![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Thursday , August 28, 2008
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
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.
BIOS
As is commonplace with ASUS boards, the Rampage Extreme uses an AMIBIOS style template for its BIOS. The BIOS version used in testing the board was version 0401. The default BIOS screen is the Extreme Tweaker tab, rather than the expected Main tab.
The Extreme Tweaker screen contains options or submenus for configuring system performance settings. The Ai Overclock Tuner option determines what level of control the user has over system configuration, with settings for BIOS controlled and manually controlled overclocking. All available settings become user configurable with this option set to Manual. The OC from CPU Level Up and OC from Memory Level Up options allows for BIOS control of the base FSB and memory speed settings, determined by the pre-configured option selection. Note that the CPU Level Up and Memory Level Up options are mutually exclusive, meaning that you can use either one or the other at a time. The CPU FSB is set via the FSB Frequency option, with a maximum value of 800MHz selectable. The CPU multiplier is configured via the CPU Ratio setting option, with the minimum and maximum values based on the current CPU in use. The physical CPU speed is determined by multiplying the Ratio CMOS Setting and FSB Frequency options together. The CPU Configuration submenu contains various CPU related internal settings, with the screen displayed mirroring that of the CPU Configuration submenu within the Advanced tab. The CPU Clock Skew option controls the lag between the CPU clock and the Northbridge clock, while the NB Clock Skew Control option configures the lag between the Northbridge clock and the CPU clock. The system memory speed is controlled through two options, the FSB Strap to North Bridge and DRAM Frequency options. The FSB Strap to North Bridge option gives access to various memory ratio settings based on the selected CPU FSB, with the DRAM Frequency option showing the real-time speed of the memory modules available based on the selected FSB Strap and FSB Frequency settings. With the FSB Frequency option set to 800MHz, the BIOS support a maximum memory speed of 3200MHz.
The user configurable memory settings become visible with the Manual setting selected from within the DRAM Timing Control option. The configurable memory timing options include the following: command rate; CAS latency; RAS to CAS delay; RAS precharge delay; active to precharge delay; RAS to RAS delay; row refresh cycle delay; write recovery delay; read to precharge delay; read to write delay; write to read delay; read to read delay; write to write delay; write to precharge delay; read to precharge delay; and row cycle time (PRE to PRE Delay). Note that on the memory timings listed, the numerically lower setting forces more aggressive memory operation. The static read control and read training settings can be enabled or disabled only. The DRAM CLK Skew submenu contains settings for configuring the lag between the DRAM clock and the Northbridge clock, with individual options for each onboard memory slot. The Ai Clock Twister option determines the aggressiveness of the internal chipset memory related settings, while the Ai Transaction Booster option controls how aggressively the BIOS attempts to regulate internal system settings.
The CPU Voltage option configures the CPU voltage, with a 2.50V maximum allowed. The Load-Line Calibration option configures the CPU vDroop regulation, with the Enabled option allowing for more aggressive control. The CPU PLL Voltage option configures the CPU power regulation circuitry voltage, with a voltage maximum of 3.00831V settable. The CPU threshold voltage is configured via the FSB Termination Voltage option, with a 2.00120V ceiling. The CPU GTL Reference options directly impact the voltage settings for the internal CPU workings, with the NB GTL Reference setting controlling the voltage used to regulate the internal Northbridge circuitry. The Northbridge voltage is settable to a maximum of 2.21322V, while the board DDR3 modules can be set to have a massive 2.80956V coursing through them. The DDR3 Reference Voltage and Northbridge DDR Reference options are used to stabilize internal and memory bus related operations. The Southbridge voltage is split between a 1.5 Voltage option, which controls the PCIe bus voltage, and a 1.1 Voltage option, which controls the base chipset voltage. The 1.5 Voltage option has a ceiling of 2.05431V, while the 1.1 Voltage option can be set to a 1.96139V maximum. Note that a higher voltage setting gives better overall signal integrity for the reference voltage related settings.
The Main menu tab contains the base system time settings, as well as submenus for configuring the ICH9R SATA drives and system information.
The Storage Configuration submenu contains options for configuring the Southbridge chipset controlled SATA 2 ports. The SATA Configuration option sets the system port access type. With the Compatible mode option selected, the system is restricted to accessing to a total of 4 SATA 2 devices. The Enhanced mode setting allows for use of 6 devices in standalone IDE, AHCI, or RAID mode. The Configure SATA as option becomes user configurable with the SATA Configuration set to Enhanced mode. This option sets the SATA controller configuration, including the AHCI and RAID functionality. Note that the RAID boot BIOS will only show with drives connected to the onboard ICH9R’s SATA 2 ports.
The System Information submenu contains details on the current BIOS, CPU, and memory related default speed and type configuration settings.
The Advanced menu contains all settings for configuring the board integrated devices. The options are organized in to a series of submenus.
The CPU Configuration submenu contains speed statistics on the CPU in use, as well as various options for configuring internal CPU related functions. The configurable CPU settings include the following: CPU multiplier, C1E support, CPU Thermal Module function (CPU TM Function), CPUID value limit, Intel virtualization technology, Execute Disable Bit, and core operational controls.
The Northbridge Chipset Configuration submenu contains configuration options for the onboard graphics ports, and is accessed via the Chipset submenu.
The Onboard Devices Configuration submenu contains settings for most board integrated devices, including the Marvell eSATA controller, the Silicon Image RAID controller, the GigE LAN controllers, the IEEE 1394 ports, and the ADI HD audio subsystem. The Speeding HDD Control options configure the ASUS Speeding HDD device, which controls the operating mode of the Silicon Image tied SATA-2 ports. The Speeding HDD device offers 2 modes of operation when activated, Super Speed and EZ Backup. The Super Speed mode treats the drives connected to the SATA ports as a single device, configuring the drives similar to a RAID 0 array type setup. The EZ Backup mode creates a mirror of the drive attached to the primary SATA port on the secondary SATA port drive, more similar to a RAID 1 array type setup.
The USB Configuration submenu contains all USB related configuration settings, including the port speed mode settings. With a USB device connected to the system at boot time, the USB Mass Storage Device Configuration submenu displays. Using this submenu, you can configure emulation settings for any of the attached USB devices.
The Advanced PCI/PnP Settings submenu lists all user configurable plug and play and PCI bus related configuration options. Unfortunately, the version of the BIOS tested did not allow direct manipulation of the IRQ interrupt or pool assignment related settings.
The LCD Poster and LED Control submenu contains configuration options for the onboard LEDs and the LCD Poster display device. The ROG Logo option sets the illumination state for the imbedded ROG logo. The LCD Poster Backlight option controls the backlight mechanism for the display when the system is on, while the (S5) option configures backlight operation with the system in standby mode. The LCD Poster operating mode is set via the LCD Poster Mode and HWM Select Mode options. The device itself can be configured to display system time, or a rolling display of monitored voltages, temperatures or fan speeds, which display after system initialization has completed. The Voltminder LED setting controls the operating state of the onboard voltage status LEDs, with the individual LEDs configurable to show status on specific device voltages.
The Other Configuration submenu contains BIOS actionable settings which are used in the event of a system crash. The iROG CrashBIOS Rule setting determines whether or not the backup BIOS is used, with the Switch setting forcing use of the secondary BIOS in the event of a crash. The iROG Timer Keeper option configures a time mechanism to keep track of mean time between crash type events.
The Hardware Monitor submenu, located from within the Power menu, contains numerous submenus used for monitor real-time statics on voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds, in addition to configuring system response to monitored events.
The Voltage Monitor submenu contains options for viewing monitored system voltages. The Temperature Monitor submenu displays monitored system temperatures, with several option for setting temperature thresholds for BIOS initiate system shutdown. The Fan Speed Monitor submenu displays fan speed statistics for system fans which are connected to the onboard fan headers. The operational mode for the onboard fan headers can be set through options within the Fan Speed Control submenu. Configuration options allow for both automated fan operation based on temperature thresholds as well as static fan speed setting.
The Hard Disk Drives submenu, accessed from Boot menu, displays all hard drive devices connected to the system at system boot time including properly detected USB 2.0 type devices.
The Tools menu contains the proprietary ASUS BIOS utilities, including the EZFlash2 BIOS update utility, a BIOS profile storage mechanism, and the BIOS Flashback BIOS backup utility. The ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility is accessed via the ASUS EZ Flash 2 link in the Tool menu. The application allows you to update the system BIOS from any connected drive device, including properly detected USB 2.0 devices. The BIOS Flashback submenu allows for backup of the current BIOS chip contents to the secondary BIOS chip. The available backup options are determined by the BIOS chip in use at the time of access.
The ASUS O.C. Profile Configuration submenu allows for configuration of up to 2 BIOS profiles. These profiles can be saved or loaded and contain all BIOS settings active at the time of profile creation. The Start O.C. Profile option from within the submenu allows for file based storage of the current BIOS settings for storage. The interface is very similar in design to the EZ Flash 2 interface, with access to all attached system storage devices for save and load operations, including attached USB 2.0 devices.