Motherboard Testing Methodology

Motherboards based on the same chipset, even from different vendors, will tend to perform similarly when equipped with the same hardware (processor, memory, video card, et cetera), so vendors strive to distinguish themselves on features. And as you might expect from ASUS, this motherboard is jammed with proprietary goodies: Extreme Engine DIGI+ II, EPU, auto-overclocking, fully digital power circuitry, various diagnostic LEDs, and a complete suite of software and utilities to let you make the most of it. You can even overclock the CPU and tweak the power settings from within Windows, without rebooting, with the included Turbo V Evo utility.

Unfortunately, I didn't have four identical graphics cards to really give the system a workout; so you'll have to be satisfied with our standard test suite. I'll compare the ASUS Rampage IV Gene motherboard against a motherboard from each of the other recent chipsets, as well as another board from the Rampage IV line, the Gene.

Intel X58 Express Test Platform

• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme with BIOS 0901
• Processor: 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-980X
• System Memory: 12GB (6 2GB DIMMs) Corsair Dominator CMD12GX3M6A1600C8 DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24)
• Primary Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300G
• Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 6850
• CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM

Intel P67 Express Test Platform

• Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 with BIOS 1305
• Processor: 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-2600K
• System Memory: 8GB (2 4GB DIMMs) Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24)
• Primary Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300G
• Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 6850
• CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM

AMD 990FX Test Platform

• Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Gene with BIOS 0083
• Processor: 3.6GHz AMD FX-8150 "Bulldozer"
• System Memory: G. Skill F3-17066CL7D-4GBPIS DDR3-1866 (9-9-9-24)
• Primary Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300G
• Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 6850
• CPU cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow

Intel X79 Express Test Platforms

• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Gene
• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Gene
• Processor: 3.6GHz Intel Core i7-3820
• System Memory: 16GB (4 4GB DIMMs) G.Skill RipJaws X Series DDR3-1866 (9-9-9-24)
• Primary Drive: Zalman 256GB SSD
• Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 6850
• CPU cooler: Corsair CWCH60 H60 CPU Cooler

Benchmark Applications

• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
• SiSoft Sandra Lite 2011.SPS (1780)
• AIDA64 Extreme Edition v1.85.1600
• Futuremark PCMark Vantage v1.0.2.0 64-Bit
  • TV and Movies
  • Gaming
  • Music
• Maxon CINEBENCH R11.5 64-Bit
• Street Fighter IV benchmark
• PassMark PerformanceTest 7.0b1021
• x264Bench HD 3.0, including AMD-supplied variants using new FX instructions
• SPECviewperf-11:
  • Lightwave 9.6
  • Autodesk Maya 2009
  • Siemens Teamcenter Visualization Mockup
• SPECapc LightWave 3D v9.6
• Handbrake 0.95 video transcoding
• Blender 3D rendering
• POV-Ray 3D rendering

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