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ASUS Rampage Extreme

ASUS’ newest ROG (Republic of Gamers) branded board, the Rampage Extreme, sports both style and power. With its water cooled capable chipset cooling system, this just might be the board to beat the heat, and a few benchmarks.

Introduction

ASUS is one of the most revered component manufactures world-wide, by enthusiasts and baseline users alike. For years, ASUS has strived to deliver products of the highest caliber, with the quality standards of its products never seeming to inhibit its products’ abilities. The company continues to push the envelope on performance, using a mix of hardware and software design innovations to deliver the best products possible. Their latest enthusiast motherboard, part of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) line, best exemplifies ASUS’ push for doing it better.

The ASUS Rampage Extreme motherboard is the newest member of ASUS’ Republic of Gamers product line. ASUS designed the board using the Intel X48 chipset, with support as follows: all current Intel LGA 775 processors, DDR3 memory operating in Dual Channel mode up to 1600MHz officially, and dual card CrossFireX graphics mode using matched ATI graphics cards. The Rampage Extreme board is a feature complete solution, requiring only a minimal set of components for an operational system including: an Intel LGA 775 processor, DDR3 memory, video card, hard drive, optic drive, and PSU. The motherboard includes the following integrated device support: 6 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capable) on the Intel ICH9R controller; 1 ATA-133 IDE port and 1 eSATA port on the Marvell controller; 2 SATA II ports (RAID 0 and 1 equivalent capable) on the Silicon Image controller; 12 USB 2.0 capable ports (6 in rear panel, and 3 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header); 2 x Marvell Yukon GigE Ethernet ports in the rear panel; ADI 8-channel HD audio codec featuring Creative Labs X-Fi support with S/PDIF optical and component output ports; onboard power and reset buttons; onboard toggle, confirm, and select switches for setting BIOS related options using the ASUS TweakIt interface; and a PS/2 keyboard port in the rear panel.

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Packaging

ASUS used their standard ROG based design with the Rampage Extreme’s box art, with the technology support emblazoned across the lower portion of the box. The following accessories are included in with the Rampage Extreme board: ATA-133 and floppy ribbon cables; SATA drive and dual ended power cables; the rear panel shield; a USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 port rear panel bracket; 1 clip-on cooling fan for the integrated heat pipe cooling solution; the Q-Connector modules; the LCD poster device; 3 thermal probes; Fusion block water-cooler installation materials; enhanced air cooling modules for the CPU MOSFET and Northbridge chipset; and the normal complement of manuals and drivers discs. The Q-Connector modules allow for an easy interface for connecting in to the motherboard headers. You simply plug in your front panel jumpers in to the white connector and the USB 2.0 jumpers in to the blue connector block, and then plug both blocks in to the motherboard headers. It makes for a much easier install for those typically hard to reach header areas. The LCD poster device displays easy to read messages concerning system status during startup. The unit can be configured to display monitored voltages, temperatures, or fan speeds via the BIOS during normal system operation. The unit can also be used to configure BIOS voltage and FSB speeds, as well as switching between the 2 onboard BIOS, using the onboard TweakIt switches with the system in standby mode. The Fusion block water-cooling installation materials allow for the included Fusion block unit to be easily hooked in to a water cooling system. The enhanced air cooling modules can be switched out of the default modules in order to get better air-cooled system performance and cooling.

Board Layout

ASUS did a fine job in designing the Rampage Extreme, with its design and layout closely mimicking their ROG based P45 board with some notable additions. The heat pipe design and layout itself is top notch, with its layout done in a way that maximizes its cooling effectiveness while minimizing its overall footprint and impact one other board devices. Not to mention that fact that not only do you have the ability to water cool the heat pipe cooling system, but you also have the ability to switch out several of the cooling blocks for more efficient air cooled modules. The board revision is silk-screened to the surface in between the primary PCI-Express x16 and PCI slots. The board used in testing was a revision 2.00G model. In an additional show of quality, ASUS chose to use aluminum based solid-state capacitors on the Rampage Extreme board.

The CPU socket area may look a bit crowded with components at first glance, but I found no problems with CPU cooler mounting. The power components surrounding the CPU socket are all low profile components, so as to not inhibit the use of larger cooling mechanisms. The CPU cooler is held in place using the standard 4 hole based LGA775 mechanism. The board’s Northbridge is located to the lower left of the CPU socket, cooled by a red colored water block. Using the included materials, the block can be hooked in to an existing water-cooling system, or can be switched out with a good sized aluminum based air cooled unit. The cooling block sits in the center of the board heat pipe cooler, with an additional air cooled unit just above to aide in heat dissipation. Notice the ROG emblem embedded in the cooler just above the Northbridge block, which illuminates when the board powers on. Just above the ROG emblem are the OPT_FAN1, OPT_FAN3, OPT_TEMP1, and OPT_TEMP3 headers. The temp headers can be used in conjunction with the included thermal probes to measure device temperatures. The sensors can be used to configure fan operation via the BIOS. Above and to the right of the CPU socket are additional heat sinks, which also act as end points for the heat pipe cooling system. In the upper right corner of the board are the 8-pin ATX12V power connector, CHA_FAN3 header, CPU voltage status LEDs, and LCD poster header. The CPU voltage LEDs display an illuminated LED sequence based on how much voltage is supplied to the CPU. The 4-pin CPU_FAN header is located to the lower right of the CPU socket.

The Rampage Extreme ships standard with 4 DDR3 DIMM slots, arranged in a bi-colored 2-by-2 configuration. Dual Channel memory mode activates with DIMMs placed in like colored slots, across sets. Directly below the lower set of DIMM slots are the CHA_FAN1 and PWR_FAN headers, the 24-pin ATX power connector, and the ATA-133 IDE and floppy ports. Located to the lower left of the DIMM slots, the memory voltage status LEDs display status on the system memory voltage based on specific LED illumination sequences.

The board’s Southbridge chipset is located below and in between the 2 onboard PCI-Express x16 slots, covered by a massive low-profile heat sink. The heat sink is one of the terminating points for the board’s heat pipe cooling solution. The onboard SATA 2 ports are located to the lower left of the chipset, with the 2 Silicon Image controlled ports colored black. The front panel header is located in the lower left corner of the board, with the 3 onboard USB 2.0 headers and the BIOS flash back jumper just above it. The CMOS reset switch is located to the upper right of the front panel header. The BIOS flash back jumper is used to determine which of the 2 onboard BIOS is accessed at boot time, with the ability for user selection of boot BIOS or BIOS selection. Just below the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot are the Southbridge voltage status LEDs, displaying the current operational status of the Southbridge voltage.

The Rampage Extreme board is designed with 2 PCI-Express x16 slots, 3 PCI-Express x1 slots, and 2 PCI slots. An array of buttons and headers are located along the outer edge of PCI slot 2, including the onboard power and reset buttons, the TweakIt select, confirm and toggle switches, the OPT_FAN2 and OPT_TEMP2 headers, and the IEEE 1394 header. The TweakIt switches are used in conjunction with LCD poster device to set poster display options, BIOS voltage and FSB settings, and BIOS boot and update settings with the system in a standby state. The TEMP2 header can be used to attach thermal probes, which are can be used for fan control in the BIOS. The Chassis intrusion header is located in between the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot and PCI slot 2, with the CMOS batter just above the Southbridge cooler. The ROG LED header is located above the primary PCI-Express x1 slot, with the Northbridge status LEDs located just below it. The Northbridge status LEDs show the current voltage status for the Northbridge chipset.

The Rampage Extreme’s rear panel assembly includes the following ports: a PS/2 keyboard port; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 6 USB 2.0 ports; 2 Marvel Yukon GigE Ethernet ports; an eSATA device port; and a CMOS reset button. The SupremeFX audio riser card plugs in to one of the PCI-Express x1 ports, offering support for the Creative Labs X-Fi functionality, as well as 6 analogue audio ports and S/PDIF optical and component output ports. The front panel audio, CD_IN, and digital audio device headers are located on the inside edge of the card.