ASUS Rampage III Extreme Review World First
PCMark, PassMark, Everest, POVRay, CineBench
Published: 26th March 2010 | Source: Asus | Price: TBC |
Synthetics Continued
PC Mark Vantage
PC Mark Vantage is one of the better ways to quickly test an entire system without spending the whole day loading various applications and utilities, as the program itself has all the main ones built in and performs an huge amount of actions very quickly.
As you can see the Rampage II and Rampage III are pretty much inseparable throughout the tests, but the Rampage III Extreme gains enough where it matters than we just can't wait to play with a retail BIOS.
PassMark 7.0
PassMark tests in a very different way to PC Mark, but the results are nonetheless a fair representation of the performance level you could expect.
Again both systems are within a gnats chuff of identical.
Everest Ultimate
Everest Ultimate seemed to have a few issues with our Rampage III Extreme. If you consider all of these tests are really testing the CPU, then the differences are staggering, and baffling. This is definitely a test we will revisit when we have a final BIOS on our hands.
POVRay
The Persistence Of Vision RAYtracer puts us back where the other tests have shown us to be, right on a par with the Rampage II Extreme.
However, at the risk of beating a dead horse, the huge gain seen in the average PPS test is very impressive considering the relative maturities of the respective BIOS.
CineBench 11.5
CineBench is the latest version of the Cinema4D based benchmarking suite. The OpenGL test, whilst not giving a result either way, was such a shock we had to show you it. No we didn't accidently paste the wrong data in. Both of them really got 33.54. Demonstrating the purity of the CineBench test.
CPU results mirror the POVRay test in that the Rampage III Extreme has a definite edge that will only improve in time.
We'll have a quick look at the 3D and gaming benchmarks before heading to our conclusion.
Most Recent Comments
Wow. Dear santa... 
man that is just amazing and i agree i totally love that ROG connect countless times ive been in windows when ive noticed in gettin bad vdroop and thot have to reboot to up the vcore a little this will totally eliminate things like that
Great review Tom, appreciate the time you have put into it. A note though, on some of your graphs you have changed the scale to exaggerate the difference. Imo the scales should go from 0 throughout the article. One of the graphs at a glance appears to have a 'Massive'difference between the two boards but the results are 8.91 and 8.52 respectively.
Just a thought.
EDIT: Just watch your vid, very comprehensive on all the 'little' features.
Did you note the temperature of the x58 chip? Would anyone need to use the supplied large heatsink+fan jobby?
Just a thought.
EDIT: Just watch your vid, very comprehensive on all the 'little' features.
Did you note the temperature of the x58 chip? Would anyone need to use the supplied large heatsink+fan jobby?
Our graphing software automatically scales, and if it begins at 0 all the time we'll need three monitor setups for CPU Queen results
Nice review m8. I'm liking the videos!
I'm not so sure about the graphs not starting from zero though as not doing this can make the differences between the two products exagerated, especially at a glance. It does however emphasize those differences so its horses for courses I guess.
I'm still not sold on the heatsinks or the colour scheme. Both are good looking but nothing innovating or exciting which we have come to expect from market leaders such as Asus. I guess I'd prefer something a bit more original for such an expensive piece of hardware and not a clone of the classifieds look.
Keep up the good work
I'm not so sure about the graphs not starting from zero though as not doing this can make the differences between the two products exagerated, especially at a glance. It does however emphasize those differences so its horses for courses I guess.
I'm still not sold on the heatsinks or the colour scheme. Both are good looking but nothing innovating or exciting which we have come to expect from market leaders such as Asus. I guess I'd prefer something a bit more original for such an expensive piece of hardware and not a clone of the classifieds look.
Keep up the good work
Good review, I enjoyed the focus on the extras - they have to justify the extra price of these special bits of kit, especially nowadays when most, even midrange, boards can achieve decent clocks.
The PCI-E lane switches are a great idea, something I'd like to see on all good boards actually. The ROG connect also looks awesome, I think controlling the BIOS in windows is something that we've been missing for a long time. I do remember having machines in the past, say 10 years back, where you could change BIOS settings in windows though. Remote startup is cool too, something I'd really use if I had the board. I don't understand why an additional heatsink is required though. Why not include a better heatsink as stock? Perhaps make the fan optional instead?
Besides all that, 4.6GHz is really quite impressive, though I'll wait until that BIOS has matured before making any judgements. Certainly promising though, though looks like you'll have to review it over again when you've got an update. I'm sure that won't be too much of a chore ;-)
The PCI-E lane switches are a great idea, something I'd like to see on all good boards actually. The ROG connect also looks awesome, I think controlling the BIOS in windows is something that we've been missing for a long time. I do remember having machines in the past, say 10 years back, where you could change BIOS settings in windows though. Remote startup is cool too, something I'd really use if I had the board. I don't understand why an additional heatsink is required though. Why not include a better heatsink as stock? Perhaps make the fan optional instead?
Besides all that, 4.6GHz is really quite impressive, though I'll wait until that BIOS has matured before making any judgements. Certainly promising though, though looks like you'll have to review it over again when you've got an update. I'm sure that won't be too much of a chore ;-)
excellent review mate
How ever the vids ... TOM YOU NEED SLEEP MATE ...................
other wise spot on every thing else.
How ever the vids ... TOM YOU NEED SLEEP MATE ...................
other wise spot on every thing else.
Why does everyone keep saying I need sleep!
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Originally Posted by name='mayhem'
How ever the vids ... TOM YOU NEED SLEEP MATE ................... |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='tinytomlogan'
Why does everyone keep saying I need sleep!
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Naaaa just had a hard life, my paper round was all up hill 
because vid in first vid you can tell you were tired. you slurred your words a little. (might be early in the morning or late at night) but never the less if you listen properly you can hear it. And all so you eyes say you absolutely knackered with dark rings under them and you left eye has gone lazy in the vid. This happens when your tired some times.
You all so get lazy eye as well when your concentration but in this instance it looks like it because you totally bugged. I have the same problem my self and my lass tells me all the time.
But it still doesn't put off the fact your a dammed good video reviewer and im not picking fault in anyway. you asked and ive answered . please don't take office though bud.
You all so get lazy eye as well when your concentration but in this instance it looks like it because you totally bugged. I have the same problem my self and my lass tells me all the time.
But it still doesn't put off the fact your a dammed good video reviewer and im not picking fault in anyway. you asked and ive answered . please don't take office though bud.
I think thats just me tbh dude!
i see the DimasTech Bench Table will that be a review on its own (new version). looks like new USB front port and looks as though hes sorted out the miss aligned 5 1/4" bay's as well all so a few other things noted that are different. will look forward to seeing the diffrances in it.
Why no max bclk run?
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Originally Posted by name='stock'
Why no max bclk run?
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If the 4.6ghz on an unstable bios is anything to go by it will be a stormer when all the creases are ironed out.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-395-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1692
£329.99 inc VAT pre-order. wow pricey. Should be as good as the classified for this price!!
£329.99 inc VAT pre-order. wow pricey. Should be as good as the classified for this price!!
Loved it dude.. I dont do the reading anymore, I simply watch the videos XD
How is the on board audio? Would you recommend and audio and in like the X-Fi Titanium?
would love to see how well this overclocks with a retail BIOS, the i7 980x and some phase change cooling
Many thanks for a great review. On the strength of the review I purchased this mobo, and yes, it is a work of art in many ways, not just looks.
I had for years a core 2 Duo (3.0GHz) and felt the need or speed
So the list of goodies for my Christmas present to self :-
i7 980X Extreme
Asus Rampage III Extreme ROG
12GB Corsair i7 Extreme mem
Radeon VapourX HD7850
Crucial 128GB SSD SATA 6
ADATA 100GB SSD SATA 3
WD 500GB eSATA external backup drive (not permanently connected)
USB 1TB Maxtor (too slow.. now not used)
iCute 600W modular PSU
CoolerMaster HAF 912 case (Big 200mm Fan) Blissfully silent.
Mods: Just added another Coolermaster 200mm fan to top of case.
Have run it to 4GHz with no probs, but currently back to stock, as it's so damn fast, plus I'm not overly confident on the miriad of settings to get a good overclock.
I would need to upgrade the psu to look seriously at Over clocking, not sure it's worth the trouble?
I play Dirt2 online @1920x1080, the benchmark reported over a 100fps, which on the core2 duo was only 60fps.
Boot times? from when 'Starting Windows' appears to desktop 13.7 seconds, this was worse, before I removed 2 'mechanical' HD's, I didn't want to use one of the SSD's for paging file, as I heard this hammers them a bit and may reduce it's life? unless I was miss-informed?
Or... with 12GB mem, can I afford to kill the paging file option completely? then I could remove the last HD and be all SSD. I would be interested in your expert opinions on this.
Steve
I had for years a core 2 Duo (3.0GHz) and felt the need or speed
So the list of goodies for my Christmas present to self :-
i7 980X Extreme
Asus Rampage III Extreme ROG
12GB Corsair i7 Extreme mem
Radeon VapourX HD7850
Crucial 128GB SSD SATA 6
ADATA 100GB SSD SATA 3
WD 500GB eSATA external backup drive (not permanently connected)
USB 1TB Maxtor (too slow.. now not used)
iCute 600W modular PSU
CoolerMaster HAF 912 case (Big 200mm Fan) Blissfully silent.
Mods: Just added another Coolermaster 200mm fan to top of case.
Have run it to 4GHz with no probs, but currently back to stock, as it's so damn fast, plus I'm not overly confident on the miriad of settings to get a good overclock.
I would need to upgrade the psu to look seriously at Over clocking, not sure it's worth the trouble?
I play Dirt2 online @1920x1080, the benchmark reported over a 100fps, which on the core2 duo was only 60fps.
Boot times? from when 'Starting Windows' appears to desktop 13.7 seconds, this was worse, before I removed 2 'mechanical' HD's, I didn't want to use one of the SSD's for paging file, as I heard this hammers them a bit and may reduce it's life? unless I was miss-informed?
Or... with 12GB mem, can I afford to kill the paging file option completely? then I could remove the last HD and be all SSD. I would be interested in your expert opinions on this.
Steve
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Originally Posted by HeliEye
Many thanks for a great review. On the strength of the review I purchased this mobo, and yes, it is a work of art in many ways, not just looks. I had for years a core 2 Duo (3.0GHz) and felt the need or speed So the list of goodies for my Christmas present to self :- i7 980X Extreme Asus Rampage III Extreme ROG 12GB Corsair i7 Extreme mem 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) iCute 600W modular PSU CoolerMaster HAF 912 case (Big 200mm Fan) Blissfully silent. Mods: Just added another Coolermaster 200mm fan to top of case. Have run it to 4GHz with no probs, but currently back to stock, as it's so damn fast, plus I'm not overly confident on the miriad of settings to get a good overclock. I would need to upgrade the psu to look seriously at Over clocking, not sure it's worth the trouble? I play Dirt2 online @1920x1080, the benchmark reported over a 100fps, which on the core2 duo was only 60fps. Boot times? from when 'Starting Windows' appears to desktop 13.7 seconds, this was worse, before I removed 2 'mechanical' HD's, I didn't want to use one of the SSD's for paging file, as I heard this hammers them a bit and may reduce it's life? unless I was miss-informed? Or... with 12GB mem, can I afford to kill the paging file option completely? then I could remove the last HD and be all SSD. I would be interested in your expert opinions on this. Steve |
go for the 970 instead of the 980x fella,look at mushkin RAM aswell
deffo get a better PSU fella,not sure why you need to many HDD and SSD's lol
and i cant see no vid card ither
deffo get a better PSU fella,not sure why you need to many HDD and SSD's lol
and i cant see no vid card ither
Yay that means im not blind woohoo, amd i think he already has the rig.
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Originally Posted by adicool96
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. |
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
Take a look at corsair psu's and modern psu's have efficiency even when unused according to ratings so no worries there.
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)
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)
Quote:
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Originally Posted by AMDFTW
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) |
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
The last mechanical HD Raptor 150GB now removed, all solid state now.
And, still working fine (3 days) with No paging file, so far so good
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
Quote:
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Originally Posted by adicool96
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 |
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
Nice, congrats on your upgrade post many pics.
Can we move this to a relevent thread in the forums now please guys 
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