The ASUS Rampage III Extreme is a fantastic board. It\'s exactly what enthusiasts have been looking forward to and ASUS haven\'t failed to deliver. From the initial presentation of the box to actually opening it and installing the board, you can\'t stop admiring the product. The sheer attention to every tiny detail that caters to everyone\'s needs such as the onboard switches to the comprehensive software suite and tweaking applications reflects on ASUS\'s ingenuity and their overclocking heritage. The whole Republic Of Gamers concept may seem like a childish marketing ruse but once you delve deeper into the innovations that the engineers deliver with the Rampage III Extreme, you get an idea of the professionalism behind it.

Overclocking is the main selling point of this motherboard. However, ASUS\'s aim has been to revolutionize it with new innovative features. On a hardware level, the Rampage III Extreme uses superior components across the board, sports extra power connectors and includes the Probelt feature. Furthermore, the iROG chip now implements a wide range of different ways to get the most of the board. The traditional BIOS will still be the main tool for overclocking but the RC TweakIt software goes one step ahead to facilitate the process.

Of course, SATA III 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 is finally here but it\'s the performance and stability of the board that should be highlighted here. It\'s good to see the X58 platform finally benefitting from innovations, that for a while has been limited to the mainstream P55 chipset.

The Rampage III Extreme is \"La crème de la crème\" of the motherboard world. While the price may reflect that on initial looks, it\'s worth every penny and users won\'t regret their choice! No other board will give what the Rampage III offers. After all we can\'t expect a premium board not to have a premium price.

Pros

[+]Loaded with features
[+]ROG functionality
[+]Unparalleled stability and overclocking
[+]Cool and efficient
[+]USB 3.0 and SATA III 6Gb/s
[+]Attractive finish
[+]Excellent packaging and bundle
[+]Excellent performance

Cons

[-]Size

This board doesn\'t deserve the Vortez Hardware Gold Award... It deserves better! Since we have no such award, the Rampage III Extreme will have to settle for the Gold Award.