ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition Motherboard Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition Motherboard Review - The ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition is the second offering to carry the "Black Edition" moniker and as a result there is much riding on this particular edition as this will be the last hurrah for the X79 platform. The previous edition was the absolute best X58 motherboard money could buy and we expect no less from this Black Edition motherboard.
 
Intro page:
" These slots are color coded to denote proper dual/quad channel memory mode operation. "
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm going crazy, but they all look black to me...

That said, sick board. For that money, I'd almost want a little more visual flair, besides matte black, but with performance like that, it's hard to complain. Great review!
 
Another great review as always. Just a little miffed that this board is about 8-12 months too late in terms of if its worth it or not with X99 coming at the end of the year.
 
I do not have the board in front of me right now, but I recall the RAM slots being black and dark gray to denote channels.
 
Great review, and happy to see the 4820K used for benchmarks.

BTW, WTF with ASUS and Corsair RAM.

I did not know of this issue and, I also have intermittent BootUp erros with my RIVF and Corsair RAM. PITA!
 
I wonder what the point of this release is with X99 coming out in June? Or am I mistaken?

I actually need four-way 290X for my 7680x1600 setup, and was going to get a X79 platform to accomodate the cards, but I'm gonna leave the cards mining until Summer and adopt DDR4 and X99 instead. Makes more sense to me than spend money on an architecture that is what, 3 years old?
 
TigerLord said:
I wonder what the point of this release is with X99 coming out in June? Or am I mistaken?
I actually need four-way 290X for my 7680x1600 setup, and was going to get a X79 platform to accomodate the cards, but I'm gonna leave the cards mining until Summer and adopt DDR4 and X99 instead. Makes more sense to me than spend money on an architecture that is what, 3 years old?
Click to expand...

I do believe the x58 Rampage 3 Black came out just before the platform went EOL as well. Asus likes to milk it and say they had the best of the best before it was gone & charge a sky high price while they are at it. Hell I bet re-sellers will jack up the price on the board in years to come. Some R3 Blacks sell for over $800 still.
 
I love this board but, was irked it wouldn't take my ares ram kits though. I was planning on getting another one but, I'm waiting for x99 instead since it will be out this summer/fall.
 
I have a Rampage IV Formula, got it as soon as it went on sale.....excellent board.

This one looks great but is just a little too late to be commanding the price ASUS wants.
 
I've had this Mainboard since November and I really like it. However, you mentioned you got a new bios on the Asus website and all I see is that they still offer only the release bios.

Thanks
 
b00gjuice said:
I've had this Mainboard since November and I really like it. However, you mentioned you got a new bios on the Asus website and all I see is that they still offer only the release bios.

Thanks
Click to expand...


Description RAMPAGE IV BLACK EDITION BIOS 0602
Improve system stability.
File Size 4,9 MBytesupdate 2014.03.12
Download from Global
Version 0507

Description RAMPAGE IV BLACK EDITION BIOS 0507
Improve system stability.
File Size 4,9 MBytesupdate 2014.01.17
Download from Global
Version 0403

Description RAMPAGE IV BLACK EDITION BIOS 0403
First release Bios
File Size 4,9 MBytesupdate 2013.10.28
Download from Global
 
Just fyi, all the storage benchmarks are labelled as using the z87 chipset instead of x79....
 
I really don't think this board offers anything significant over it's practically identical brother that has been out since nearly socket 2011 has come out...Maybe I'm wrong Dan/Kyle but I would really like to see the difference put to the test.
 
I would like to know how much money you are getting for reviewing ASUS products.

Their customer service is one of, if not the worst in the industry. Just look at all the horror story threads about ASUS right here on this forum.

At the very least, you should put a nice large note warning people that they will most likely not get warranty service from ASUS if they buy one of their products.
 
Does this board also come with rampage black edition double secret invisible nonexistent customer service?

Or the new illegal we won't abide by laws in place rampage rma service.

Sorry love your reviews but an Asus motherboard or graphics card will never see the inside of a computer I build for anyone. Unless it's free...
 
Modred189 said:
Intro page:

Maybe I'm going crazy, but they all look black to me...

That said, sick board. For that money, I'd almost want a little more visual flair, besides matte black, but with performance like that, it's hard to complain. Great review!
Click to expand...
It's hard to differentiate, but they are black and dark grey.
 
Rattle said:
Does this board also come with rampage black edition double secret invisible nonexistent customer service?

Or the new illegal we won't abide by laws in place rampage rma service.

Sorry love your reviews but an Asus motherboard or graphics card will never see the inside of a computer I build for anyone. Unless it's free...
Click to expand...

That may have been your experience with ASUS, and I can understand that. But we aren't reviewing customer service. We are reviewing hardware. The hardware stands on the merits of the design and quality as we see it. Customer service is a difficult thing to test for and review. Not to mention expensive, time consuming, and there are other issues I won't get into here.
 
It's not just my experience though that's the thing, you guys put asus top shelf and they really are not.
As far as quality or performance they aren't any better than anyone else, then add in the non existent rma service...

I have said enough though ! Sorry for OT
 
b00gjuice said:
I've had this Mainboard since November and I really like it. However, you mentioned you got a new bios on the Asus website and all I see is that they still offer only the release bios.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I purchased my RIVBE from Microcenter right around new years and I had noticed they released an updated BIOS for it about after a months usage, and then today while looking through this review and subsequent thread, I noticed that an even newer BIOS came out on the 12th of this month which I'll have to give a go sometime soon.

Although back when I was using my Sabertooth X79 and 3820, it seemed like the maximum stable overclock went down a little bit each time a new one would come out despite the patch notes usually saying nothing more than improving stability while doing the opposite. I know that running higher volts/temps/speed degrades processors over time, but it seemed odd that it coincided with almost every subsequent release. My Sabertooth X79 was an early one, as I had to use the .ROM -> .CAP converter released alongside of version 2002, before being able to flash it. When released, it was designed to take advantage of a bunch of new features introduced with Windows 8/8.1 to enhance the performance and compatibility which didn't exist at the time Windows 7 was released. The most easily recognizable one is how it takes advantage of UEFI for the new bootloader which offers way more functionality that is actually useful, in addition to way shorter boot times, especially when using super fast SSD that have started to saturate the 6Gbs bandwidth limitation of the SATA 3.0 standard.

I'm hoping I wont be running into the same issue with my RIVBE and 4930k I'm running now. At least with this time, if it really is just down to the processor degrading, I bought intel's $30 no questions asked processor insurance. With it being no questions asked, I along with anyone else who bought that insurance plan, could just do it in hope of getting a better overclocking processor right out of the box.
 
Ah I wanted this so bad then I upgraded in November but my MC didnt have it and didnt know when it would come back in stock so I settled for the only other x79 MB they had which was the Asus X79 Deluxe. I wonder if its worth selling the Deluxe and getting this. Probably not I guess since its an aging platform, if X99 really comes out at the end of this year then for certain I am not going to upgrade.
 
I do have a question for Black Edition owners. I'm not used to ocing at all. I'm getting overclock failed hit F1 to reconfigure system.


Thermaltake SP-1200M PSU
Rampage IV Black Edition Bios Version 4.03
I7 4960 turbo max speed 4 ghz
64 GB GSkill Z F3-19200CL-10Q2-64GBZ
Asus Titan
960 SSD
Win 7 Ult 64 bit
 
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I still question what if anything is actually better than the board this is based on. it has some slight layout changes and a newer BIOS layout....but that really seems to be it? Am i missing something?
 
Vercinaigh said:
I still question what if anything is actually better than the board this is based on. it has some slight layout changes and a newer BIOS layout....but that really seems to be it? Am i missing something?
Click to expand...

Its a completely different board than the RIVE, the layout of the various components isn't even close to the old board.

ROG-Rampage-IV-Extreme.jpg


Bj4JHpM.jpg


Its been designed to make the most out of IB-E as well.
 
Really at the end of the day...i see no reason to -ever- get this over the board it's trying to claim itself better than....
 
A lot of people don't realize the reason these newer boards were released on x79. Like the black and the x79-deluxe. The earlier x79 boards had vrm throttling issues because of the small cluster at the top. My p9x79 had it bad enough I had to Jimmy rig a fan mount over the vrm sink. That was only running 1.35v n I'd get throttling while stress testing due to vrm overheating. There was honestly minimal boards that didn't have this issue. Gigabyte ud7 is one because it had so many. My ud5 even throttled at stock because of the piddly ass heatsink. Don't know what gigabyte was thinking there. That's my interpretation of these newer boards anyways. I'm sure asus or gigabyte wouldnever admit to tthe issue. But what else is new.
 
Vercinaigh said:
I still question what if anything is actually better than the board this is based on. it has some slight layout changes and a newer BIOS layout....but that really seems to be it? Am i missing something?
Click to expand...

Considering I just replaced the Rampage IV Extreme with the Rampage IV Black Edition I can tell you that while the layout is similar, but the boards are very different. Naturally I reviewed both boards too but the RIVE was done some time ago. Audio implementation is better on the RIVBE. The RIVBE has a difference PCIe auxiliary power connector. It uses a right angled 4-pin MOLEX connector instead of a six-pin PCI-Express connector. This actually resulted in a cleaner layout in the case and I didn't have to waste a PCI-Express 6 pin cable or use an extra adapter for it. The new one has WiFi built in, and the VRM design is newer, more efficient and of course better for overclocking Ivy Bridge-E.

The UEFI also has some improvements over the old motherboard. The OC Key is gone and replaced by the OC Panel (which I like much more). I'm not saying the Rampage IV Black Edition is a worthy upgrade if you've got the Rampage IV Extreme, but it is a different motherboard. It's definitely better but it comes at a steep price.
 
Pdwe said:
I do have a question for Black Edition owners. I'm not used to ocing at all. I'm getting overclock failed hit F1 to reconfigure system.


Thermaltake SP-1200M PSU
Rampage IV Black Edition Bios Version 4.03
I7 4960 turbo max speed 4 ghz
64 GB GSkill Z F3-19200CL-10Q2-64GBZ
Asus Titan
960 SSD
Win 7 Ult 64 bit
Click to expand...

What settings are you using for your overclock?
 
Dan_D said:
Considering I just replaced the Rampage IV Extreme with the Rampage IV Black Edition I can tell you that while the layout is similar, but the boards are very different. Naturally I reviewed both boards too but the RIVE was done some time ago. Audio implementation is better on the RIVBE. The RIVBE has a difference PCIe auxiliary power connector. It uses a right angled 4-pin MOLEX connector instead of a six-pin PCI-Express connector. This actually resulted in a cleaner layout in the case and I didn't have to waste a PCI-Express 6 pin cable or use an extra adapter for it. The new one has WiFi built in, and the VRM design is newer, more efficient and of course better for overclocking Ivy Bridge-E.

The UEFI also has some improvements over the old motherboard. The OC Key is gone and replaced by the OC Panel (which I like much more). I'm not saying the Rampage IV Black Edition is a worthy upgrade if you've got the Rampage IV Extreme, but it is a different motherboard. It's definitely better but it comes at a steep price.
Click to expand...

That is really useful information. I know it's rare these kinda "replacement" boards come up...but if you could in the future provide a comparo of sorts that is much appreciated...I keep a very powerful rig up to date but hate just throwing money at nothing. I currently have the old one under water cooling so i doubt that anything this offers will do sweet f-all for me, except wifi, which isn't worth the money by itself I would think. Especially since I also use a Asus Essence soundcard, which is a different league all-together. Thanks for that info though!
 
I'm really on the fence on this. I'm wondering if it's worth it. I am coming from a RIVE setup that died on me yesterday. I'm planning on moving to a 4930k.

My real needs are Intel RAID support and something that will run my tri-fire r9 290x's.
 
XViper said:
I'm really on the fence on this. I'm wondering if it's worth it. I am coming from a RIVE setup that died on me yesterday. I'm planning on moving to a 4930k.

My real needs are Intel RAID support and something that will run my tri-fire r9 290x's.
Click to expand...

Well remember that the RIVBE only has two native SATA 6Gb/s ports. The rest are third party.
 
Pdwe said:
I do have a question for Black Edition owners. I'm not used to ocing at all. I'm getting overclock failed hit F1 to reconfigure system.


Thermaltake SP-1200M PSU
Rampage IV Black Edition Bios Version 4.03
I7 4960 turbo max speed 4 ghz
64 GB GSkill Z F3-19200CL-10Q2-64GBZ
Asus Titan
960 SSD
Win 7 Ult 64 bit
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to bet its related to the 64GB of RAM, probably some timings are a little too tight. How are you configuring the timings, manually or using XMP?
 
I picked one up last weekend. Just FYI, do not update the bios unless you have to. The newer bios'es causing instability while overclocking past 4.5ghz+

I had a stable 4.8ghz on the stock bios and when I updated to the new bios, it no longer worked. Same settings.

Also I really don't like the fact that the Intel RAID comes up very slowly. You get a couple seconds of the blinking cursor before the Intel RAID comes up. If you don't run RAID, then it's blazing fast during the startup.
 
I love my R4BE, but i have a question.
My computer is working fine, but when i turn it on i get no post beeps at all. Everything is hooked up correctly as far as i can tell, but i'm just curious if it may be a problem down the road? (Not TOO worried about it, but always better to be safe than sorry...lol)
It starts up, does the info screen a few seconds then goes to windows. Speaker inside seems to be fine but just want to be safe.
Just seeing if anyone else has ever experienced this. (First time for me)
Thanks for any info! :D
 
I set my Bios 4.03 to default and so far F1 hasn't appeared. Still having hotswap boot issues. I turn my computer on it works ok but, trying to load Antivirus I get IE isn't responding and just like dial up net would today so I have to hit task and log off for it to stop. I played a game and sound video played fine but, then the sound stopped but, had video weird huh.

Its an Crucial SSD 960gb
When I swap to my WD Sata III HD I get bad or missing MBR


I'm using Vantec Hotswap Pro+ to boot

I might have a virus on SSD

Any chance both hds are bad?

Back to the shop
 
XViper said:
I picked one up last weekend. Just FYI, do not update the bios unless you have to. The newer bios'es causing instability while overclocking past 4.5ghz+

I had a stable 4.8ghz on the stock bios and when I updated to the new bios, it no longer worked. Same settings.

Also I really don't like the fact that the Intel RAID comes up very slowly. You get a couple seconds of the blinking cursor before the Intel RAID comes up. If you don't run RAID, then it's blazing fast during the startup.
Click to expand...

I have never seen this problem with the Intel RAID controller. As for the BIOS instability issues in later versions, I'll ask ASUS and see what they say.

=Gunslinger= said:
I'd be willing to bet its related to the 64GB of RAM, probably some timings are a little too tight. How are you configuring the timings, manually or using XMP?
Click to expand...

The more RAM you use the more likely you are to have issues. 64MB vs. 32MB for example usually has to be run with looser timings and at slower speeds.

kamxam said:
I love my R4BE, but i have a question.
My computer is working fine, but when i turn it on i get no post beeps at all. Everything is hooked up correctly as far as i can tell, but i'm just curious if it may be a problem down the road? (Not TOO worried about it, but always better to be safe than sorry...lol)
It starts up, does the info screen a few seconds then goes to windows. Speaker inside seems to be fine but just want to be safe.
Just seeing if anyone else has ever experienced this. (First time for me)
Thanks for any info! :D
Click to expand...

The speaker may not be hooked up right but if that's all that's wrong I wouldn't worry about it too much. I can't actually hear mine unless I open the case. It's just not very loud. Maybe you have a similar issue.

Pdwe said:
I set my Bios 4.03 to default and so far F1 hasn't appeared. Still having hotswap boot issues. I turn my computer on it works ok but, trying to load Antivirus I get IE isn't responding and just like dial up net would today so I have to hit task and log off for it to stop. I played a game and sound video played fine but, then the sound stopped but, had video weird huh.

Its an Crucial SSD 960gb
When I swap to my WD Sata III HD I get bad or missing MBR


I'm using Vantec Hotswap Pro+ to boot

I might have a virus on SSD

Any chance both hds are bad?

Back to the shop
Click to expand...

First off hotswap backplanes are a pain in the ass. From low to high end they can be problematic. You could have bad SATA cables or the controller could be bad. Doubtful on that last part. Memory timing issues or settings could easily be at work here. Memory instability problems can manifest in ways that look like virtually every other problem under the sun.

What modules are you using and at what settings?
 
Dan_D said:
I have never seen this problem with the Intel RAID controller. As for the BIOS instability issues in later versions, I'll ask ASUS and see what they say.



The more RAM you use the more likely you are to have issues. 64MB vs. 32MB for example usually has to be run with looser timings and at slower speeds.



The speaker may not be hooked up right but if that's all that's wrong I wouldn't worry about it too much. I can't actually hear mine unless I open the case. It's just not very loud. Maybe you have a similar issue.



First off hotswap backplanes are a pain in the ass. From low to high end they can be problematic. You could have bad SATA cables or the controller could be bad. Doubtful on that last part. Memory timing issues or settings could easily be at work here. Memory instability problems can manifest in ways that look like virtually every other problem under the sun.

What modules are you using and at what settings?
Click to expand...

I'm using this memory kit

F3-19200CL10Q2-64GBZ

I'll get a pic of the cpu-z on memory

As far as the hotswap thing this was my 1st HD I had not even tried to swap to a new hd before I noticed issues. At first I thought it was a dud SSD so I tried a wd hd then I got bad or missing mbr on both drives. I'm beginning to think I have a bad MB.

JEDEC #5 JEDEC #6 XMP-2400 XMP-2400
Freq 685 mhz 781 mhz 1200 mhz 1200 mhz
cash lat 9.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
ras cas 9 10 13 13
ras precharge 9 10 13 13
tras 25 28 33 32
trc 34 38 43 43
command rate 2t 1t
voltage 1.50v 1.50v 1.650v 1.650v

bios

all core target mode speed 4000 mhz
target dram speed 1333 mhz

ai overclock tuner auto
cpu level up disabled
cpu core ratio sync all cores

advanced sata conf

sata mode ansi mode
smart status check enabled
all other stuff disabled

sata port 3 ssd
sata port 5 wd storage
sata port 6 wd storage
 
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