ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard Review

👤by Sahil Mannick Comments 📅02-09-10
Specifications




CPU
-Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition
-Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
*Note: This board does NOT support the i7 8xx series of CPU

Chipset
-Intel® X58/ICH10R

System Bus
Up to 6.4 GT/s with QuickPath Interconnection

Memory
-6 x DIMM, Max. 24 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory modules
-Tri Channel memory architecture

Expansion Slots
-3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (supports x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 configurations)
-2 x PCIe x1
-1 x PCI 2.2

Multi-GPU Support
-Supports 3-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology / ATI® CrossFireX™ Technology

Storage
Intel® ICH10R Southbridge
-6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
-Intel Matrix Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10
JMicron 363 controller
-2 x SATA 3.0Gb/s port (1 x SATA On-the-Go, 1 x power eSATA port)
Marvell® 9218 PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller
-2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (Red)

LAN
-Intel Ethernet 82567V Gigabit LAN
-Gamefirst

Audio
SupremeFX X-Fi 2 Built-in
-8 Channel Audio CODEC
-EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0
-THX TrueStudio PRO
-X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™
-Creative ALchemy
-Supports Blu-ray audio layer content protection
-Supports Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
-Supports 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port at back panel

IEEE 1394
2 x 1394a ports (1 port onboard, 1 port at back I/O)

USB
NEC® USB 3.0 controller
-2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (at back I/O)
Intel® ICH10R Southbridge
-12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports at mid-board, 6 ports at back I/O, 1 port at back I/O reserved for ROG Connect, 1 port for OC station header)

Back Panel I/O Ports
-1 x IEEE 1394a
-1 x LAN(RJ45) port
-8-Channel Audio I/O
-1 x Clr CMOS switch
-1 x PS/2 Keyboard port (purple)
-1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
-2 x External SATA ports
-2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (Blue)
-7 x USB 2.0 ports (1 port also for ROG Connect)
-1 x ROG Connect On/Off switch
-S/PDIF Out (Optical)

Software
-Drivers and Applications
-Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2 Utility
-Kaspersky Anti-Virus
-ROG GameFirst Utility
-ASUS TurboV EVO Utility
-ASUS PC Probe II
-ASUS Update
-ASUS AI Suite II

ASUS Specific Features
Power Design:
-8-phase CPU power
-3-phase QPI/DRAM power
-2-phase NB power
-2-phase Memory power
ROG Features:
-ROG Connect
-ProbeIt
-iROG
-GameFirst
-Extreme Tweaker
-BIOS Flashback with onboard BIOS switch button
-Loadline Calibration
-ROG Extreme OC kit
- LN2 Mode
- Q Reset
-Intelligent overclocking tools:
- ASUS AI Booster Utility
- OC Profile
-Q-Fan Plus (without thermal sensor cables)
-Loadline Calibration
Overclocking Protection:
-COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX)
-Voltiminder LED
-ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Other Features
-CPU Level UP
-MemOK!
-Onboard switches: Power/Reset/ Clr CMOS
-ASUS MyLogo3
-ASUS Fan Xpert
-ASUS EZ Flash 2
-ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
-ASUS Q-Connector
-ASUS Q-Led (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
-ASUS Q-Slot
-ASUS Q-DIMM

Form Factor
ATX Form Factor: 12 inches x 9.6 inches ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )

The specifications is what we have come to expect from ROG boards, impressive and packing everything that users will ever want. A lot of the notable features present on the Extreme that were missed out on the GENE make a comeback on the Rampage III Formula. This includes the Extreme Engi Digi+ feature that ensures superior power delivery to conventional digital or analog VRM designs. Similarly to cater for overclockers, LN2 mode has been reintroduced in this model whereas the GENE made do without. Since the board is also targeted at gamers, ASUS have incorporated the SupremeFX X-Fi2 chip for greater sound fidelity than traditional solutions. Remote overclocking also makes its way to the Formula through ROG connect whereby the bundled ROG cable can simply connect up to an external windows based devise to run the RC TweakIT application. Unfortunately, RC Bluetooth has been omitted and remains solely on the ASUS's Extreme variants. An important note to make is that the Formula adheres to the normal ATX form factor so compatibility is assured in all ATX cases without sacrificing many features.

Rampage III Extreme VS Rampage III Formula


The above table shows the main differences between the Rampage III Extreme and the new Formula. Despite the smaller and regular ATX form factor, there is very little that the Formula omits from its bigger brother. Instead of four PCIe x16 slots, the Formula only brandishes three. This isn't a great loss considering most users only use one or two GPUs and Quad SLI support isn't present even on the Extreme, hence demonstrating the welcoming compromise the board has reached. In terms of power circuitry and overclocking feature, the Formula only has a 2 phase VRM circuitry for the Northbridge and memory instead of 3 but it is still superior to the GENE's design. As previously mentioned, the RC Bluetooth module is also absent but ROG Connect serves the same functionality. The Formula does benefit from a few additional features over its bigger brother such as the onboard SupremeFX X-Fi2 chip , ASUS GameFirst and additional onboard USB ports to remain true to its gaming prowess.

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