ASUS Rampage III Extreme Review World First
Introduction
Published: 26th March 2010 | Source: Asus | Price: TBC |
Introduction
I'm sure it wont have escaped your notice that ASUS have given us an exclusive chance to review their Rampage III Extreme. A board that is the follow up to the incredibly popular Rampage II Extreme and ASUS hope will reclaim the spot of premium X58 motherboard.
Not due to be officially released to the public for a couple of months, we managed to get hold of serial number 001 as we showed in our earlier preview, and now is the time to bring you all the results you're aching to see. There is a lot to cover, so let's get straight in to the technical specifications.
Technical Specifications
| Model | ROG Rampage III Extreme |
| CPU | Supports the Intel® Processors in the LGA1366 Package |
| Chipset | Intel® X58/ICH10R |
| Memory | 6 x DIMM, Triple Channel, up to 24G |
| Expansion Slots | 4 x PCIe2.0 x16 slot (x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8) 1 x PCIe x4 1 x PCI 2.2 |
| Multi-GPU | NVIDIA 3-Way SLI™ / ATI CrossFireX™ Technology, ready for 4 single PCB graphic cards |
| Storage | 7 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ; 1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s; 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth V2.0/V2.1+EDR accessories card RC Bluetooth ON/OFF switch |
| LAN | Intel® Gigabit LAN |
| Audio | 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC |
| IEEE1394a | 2 x 1394a ports (1 port at rear; 1 port onboard) |
| USB | 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (at back panel) |
| Other I/O Ports | 1*PS/2, 1*eSATA, 1*IEEE1394a, 1*Clr CMOS, 1* ROG Connect Switch |
| Fan connectors | 8 x Fan connectors (1 x CPU / 1 x PWR / 3 x Chassis / 3 x Optional) |
| Software | Kaspersky anti-virus (1-year full edition); 3DMark® Vantage Advanced Edition |
| Features | Extreme Engine Digi+, USB BIOS Flashback, ROG Connect, ROG Extreme OC Kit, Extreme Tweaker, iROG, ProbeIt, ASUS Q-LED, Loadline Calibration, Q-Fan plus |
| Form Factor | extended ATX Form Factor, 12”x 10.6” (30.5cm x 26.9cm) |
Lots of information there, and lots for us to cover in the following pages. At a glance it looks like this is the Rampage II crossed with the P55 Maximus III Extreme. That definitely isn't a bad thing.
Packaging time.
Most Recent Comments
Ummm either im blind or i cant see the videocard and you seriously need to get a more powerful psu more like 850 to 1200 watts.
Oops a small brain-fart on my side.. corrected now (VapourX HD5870)
I take on-board the comments re: PSU, although it seems to be running fine and cool.
So a 1K psu should do it then, only downside, under-used big psu's are less efficient & waste power.
Any specific make recommendations for a good psu?
Too many HD's? there's only 2 SSD's and currently 1x Raptor, the other drives are only plugged in (external eSATA) when needed.
I still need to workout if I can drop the Raptor & the win paging file as I have 12GB Mem, then I'll be all SSD and a bit faster?
Steve
Crucial 128GB SSD SATA 6
ADATA 100GB SSD SATA 3
WD 150GB 10K RPM Raptor (not new)Just for paging file & win7 system auto backup
WD 500GB eSATA external backup drive.
USB 1TB Maxtor (too slow.. now not used)
i just seen that and though thats alot of space lol
Crucial 128GB SSD SATA 6
ADATA 100GB SSD SATA 3
WD 150GB 10K RPM Raptor (not new)Just for paging file & win7 system auto backup
WD 500GB eSATA external backup drive.
USB 1TB Maxtor (too slow.. now not used)
Hehe it was worse before, I had 500, 400 & 150GB drives in there, plus the ADATA 100GB as system boot disk.
the WD500GB eSATA is not permanently connected, only for data in/out
I'm testing NO paging file now, 2 days so far no probs yet, I might get away with it with 12GB mem?
If it works? I'll remove the only mechanical drive left (Raptor) permanently.
The reason for 2 SSD's? I already had the ADATA one, I saw the Crucial one was SATA 6, so bought that just for the boot drive.
My work involves lots of Video processing & converting, often Big files, at least now this processing is Very fast, I load them to the fast SSD and work on them from there.
Cheers
Steve
And, still working fine (3 days) with No paging file, so far so good
Steve
What bout the psu have you got a better wattage one and also if you wanna overclocm you should get a decent cpu cooler like the noctua nh-d14
Hi adicool96, Yes I just checked out my system on asus's power supply checker, oops say's I need 700W min
Ok I bow to all you guys with the experience on psu's, I'll checkout Corsair's offerings, maybe a D14 as well.. oh dear, more expense..
Cheers
Steve
#Edit: Just ordered this:-
850W Corsair Pro Gold AX850, Modular, 80 PLUS Gold, 90% Eff', SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, 120mm Fan
Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator and Fan Quiet CPU Cooler
..Sorted
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