIMM) mode.
ASUS recently released an update to their Rampage IV series motherboards with a black edition. It's big, fast and black and has tweaking written all over it. The board is just gorgeous and totally ...
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.