ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard Review

ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 Motherboard

The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 motherboard is the latest in a long line of ASUS Rampage Republic of Gamers motherboards. The original ASUS Rampage Extreme dates back to the days of the Intel X48 chipset and Intel Core 2 processors. Reminiscing about these brings back a few fond memories of the early Intel quad core processors. But I digress, the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme is the ASUS flagship motherboard for the Intel X79 express chipset and retails for $449.99. At first glance the price is a steep one, once you see what the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 motherboard is all about you may change your mind and believe it is well worth it.

The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme is definitely geared for the extreme overclocker. With features like subzero sense, a Liquid Nitrogen mode, and a Slow mode you can tell ASUS was aiming for an extreme board. Before we get to far past the ‘extreme’ features I just mentioned, figure we should take a look at them. The first one mentioned, subzero sense, is a direct line to temperature sensors on the motherboard. Though we don’t need to use any software to check the temperatures, all we need is a K-Type thermocouple wire to access the sensors with your thermometer. The LN2 mode aids in eliminating the cold bug issues found in some processors during extreme overclocking with Liquid Nitrogen. The Slow mode immediately drops the processor frequency down while you increase or decrease the temperature of the system, once again to help with system stability. Another feature that is typically for the ‘extreme’ user is the VGA Hotwire. If you have a habit of overvolting your graphics card with variable resistors of a variety of other ways, ASUS has set it up so you can do it through the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme! Just solder the two wire cable to the graphics card voltage regulator and you will be able to adjust the voltage accurately with the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme.

The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 motherboard has many of the features that we have seen on our previous run ins with the Republic of Gamers motherboards. Some of the features like Extreme Engine Digi+ II, ROG Connect, GPU.DIMM Post, and ROG iDirect are exclusive to the ASUS ROG series of motherboards. The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme also bring along with it a couple of new features. Among these is the X-Socket, the X-Socket allows you to switch out the back plate of the Intel LGA2011 socket. This allows you to reuse your Intel LGA1366 CPU cooler. Another of the new features available with the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme is the OC Key. The OC Key plugs in to your graphics card DVI port between the card and cable. With an second cable running directly to a header on the motherboard you can directly control your processor frequency and monitor the system temperatures and voltages with an onscreen display. The best part is, it is completely independent of the operating system. This means we can tweak the processor clock of our Intel Core i7 3960X in the midst of running a benchmark without interrupting it!

CPU	Intel Socket 2011 for 2nd Generation Core i7 Processors Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2
Chipset	Intel X79
Memory	8 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Quad Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Multi-GPU Support	Supports NVIDIA 4-Way SLI Technology Supports AMD 4-Way CrossFireX Technology
Expansion Slots	4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x8 mode, gray) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Storage	Intel X79 chipset : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red 4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), black Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 ASMedia PCIe SATA controller : 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), red 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
LAN	Intel, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth V2.1+EDR
Audio	Realtek ALC898 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC – Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : – Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection – Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
USB Ports	ASMedia USB 3.0 controller : 8 x USB 3.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue, 4 at mid-board) Intel X79 chipset : 12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (8 at back panel, black+red, 4 at mid-board)
Overclocking Features	ROG OC Key – OSD TweakIt – OSD Monitor ROG Connect : – RC Diagram – RC Remote – RC Poster – GPU TweakIt ROG iDirect Extreme Engine Digi+ II : – 8 -phase CPU power design – 3 -phase VCCSA power design – 2 + 2 phase DRAM power design ROG Extreme OC kit : – Subzero Sense – VGA Hotwire – Slow Mode – LN2 Mode – PCIe x16 Lane Switch – Q Reset – EZ Plug ProbeIt UEFI BIOS features : – ROG BIOS Wallpaper – GPU.DIMM Post iROG Extreme Tweaker Loadline Calibration BIOS Flashback USB BIOS Flashback Overclocking Protection : – COP EX (Component Overheat Protection – EX) – Voltiminder LED II – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features	ASUS EPU : – EPU CPU Level Up ASUS Exclusive Features : – MemOK! – Onboard Button : Power/Reset/Clr CMOS (at back IO) ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : – ASUS Q-Fan Plus – ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY : – ASUS O.C. Profile – ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 – ASUS EZ Flash 2 – ASUS MyLogo 2 ASUS Q-Design : – ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) – ASUS Q-Slot – ASUS Q-DIMM – ASUS Q-Connector
Back I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x Bluetooth module(s) 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to ROG Connect) 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 5 x Audio jack(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) 1 x ROG Connect On/ Off switch(es) 1 x RC Bluetooth switch(es)
Internal I/O Ports	2 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 3.0 port(s) 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s) 2 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 3 x Optional Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 1 x OC Key header(s) 1 x OT header(s) 2 x Subzero Sense connector(s) 1 x Slow Mode switch(es) 7 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 3 x Thermal sensor connector(s) 1 x LN2 Mode header(s) 1 x Q Reset switch(es) 2 x EZ Plug connector(s) (4-pin in white for memory DIMMs; 6-pin in black for PCIe slots) 1 x Power-on button(s) 1 x Reset button(s) 1 x Go Button(s) 1 x BIOS Switch button(s)
Accessories	I/O Shield 4 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge(s) 1 x 4-Way SLI bridge(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x CrossFire cable(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ROG Connect cable(s) 1 x ProbeIt cable set(s) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) 1 x OC Key(s) 1 x OC Key cable(s) 1 x X-Socket pad(s)
BIOS	2 x 64Mb Flash ROMs, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS
Manageability	WfM2.0, DMI2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE
Support Disc	Support DVD: – Drivers and Applications Kaspersky Anti-Virus ASUS TurboV EVO Utility ASUS PC Probe II ASUS Update ASUS AI Suite II ASUS AI Charger+ Daemon Tool Pro Standard ASUS WebStorage
Form Factor	Extended ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 10.7 inch ( 30.5 cm x 27.2 cm )