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.