A plethora of options for expansion slots
Turning our attention to the expansion slot area there are a number of options available here. This gives plenty of flexibility for using graphics cards, network cards, SCSI and other such devices. The ports available are:
3x PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots
2x PCI-E 3.0/2.0 x16 slots (Running @ x16 / x8)
1x PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (Running @ x4)
An M.2 slot for even more storage choice
Above the top PCI-E slot ROG has included an M.2 slot for use with M key and SSD storage device which are type 2260/2280. Not all manufacturers have chosen to include such functionality on the motherboard but its great to see it making an appearance because there are a number of brands currently developing modules for this form factor. The M.2 slot also supports Intel's Rapid Storage Technology, allowing it to operate as a cache for slower mechanical drives in a manner which is invisible to the OS.
SupremeFX 2014 for top-class audio
Not only is storage and video very well design on Ranger but audio is an aspect of noteworthy integration. ROG has equipped Ranger with SupremeFX 2014 which encapsulates a number of new features.
Premium ELNA Japanese-capacitors are a key inclusion. Both these components and the chip are sectioned off from the rest of the board by an EMI shield to prevent any unnecessary electrical interference.
SupremeFX 2014 brings in a number of audio features which include:
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
- Sonic SoundStage
- Sonic SenseAmp
- Sonic Studio
- Sonic Radar II
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
- Sonic SoundStage
- Sonic SenseAmp
- Sonic Studio
- Sonic Radar II
Rear IO has plenty of functionality
Lastly, we come to the Rear IO panel which has a generous selection of ports to take advantage of. From the left to right we have the following:
PS2 Keyboard/Mouse
Optical SPD/IF
HDMI (Up to 4K Resolution)
D-Sub port
DVI port
BIOS USB Flashback
4x USB 3.0 ports
Gigabit LAN port
8-Channel Audio