| ASUS Rampage IV Formula X79 Motherboard |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Motherboards | |
| Written by Hank Tolman | |
| Thursday, 15 March 2012 | |
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Page 16 of 17
ROG X79 Express Motherboard Final ThoughtsASUS' Republic of Gamers series was introduced to cater to enthusiasts. The X79 Chipset is an Intel production introduced to cater to enthusiasts. The two combined should be the ultimate in enthusiast PC capability. The Republic of Gamers Rampage IV series is made up of the Gene, the Formula, and the Extreme. So how does the Rampage IV Formula rate on the scale of X79 motherboards?
First, the bad. I was disappointed that the Rampage IV Formula didn't have eight DIMM slots. So what if 32GB of RAM is plenty. This is an X79 motherboard. Extreme is the word. Well, apparently Extreme IS the word, because you'll have to buy the Rampage IV Extreme to get eight DIMM slots. And that about sums up the bad. Unless, of course, you count my disappointment at the existence of a legacy PS/2 port. Although, I suppose if anyone is going to need a PS/2 port, it would be extreme gamers. Who else needs unlimited simultaneous keystrokes? Only newbs settle for six. With that behind us, let's take a look at the good things the Rampage IV Formula has to offer. First, of course, is the overclocking capability. The Rampage IV Formula offers the absolute best in terms of voltage control and precision tuning. I haven't seen this level of precision since the Crosshair IV Formula with the AMD 990FX chipset. Of course, things have improved even since then. The Extreme Engine DIGI+ II brings in enhanced VCCSA control to help in the blck tweaking. Enhanced controls also extend into the Tweaker's Paradise section for the CPU, GPU, and RAM. The ASUS Rampage IV Formula also address a couple of issues that overclockers have had for a while. For one, they fixed the variable voltage stepping on startup that causes cold boot issues. You can get the full voltage you need for your overclock right from the start. Also, the AI Suite II gives you excellent monitoring ability from within Windows. But those readings could vary a little too much, so the Rampage IV Formula offers probe points so you can use your own tools. Right down to Mem TweakIt, GPU TweakIt, ROG Connect capability, and GameFirst, the Rampage IV Formula impressed in its ability to deliver unparalleled gaming performance for any PC Enthusiast. Throw in the full version of Battlefield 3 and you're ready to go. Add four more DIMM slots and this would be my choice for the best X79 motherboard on the market for its price. Then again, it's only $70 more for the Rampage IV Extreme.
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Comments
Because he's using the same video card in each board, if he had of also used the same RAM and CPU it would have been easy to see if there was any difference in BF3 caused by the main board. It would also have been interesting. At the very least, it could be reported that no difference was found in the game using different mobos.
However, I can excuse not doing it because it would have been a lot of extra work. Sure would have been interesting though.
What if it was tested and there was a difference? Wouldn't you like to know that? How would that not be classified as testing the motherboard if they all used the same gpu? (Again, I don't think there would be a significant difference between motherboards). Even knowing there was no difference would have been reassuring, if only a little. But it would have been a little extra work for something we're already 99% sure of.
-Hank
Who spends thousands of dollars on computer hardware and then chinces on the operating system over a few dollars?
Nice o/c by the way.
Thank you for your time,
Myles Thomas