ASUS Rampage III Gene

INTRODUCTION

The ASUS Rampage III Gene packs as many useful features as the ASUS engineers could manage into a much smaller package than its ROG siblings. We will examine this latest micro-ATX motherboard, and compare it to the older ASUS Rampage II Gene to better understand performance differences between the two.

The color scheme for the expansion and memory slots and the SATA ports on this motherboard has changed. Instead of the blue and white seen on the Rampage II Gene, we see reds and blacks.

There is also a slight design change in the NB and SB heat sinks. They are a bit more aggressive than those of the Rampage II Gene. They are still passively cooled so overclockers might want to not rule out an extra fan to aid in cooling.

The board supports up to two PCI-E video cards which can run as a pair, in CrossFireX or SLI configuration.

SATA6 and USB3.0 support has been added to this incarnation of the Gene, leaving the way clear for those that want that extra throughput with newer SATA6 and USB3.0 devices.

For a micro-ATX board, the Rampage III Gene is packed with enough features that will satisfy hardcore users. What's more is Asus packed the board with a lot of overclocking features that often found on high-end boards so it will satisfy the overclockers as well. Let's dig in and see what this board has to offer.