Provided by: ASUS
No compensation was received for review of this product.
Price Point
Price: $429.99 USD (Standard Edition @ NewEgg.com)
Class: Enthusiast (Gaming)
At a price of $429.99 USD, the ASUS Rampage IV Extrememotherboard falls in the category of enthusiast gaming motherboards.
Performance
The Rampage IV Extreme motherboard performed very well at stock values and was able to push our i7 3960X engineering sample to 4.9GHz.
Reviewer's Opinion
While ASUS provides a lower-cost "Formula" and smaller "Gene" version for their Rampage IV line, the Extreme version is representative of what ASUS believes to be an enthusiast X79 platform at its full potential. Eight DIMM slots allow up to 64GB of 2400MHz DDR3 to run and five PCI-E slots provide up to Quad-SLI PCI-E 3.0 capability (16x/8x/8x/8x via ASM1480 switch) with the flexible option of running a RAID/Audio card in the middle PCI-E slot when using two 3-slot graphic cards in SLI. The Rampage IV Extreme is also equipped with an actively cooled heatpipe network design, providing superior VRM cooling necessary when overclocking with higher voltages.
When it comes to overclocking, the Rampage IV Extreme differs from the other Rampage IV motherboards because of three new unique features: VGA Hotwire, Subzero Sense and the OC key. The OC key is a revolutionary step forward in hardcore tweaking, providing on-the-fly benchmarking purely at the hardware level and without using any extra CPU or GPU resources. The OC key plugs in to a DVI port and provides an on-screen display overlay, even while running a benchmark program. The VGA hotwire and Subzero sense features are used through the OC key, providing voltage and temperature readouts on the OSD, as well as further tweaking options. For extra power when CPU overclocking, an additional 4-pin 12V can be used, more than sufficient when extreme overclocking. For tweaking the memory and GPU, additional EZ plugs can be found right above the topmost PCI-E slot and to the left of the A & B DIMM channels. Like the Rampage IV Formula, the Rampage IV Extreme is equipped with extra overclocking features exclusive to the Republic of Gamers line, such as LN2 mode, Slow Mode, PCI-E Switch, CLRTC, Q-Reset, Voltminder II and ProbeIT, all of which bring overclock troubleshooting to an unparalleled and refined level of convenience.
It comes as no surprise that the UEFI on the Rampage IV Extreme is intuitive and well-thought out, just like the UEFI implementation on the ASUS segment motherboards. The primary difference is the wealth of performance tuning options and overclocking tools inside the UEFI. The AI Tweaker tab seen on the segment motherboards is now called the "Extreme" tweaker tab and contains all the overclocking options, from general to specific nested order so it is easy to navigate. We have seen other mainboard manufacturers completely revamp their UEFI implementation with the release of X79 and Z77 mainboards to a more functional and ASUS-like UEFI layout, so even in this feature, ASUS is a proven leader.
The Rampage IV Extreme board itself uses an Extended ATX form factor to fit all the extra features. Since it is fully 4-way SLI capable, like the Rampage IV Formula, the topmost PCI-E slot sits directly below the DIMM slots and close to the CPU area, so there might be some clearance issues with large aftermarket heatsink mounting clips and the exposed PCBs of some video cards. Removing the topmost video card when there is a large aftermarket heatsink installed requires the use of a long tool like a pen or screw driver in order to push the latch to the unlock position. This is a minor inconvenience that is to be expected in having a 4-way SLI capable motherboard because there is only so much room to move vertically on an ATX form factor.
The Rampage IV Extreme continues the Republic of Gamers tradition of providing unique and extremely useful features for enthusiasts that elevate the art of overclocking to new heights of accessibility and convenience. The Rampage IV Extreme is impressively functional and does not rely on flashy heatsink designs or catchy feature names, like its competitors. Instead, the Rampage IV Extreme relies on the performance and benchmark results to separate itself from the crowded enthusiast market and shows, once again, why the RoG brand is synonymous with innovation and is well-respected in the enthusiast community.
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