If one thing is a fact then it's that the X58 chipset is technology that keeps on living on the edge. Quick match tells me that the X58 chipset is now roughly two and a half years old. And it is still alive and very much kicks ass big-time! While P67 for Sandy Bridge is the equivalent kickass product, the X58 based motherboards give you some advantages, and that would be the Core i7 socket 1366 processor, including the 6-core Nehalem based processors of course.
What surprises me is that X58 is like a Duracell battery, you know the commercial with the bunny that keeps on going? That's X58 and that's also the reason why we still see new motherboard designs based on X58.
Some add USB 3.0 and SATA 6G while others take it even further. Such a manufacturer is ASUS, they are launching the ASUS Rampage III Black Edition and it just has to be one of the most exclusive X58 motherboards we have ever had our hands on.
I'm not joking here, this motherboard is ridiculous (in the good sense of the word). My first hint was when I took the product out of the packaging, the motherboard is seriously heavy, and then you start checking the features and tick them off your wish list, it's all there man.
| Specifications | |
| Socket | Socket 1366 |
| Chipset | Intel X58 |
| FSB/QPI | 6.4 GT/s |
| Memory | DDR3 |
| Slots | 6 |
| Audio | 7.1 |
| LAN | 10/100/1000 Mbps |
| NICS | 2 |
| FireWire | - |
| USB | 11 x USB 2.0 |
| Form factor | ATX |
| Special | 3x SLI / 4x CrossFire Support |
| Serial ATA | 6 x Serial ATA II 300 |
| PCI-E x1 | 2 x |
| PCI-E x16 | 4 x |
| USB 3.0 | 4 x USB 3.0 |
| Serial ATA III | 2 x Serial ATA III |
| Maximum memory | 48 GB |
Improved overclockability, black design (including a black colored BIOS). The spec-sheet might read pretty similar to last year's Rampage III Extreme, but there have been a few tweaks alright. The board now sports a quartet of PCIe x16 slots capable of supporting three-way SLI or four-way CrossFireX, support for 24GB DDR3 at speeds of up to 2,200MHz and then the fun begins, USB 3.0, SATA 6G, a ThunderBolt add-on card that integrates Xonar sound as well as BigFoot's Killer NPU.
According to Asus, the audio provided by Xonar gives sound quality that is four times better than a regular sound card. The design of the heatsinks and VRMs are also redesigned and yeah, in addition to that more tweaks are to be found under the hood.
Boom boom POW everybody, let's go check 'r out... next page please.
Specifications
| CPU | Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition/Core™ i7 Processor/ Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 * Refer to www.asus.com for Intel CPU support list |
| Chipset | Intel® X58 / ICH10R |
| System Bus | Up to 6400 MT/s ; QuickPath Interconnection |
| Memory | 6 x DIMM, Max. 48 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Triple channel memory architecture * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. Some hyper DIMMs only support one DIMM per channel. Please refer to Memory QVL for details. |
| Expansion Slots | 4 x PCIe 2.0 x16 , support x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8 configurations 2 x PCIe x1 |
| Multi-GPU Support | Support NVIDIA 3-Way SLI™ / ATI CrossFireX™ Technology 4 PCIe x16 slots ready for 4 single PCB 2-slot width graphics cards |
| Storage | Intel ICH10R controller 6 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10 JMicron® JMB363 controller 2 xExternal SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports Marvell® 9182 PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller 2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports |
| Bluetooth | IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Compliant, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS |
| ThunderBolt LAN/Audio Combo Card | Dedicated network processing unit (NPU) - Advanced Game Detect™ - Visual Bandwidth Control™ - Application Blocking - Online Gaming PC Monitor™ - Bandwidth Tester - Game Networking DNA™ Built-in 2-Channel High Quality DAC/ADC - Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 116 dB - Output THD+N at 1kHz: 105 dB - C-Media 6631 audio processor (Max. 192kHz/ 24-bit) - TI 6120A2 high fidelity headphone amplifier - Digital-to-Analog Converter: 120 dB (Max. 192kHz/ 24-bit) - Analog-to-Digital Converter: 114 dB (Max. 192kHz/ 24-bit) - Supports 3 Headphone Impedance Gain Modes (up to 300 Ohms) - Fine-tuned Game Genre EQ Profiles - Xear™ Surround Headphone - Xear™ SingFX - Equalizer, Environment Effects, FlexBass, Smart Volume, Virtual Speaker Shifter - DS3D GX 1.0, OpenAL - Front-panel audio connector (AAFP) - Line in, Line out, Optical S/PDIF out ports - USB 2.0 Interface |
| LAN | Intel® Gigabit Ethernet LAN |
| Audio | SupremeFX X-Fi 2 Built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0 - THX® TruStudio PRO™ - X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™ - Creative ALchemy - Blu-ray audio layer content protection - Supports Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front panel Jack-retasking |
| USB | NEC® USB 3.0 controller - 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 at back panel; 2 at midboard) Intel® ICH10R Southbridge - 11 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports at midboard; 6 ports at back panel, 1 reserved for ROG Connect) |
| ASUS Unique Features | CPU Level Up MemOK! Onboard Switches: Power / Reset / Clr CMOS (at rear) ASUS MyLogo3 ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ Flash 2 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 Q-Fan Plus ROG BIOS Wallpaper ASUS EPU Engine ASUS Q-Connector ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) ASUS Q-Slot ASUS Q-DIMM |
| Overclocking Features | ROG Connect - RC Poster - RC Remote - RC Diagram - GPU TweakIt ROG iDirect GPU.DIMM Post ROG Extreme Engine Digi+ - 8-phase CPU power - 3-phase QPI/DRAM power - 3-phase NB power - 3-phase Memory power - ML Caps on CPU, Memory and QPI respectively ProbeIt iROG Extreme Tweaker BIOS Flashback with onboard switch button Loadline Calibration ROG Extreme OC kit - LN2 Mode - PCIe x16 Lane Switch - Q_Reset - Double Power Supply with dual 8-pin (CPU) power connectors Intelligent overclocking tools - ASUS AI Booster Utility - O.C Profile Overclocking Protection - COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX) - Voltiminder LED - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 2 x External SATA ports 1 x LAN(RJ45) port(s) 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 (Blue) 7 x USB 2.0/1.1 (1 port also for ROG Connect) 8 -Channel Audio I/O 1 x Clr CMOS switch 2 x Wi-Fi antenna jacks 1 x ROG Connect On/Off switch |
| Internal I/O Connectors | 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 connector(s) supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 connector(s) support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors (Grey) 6 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (Black) 2 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 3 x Optional Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF Out connector 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector 3 x thermal sensor connector 1 x En/Dis-able Clr CMOS connector 1 x Front panel audio connector (AAFP) 1 x System Panel connector 8 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 1 x QPI Loadline calibration switch jumper (QPI_LL_SW) 1 x LN2 Mode Header 1 x START (Power On) button 1 x RESET button 1 x EZ Plug connector (4-pin Molex Power connector) 1 x Go Button 1 x BIOS Switch button 1 x ROG light connector |
| BIOS | 16 Mb Flash ROM , PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS |
| Manageability | WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE |
| Accessories | 1 x ROG Connect cable 1 x 3-Way SLI Bridge 1 x SLI Cable 1 x CrossFire Cable 1 x 2-in-1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit 3 x 2-in-1 SATA signal cables 1 x 2-in-1 SATA 6G cables 1 x 2-port USB2.0 + ESATA module 1 x I/O Shield 3 x Thermal Sensor Cable Packs 1 x Cable Ties Pack 1 x ROG theme label 1 x 12-in-1 ROG Cable Label 1 x USB to USB cable for ThunderBolt 2 x Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna 1 x Optional NB Fan |
| Support Disc | Drivers ASUS PC Probe II ASUS Update Kaspersky® Anti-Virus ASUS TurboV EVO Utility ASUS AI Suite II ASUS AI Charger WiFi Agent |
| Form Factor | Extended ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 10.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 26.9 cm ) |
We received the final retail sample and as such it comes packed with a 'decent' product bundle, its a little scarce on the extras though. Among the gear inside the kit you'll find the following:
- X58 Motherboard
- 1 x ROG Connect cable
- 1 x 3-Way SLI Bridge
- 1 x SLI cable
- 1 x CrossFire cable
- 1 x 2-in-1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit
- 3 x 2-in-1 SATA signal cables
- 1 x 2-in-1 SATA 6G cables
- 1 x 2-port USB2.0 + ESATA module
- 1 x I/O Shield
- 3 x Thermal Sensor cable packs
- 1 x Cable Ties pack
- 1 x ROG theme label
- 1 x 12-in-1 ROG cable label
- 1 x USB to USB cable for ThunderBolt
- 2 x Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna
- 1 x Optional NB fan
That's it really, keep in mind that ASUS tried hard to keep this motherboard affordable. The extras you need to seek in the overall design and components usage, which is top notch.
So here we have the motherboard itself, it's an impressive and overwhelming looking motherboard alright. Some of the more notable features are its design, four PCIe x16 (mechanical) slots, out of which 2 can run full speed x16 SLI (x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8 ). The mobo has DDR3 2200 MHz support straight out of the BIOS, USB 3.0 and SATA 6G. We'll cover it all though, let's begin with the IO panel.
From left to right, that's a combo PS2 keyboard/mouse connector, two USB 2.0 ports -- six in total, then two wireless antennae -- IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Compliant and embedded Bluetooth v3.0. A Clear CMOS button, also two USB 3,0 ports can be found here as well as two eSATA 6G ports (the red ones). The weird looking button with accompanying vertical USB port is for ROG connect (external overclocking through say, a laptop)
We spot one Gigabit Ethernet jack and next to it is audio, which is managed by the Realtek ALC892 codec which supports High Definition audio up-to 7.1 channels. This solution is optimized by the ThunderBolt card which we'll address later on. Also the Realtek solution gets some Creative Labs optimizations with the help of a SupremeFX X-Fi 2 software layer. This will bring EAX 5.0 and OpenAL to audio. It also comes with the THX TruStudio Pro software.
When we flip the board around we stumble into the processor area. Nice and spacious thanks to the cooling, a big cooler like the Noctua NH-D14 will fit there, in fact we'll be using one of these puppies today. Clean looks surround the LGA 1366 socket alright. To the upper middle of the photo we see a CPU fan header, quality capacitors and chokes and also a NEC Proadlizer, which cleans the power signal.
The board comes with 8-phase CPU power, 3-phases for QPI/DRAM, 3-phases for NB power and thus 3-phases for memory.
We spot two 8-pin CPU power headers just behind the wireless add-on there on the back panel connectors; we see quality solid core chokes and obviously the LGA 1366 socket for Core i7 based processors. The board incorporates the latest Ultra Durable components like solid capacitors, ferrite core chokes, quality components and nothing else. This ensures stability -- but also reliability and extended lifespan.
The little red button is a reset button by the way.
Once we flip the board around once more, we again stumble into the six DIMM slots, DDR3 of course. Let's zoom in a little
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