ASUS Rampage III Extreme

Introduction - ASUS Rampage III Extreme ROG

The ASUS Rampage III Extreme, first announced earlier this year, is ASUS' flagship motherboard for 2010. The ASUS Rampage III Extreme, running on the X58 architecture, is designed with overclocking and gaming in mind, making it a motherboard that most gamers can only dream of. When the ASUS Rampage III Formula hit the market about two months ago, it was a great option for most gamers and overclockers, especially since it had features similar to those of the Extreme, but with an $85 price cut. While the ASUS Rampage III Formula has lots of features that extreme gamers and enthusiast overclockers will need, the Rampage III Extreme really allows the users to take their gaming or overclocking one step further. 

The ASUS Rampage III Extreme is designed for stability and for breaking world records. The Extreme has a power design unlike any other motherboard we have reviewed. With the powerful combination of analog and digital design elements, which help deliver less noisier voltage frequencies for optimal overclocking and stability at high processor frequencies.

Extreme Engine Digi+:

The implementation of Extreme Engine Digi+ was designed to enable overclockers to push the new generation of CPUs to the limit. The next-generation dynamic multi-phase power management system is equipped with high performance ML Caps that ensure a stable power supply during an overvoltage by lowering ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance). This successfully delivers the advantage of both analog and digital VRM all in one go, keeping mission-critical components such as the processor, system memory, and North Bridge reliable while maintaining high power efficiency.

Extreme Engine Digi+ allows for a greater range of frequency switching from 250kHz to 1000kHz, whereas traditional digital designs only allows 800kHz switching.

From what we can see, Extreme Engine Digi+ allows for the previously mentioned higher frequency range, faster heat dissipation, and better conductivity from a parallel design, as opposed to a serial design. Digi+ is also capable of providing 10A more than traditional setups with better efficiency and less loss.

The ASUS Rampage III Extreme comes with 4x PCI-Express x16 slots, however, this does not mean that it runs with 4-way SLI setups. The board can handle up to a 3-Way SLI and an extra PhysX card in the last PCI-Express slot. Users have the option to use up to 4 video cards without SLI being enabled, allowing for the use of lots of monitors.

Fortunately, ASUS also offers the ROG Xpander for their ASUS Rampage III Extreme and Rampage III Formula motherboards, making it possible for the user to run a 4-way SLI system. Since 4-way SLI is not the main reason why people buy the Rampage III Formula, and the need to run 4-way SLI is not necessary even for the latest games on the market, ASUS decided to have the Xpander as an extra option rather than having the motherboard support 4-way SLI directly. The Xpander has two NF200-SLI-A3 chips onboard, which means that users get the full video rendering experience with the x16/x16/x16/x16 configuration option. For more information about the ROG Xpander, please visit the product info page HERE.

We will compare several motherboards in this review, including some older X58 boards, as well as some of the latest X58 boards from GIGABYTE and ASUS. GIGABYTE's GA-X58A-UD7 is an excellent comparison for the ASUS Rampage III Extreme, because they are both designed for extreme overclocking and enthusiast gaming. We will also throw in the ASUS Rampage III Formula motherboard results for some comparison for those deciding between the Rampage III Extreme and the Rampage III Formula. The prices below should provide an idea on what the prices are for current top of the line motherboards, including the older ASUS P6T motherboard.