Pictures Emerge of the ASUS Rampage Extreme

[btarunr]

This motherboard board looks a work of art, simply put. The ASUS Rampage Extreme is the upscale version of ASUS' ROG line Intel X48 chipset based motherboard, the Rampage Formula. Although Rampage Formula resembled the X38 based Maximus Forumla in many ways, to an extant that you could use the Rampage Formula BIOS with Maximus Formula, don't expect the same with Rampage Extreme and its predecessor. This board features the X48 chipset, supports DDR3 memory, features a total of 16 CPU-power phases, water-cooling ready, out of the box. Apart from the plethora of features the ROG series products come with, this board bundles the SupremeFX X-Fi sound module which supports PCI-Express X-Fi Audio. It supports ATI Crossfire at full x16, x16 PCI-Express 2.0 mode.

Here's the most interesting feature: You can tweak system parameters on the board using a feature called TweakIt. This makes you adjust your overclock using special controls located on the board, keep track of the settings you're making using the LCD poster. The board is rich in heatsinks, ample cooling is provided to the MOSFETs surrounding the CPU area and above the memory area. Expect this to be priced anything above US $250.



With inputs from NordicHardware.

[PVTCaboose1337]

Very nice... but too expensive for me.

[DOM]

why only 2 pci-e

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by btarunr

. . . .

Here's the most interesting feature: You can tweak system parameters on the board using a feature called TweakIt. This makes you adjust your overclock using special controls located on the board, keep track of the settings you're making using the LCD poster. The board is rich in heatsinks, ample cooling is provided to the MOSFETs surrounding the CPU area and above the memory area. Expect this to be priced anything above US $350.

. . . .

Fixed

[Darkrealms]

So in the future Asus will just make their boards out of heat sinks and save themselve the trouble of adding them on top? LoL

[DOM]

Originally Posted by Darkrealms

So in the future Asus will just make their boards out of heat sinks and save themselve the trouble of adding them on top? LoL

what are you talking about lol

[PVTCaboose1337]

Originally Posted by imperialreign

Fixed

+1 you are 100% correct to assume this. They are so expensive, only a few will be produced, therefore, the price will rise even more.

[flashstar]

I paid $250 for my Fatal1ty AN8 SLI and it was definitely worth it. If this is good enough, I'll probably consider it. I look at it this way: Instead of buying a cheap motherboard every two years, why not get a really good one every 4 years?

[Darknova]

For $250 I'd buy it easy....but knowing the PC market, the price will translate to £250 over here

[airdraft]

man way expensive...not for my tastes

[sheps999]

"Rampage Extreme"? Coo, it must be good

[PVTCaboose1337]

Originally Posted by flashstar

I paid $250 for my Fatal1ty AN8 SLI and it was definitely worth it. If this is good enough, I'll probably consider it. I look at it this way: Instead of buying a cheap motherboard every two years, why not get a really good one every 4 years?

I paid about $130 for my mobo 2 years ago, very nice and will probably keep it till socket AM2 dies. If I had bought a nice AM2 mobo, it still would be extinct at the same time, so I don't see a reason to get an insane board like that.

[Darkrealms]

Originally Posted by DOM

what are you talking about lol

LoL. It seems with each revision they double the heat sinks from the last version. I figure pretty soon it'll just be the motherboard ; p

[DOM]

Originally Posted by Darkrealms

LoL. It seems with each revision they double the heat sinks from the last version. I figure pretty soon it'll just be the motherboard ; p

lol I c what you mean but the HS going on the mobo its not the mobo its can be hooked up to water see the barbs in the NB

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by Darkrealms

LoL. It seems with each revision they double the heat sinks from the last version. I figure pretty soon it'll just be the motherboard ; p

not too mention their use of copper plating within the PCB layers to help transfer heat from the frontside to the backside of the board for better cooling . . .

still, I doubt this board will intro at $250, or hell, under $300 for that matter - the new X38 and X48 upper-end ROG boards typically enter the US market above $350, usually closer to $400.


. . . but . . . you get what you pay for

[Paintface]

how much more performance does this board actually give you clock for clock compared to a 80 dollar board ? i figure for 200 bucks you can get a nice CPU or GPU upgrade in return that will more then even out any performance gains by this mobo, but ill gladly be proven wrong on this.

Personally i never spend more then 100 on a mainboard, i wouldnt know why.

[Ravenas]

I would say it's somewhere in the 350 range...BUT, for that price, and seeing how this is the extreme edition, I would expect 3 PCI-E slots.

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by Paintface

how much more performance does this board actually give you clock for clock compared to a 80 dollar board ? i figure for 200 bucks you can get a nice CPU or GPU upgrade in return that will more then even out any performance gains by this mobo, but ill gladly be proven wrong on this.

Personally i never spend more then 100 on a mainboard, i wouldnt know why.

the upper end boards do tend to offer better performance over even mid-range board, typically due to better components, better cooling, better BIOS and hardware negotiation;

here's a pic of test results from MaximumPC between a few different upper-end boards from a couple months ago:




as far as results go, the EVGA and ASUS boards dominanate the lower Intel and GIGA; sure the results differences might not seem like much, but they're a lot in the realm of mobos - and if you're looking for the absolute best performing board, either in a quest for the best gaming experience, or as a 1337 OCer, those small differences are like night and day.

[btarunr]

These are bad times to buy anything of this range, considering it could become 'Extremely' obselete by the end of the year, with Nehalem detivatives and X58.

[MoeDaKilla]

I really think they are a little too late. Many companies have been selling their X48 DDR3 boards (although many have been crappy) for months now. And it will face some tough competition from the 790i and Gigabyte's DQ6 which are great overclockers and will obviously cost less. And with Nehalem around the corner I don't see many people buying this unless they recently burned their mobo or are using a P35 tryin to get more mileage from their cpu's or try DDR3. Don't get me wrong it's a nice mobo, but I don't think its worth it. Am I right or just blowing hot air?

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by MoeDaKilla

I really think they are a little too late. Many companies have been selling their X48 DDR3 boards (although many have been crappy) for months now. And it will face some tough competition from the 790i and Gigabyte's DQ6 which are great overclockers and will obviously cost less. And with Nehalem around the corner I don't see many people buying this unless they recently burned their mobo or are using a P35 tryin to get more mileage from their cpu's or try DDR3. Don't get me wrong it's a nice mobo, but I don't think its worth it. Am I right or just blowing hot air?

well, ASUS has had a few X48 DDR3 upper-end board on the market for a while now;

I think, though, this is just supposed to be a step up from the Rampage Formula.

[btarunr]

That BioStar TPower iP45 thingy is making waves with OC. Many found P35 boards OC better than X38, same applies to P45 and X48, I guess.

[newtekie1]

Originally Posted by DOM

why only 2 pci-e

Because that is all the x48/x38 chipset will support.

[MoeDaKilla]

Originally Posted by imperialreign

well, ASUS has had a few X48 DDR3 upper-end board on the market for a while now;

I think, though, this is just supposed to be a step up from the Rampage Formula.

Yeah I know but the few they had have not been targeted to enthusiasts and were not part of their ROG line even though the others were good ocers. I'm just saying that I don't see them selling many of those board considering the stiff competition from other manufacturers. I can't complain though I love my ASUS P5E which has the Rampage BIOS. I'm just saying product should have been launched a couple of months ago.

[MoeDaKilla]

You know what bothers me about the recent high end offering from ASUS though. Why not bundle and ASUS Xonar instead of one from their competitor Creative. ASUS does make amazing sound cards and could really make some waves if they do that.