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Asus Striker Extreme Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionThe Republic of Gamers (R.O.G.) motherboard series marked a move away from lifestyle computing for ASUS (the AI Proactive and AI Life product lines) into the realm of enthusiasts an...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
The Fat Lady Sings
The ASUS Striker Extreme has been one of the most highly anticipated nForce 680i SLI motherboards since the launch of the chipset. Some have even touted it as the ultimate gaming motherboard, and after our time with it, we dare say it comes mighty close. ASUS has done an excellent job as usual and the board is a hallmark of quality engineering. Planning a board that is feature-rich is one thing, but making it work is another. We've got almost no complaints at all about the board design and layout. Components are well positioned, well spaced out and easily reached when needed. The onboard LEDs, EL I/O, lighted switches and clear connector markings really make installation and upgrading so much easier. These should have been standard features on all boards instead of the usual requirement to fumble with the manual just to see if you've got connectors in the right pins. The LCD Poster is an interesting gimmick for sure, but its usefulness at the rear is pretty much zero.
As for features, the nForce 680i SLI chipset certainly speaks for itself by now, but the additional functionality like eSATA and FireWire are already common sights on high-end motherboards. They warrant a nod, but nothing to be overly excited about. The ASUS SupremeFX audio add-on card is becoming more of a familiar feature on their premium boards and although the ADI 1988b CODEC offers DTS Connect, S/PDIF and good all round audio performance, Creative still has a choke hold on gaming audio no thanks to the wide support for EAX. Performance-wise, the Striker Extreme matches up to the other nForce 680i SLI motherboards we've tested and also does well against competition from the Intel 975X Express and Intel P965 chipsets. If you were expecting something phenomenal, that's the hype speaking.
The real 'gaming' value in the Striker Extreme beside SLI graphics is its immense overclocking potential. ASUS really went all out to provide a rock solid and robust overclocking BIOS, strong chipset cooling and PWM with the board. When NVIDIA launched the nForce 680i SLI chipset, reports have been floating around the net of over post 500MHz overclocks; now, we're finally able to confirm it firsthand. The Striker Extreme now holds our Intel platform overclocking record at 2020MHz PSB (504MHz base FSB), a 90% increase over its stock 1066MHz PSB for Intel Core 2 Duo processors. All this on stock cooling alone; we didn't even use the optional heat-pipe fan add-on during overclocking. With ultra high top-end frequencies and voltages up to 3.425V for DDR2 and 2.75V for SPP, the Striker Extreme is the hardcore enthusiast's playground.
The ASUS Striker Extreme is a very expensive motherboard, but if money isn't a concern, it is the best nForce 680i SLI you can get right now. |
Design, build quality, features, functionality, performance, overclocking, stability, ease of use; The ASUS Striker Extreme excels in all areas. Of course, everything comes at a price and the Striker Extreme notches up another first by possibly being the most expensive motherboard out in the market. We all know the nForce 680i SLI chipset alone is nearly half the cost, but with all the board's bells and whistles, not forgetting its deluxe software bundle, you're looking at a whopping US$385 price tag on average. Graphics cards have been bundling games and gaming software for as far back as we can remember, but a motherboard? One has to wonder how much does it factor into an already overpriced product. All in all, we believe the Striker Extreme certainly does not justify its cost, but since when was luxury products' pricing ever justified? If you can pay US$500 for a certain brand's fountain pens, you can pay US$380 for the ASUS Striker Extreme. If you want the best nForce 680i SLI motherboard today, this is it.
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