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Asus Rampage II GENE Review
[Abstract]
Rise of the Micro X58sIt seems that being small is in vogue among motherboard vendors now. In this case, it means motherboards of the microATX form factor. While we can't pinpoint any seminal p...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Rise of the Micro X58s
It seems that being small is in vogue among motherboard vendors now. In this case, it means motherboards of the microATX form factor. While we can't pinpoint any seminal products that could have sparked this trend, a glance at upcoming or recent releases left us no doubt that the big brands like ASUS, DFI and MSI are going small in a big way.
And lest you think that we are merely referring to the entry level models with integrated graphics that are usually the domain of the microATX, let us reveal that all of these new microATX boards are based on Intel's latest high-end chipset, the X58 Express that underpins the Core i7 processor.
Perhaps it's DFI and its microATX P45 motherboards, which we previously reviewed here. After all, DFI was also one of the first to bring this concept to the X58 segment with its JR X58-T3H6 board. It's joined by a host of new competitors however, the first of which is the ASUS Rampage II Gene, which brings along the overclocking tilt from its bigger brother, the Rampage II Extreme that is part of ASUS' Republic of Gamers series.
It's quite remarkable that ASUS manages to fit all the ROG overclocking features onto this microATX form factor. |
We snagged this square motherboard from ASUS recently and took it out for a spin. In its compact red package, we found the following:-
- 1 x SLI bridge
- 1 x IDE cable
- 2 x SATA cables
- LCD Poster
- ASUS Q-Connector kit
- I/O shield
- Utilities and Drivers DVD
- User manual
ASUS Rampage II Gene Technical Specifications
| CPU Support | - Intel Core i7 using LGA 1366 package
- Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) - 4.8GT/s to6.4GT/s
| | Chipset | - Northbridge:Intel X58 Express chipset
- Southbridge: IntelICH10R
| | Memory | - Supports 6 DIMM DDR3 SDRAM
- Supports up to 24GB memory size (max 4GB perDIMM)
- 1066/1333/1600 (O.C)/1800 (O.C)/2000 (O.C) MHz triplechannelDDR3 memoryarchitecture
| | Storage | - Intel ICH10RSouthbridge
- 6 x SATA3.0Gbpsinterface
- Intel MatrixStorage Technology
- Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, RAID 1,RAID 5 and RAID 0+1
- JMicron JMB363 PCIe to PATA controller
- 1 x IDE connector supporting up to two ATA-133 IDEdevices
- 1?x eSATA port (back panel)
- 1 x SATA 3.0Gbps port
| | Audio | - SupremeFX X-Fi
- 8-channel HD Audio CODEC
- EAX Advanced HD 4.0
- X-Fi CMSS 3D
- X-Fi Crystalizer
- Creative ALchemy
- 1 x Optical S/PDIF (at rear)
| | Networking | - Realtek 8111C Gigabit LAN
| | IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | - 2 x IEEE 1394a ports (1 rear, 1 header)
| | Rear I/O | - 6 x USB 2.0ports
- 1 x eSATA ports
- 1 x RJ45 LANport
- 1 x optical S/PDIF output connector
- 1 x IEEE1394a port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
- 1x PS/2keyboard port
- Audio jacks
| | Internal Connectors | - 1 x Ultra ATAIDE connector
- 7 x SATAconnectors
- 3 x USB 2.0 headers (Up to 6 USB 2.0 ports)
- 1 x Enable Clear CMOS button
- 1 x IEEE1394a connector
- 1 x S/PDIF output connector
- 1 x LCD Poster connector
- 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector
- 1 x 8-pin 12V power connector
- 5 x fan connectors
- Power and reset switches
| | Expansion Slots | - 2 x PCIe x16 slot (PCI Express 2.0) (x16,x16)
- 1 x PCIe x4slot
- 1?xPCI slots
| | Special Features | - ROG ExclusiveOverclocking Features
- CPU Level Up
- Memory Level Up
- iROG
- Extreme Tweaker
- ASUS O.C Profile
- ASUS EPU-6 Engine
- MemOK!
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
- ASYS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS TurboV
- ASUS PC Probe II
| | PCB | - microATX FormFactor, 24.5 x 24.5cm
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