ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard Review - We have yet another successor to the "Rampage" name, the Rampage III Formula. The X58 market is saturated with excellent boards already. We find out if the new Rampage offers compelling features that make it stand out in the landscape of stellar X58 boards.
 
Nice review :)



Which cooler did you use? One thing that has always concerned me with my Rampage II GENE is the teeny NB HS, which always seemed inadequate without some sort of decent airflow over it (either from the CPU HSF, or from a lot of case fans setting up airflow).

Is the Intel Gigabit controller a seperate chip, or just a license? I never figured out which, since it always seemed (from the block diagrams) that is was part of one of the chipsets?
 
The cooling information is listed on page 4 right at the top. Quoted from that: "The CPU was cooled with a home brew water cooling setup consisting of a Swiftech MCR320 triple radiator, 3x120mm fans, Swiftech MCP655-B pump, and a Swiftech Apogee GTZ water block with LGA1366 mounting hardware. "
 
We water cool our CPUs and use the stock chipset coolers on the boards, so they are actually put under a heavier load than they would be with air coolers.

It is an Intel GB controller IIRC.
 
Great review as usual.

However the Gold / Silver rating (I'm sure you knew it was coming, sorry to be the douche to bring it up) is a bit confusing to me. Given that this is a LGA 1366 board, and is one of, if not the, best at what it does, should it not be rated as Gold? For those who use [H] reviews as a shopping guide and are looking for a LGA 1366 board, I would think that this one would then be skipped over for another that has received the Gold award.

I know that Sandy Bridge is just around the corner, but IMO that decision is more of a timing issue for the consumer and shouldn't knock down the award level of the board.

Although, now I just typed all of this out and thought of it from another angle; if the Gold award can be thought as a "Buy this product now with no reservations!" it doesn't deserve that because Sandy Bridge is indeed just around the corner.

I guess I'll post up this schizo internal monologue, sorry to the rest of the [H]... ;)
 
TwistedAegis said:
Although, now I just typed all of this out and thought of it from another angle; if the Gold award can be thought as a "Buy this product now with no reservations!" it doesn't deserve that because Sandy Bridge is indeed just around the corner.

I guess I'll post up this schizo internal monologue, sorry to the rest of the [H]... ;)
Click to expand...

Exactly. The board is fantastic but it's late to the party.
 
Yup... wish this board was out when I built my system... that was months ago now so I agree, little late coming, but sweet board none the less.
 
I just upgraded my system with an Intel Core i7 950 and picked up this board
and I have to say it is very nice.
Easy setup, great PCIe layout, plenty of I/O options.

My daughter inherited the Asus P6TD Deluxe OC palm and the Core i7 920
that I had running previously.
 
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I actually had this board sitting next to me atm in its box- along with an i7-950, 6GB of 1600MHz CAS-7 low profile Corsair RAM, and an HX850W. Just waiting on the Zerotherm heatsink and RV02-E case to arrive (and I suppose technically the Bluray combo drive so I can install Windows). Made the decision to grab the board when it dropped to $260 on a very sweet deal from NewEgg a couple of weeks back (one of the few times I've jumped the gun on something without an [H] review where I could reasonably expect one).

In researching the board w/out [H]'s support originally, I stumbled on a bunch of threads on other sites that got into the issue of attempting to OC beyond 220MHz BCLK. It seems to be a widespread issue with the board, and there seems to be some speculation that it's tied less to the BCLK than it is to the QPI Link (if you check the QPI Link Dan achieved w/the 220 BCLK, you can see it's just barely under 4GHz). I bought the board anyway because for the price, there just wasn't any competition (either crappy ethernet controllers, terrible expansion slot layout, lack of USB 3, etc...) and despite the possible cap at 220 BCLK, it definitely seems to be pretty reliable for getting just below that value (whereas most other motherboards are the typical crapshoot with that, I haven't really read anything from anyone who has a RIIIFand who hasn't been able to hit 210 BCLK+), so it fits my needs perfectly.

Anyway, great review, and grudgingly I cede the silver award was the right one to go with. On second thought, nah, not grudgingly at all- this board getting silver epitomizes why I love [H] reviews. They prioritize the big picture, while still providing you with all the information you need to create your own small-picture assessment (I mean, the Bottom Line section, one of the shortest and most-read pieces of the review, tells you that the board would receive gold if not for the impending release of Sandy Bridge, so if you're not interested/can't wait then boom, you can just change that silver to a gold).
 
Just installed this board with an i7-930, 6GB DDR3-1600, an HX850W and a pair of 460 1GB GPUs in a Lian-Li PC-x1000. Been up and running Windows for a few hours at 4.02GHz, will test stability tomorrow. Very well laid out board except for the front panel audio connector, which is in between the IOH heatsink and the board's rear I/O connectors.
 
Excellent review Dan! I've had one of these boards for a bit now and I like it allot. And I couldn't agree more with the part about the software... *deep sigh I can't even bring myself to load that crap up! Though I might try the "Game first" stuff at a later date.

The only thing I don't like is that the eSATA cannot be configured to AHCI mode. So when I connect external drives, they aren't technically "hotswap-able". Still I may just move an external drive, or two, to USB3 and forget eSATA for this board.

Also, I should thank you guys for the heads up on that new BIOS. I checked several weeks ago, but I haven't been having issues so I don't check that often. Maybe it will fix the eSATA issues (though it only says it adds support for new CPUs...).
 
Matthyahuw said:
not getting a new mobo til uefi shows up!
Click to expand...

EFI support is already available on many Intel and MSI boards.

Cannydog said:
Excellent review Dan! I've had one of these boards for a bit now and I like it allot. And I couldn't agree more with the part about the software... *deep sigh I can't even bring myself to load that crap up! Though I might try the "Game first" stuff at a later date.

The only thing I don't like is that the eSATA cannot be configured to AHCI mode. So when I connect external drives, they aren't technically "hotswap-able". Still I may just move an external drive, or two, to USB3 and forget eSATA for this board.

Also, I should thank you guys for the heads up on that new BIOS. I checked several weeks ago, but I haven't been having issues so I don't check that often. Maybe it will fix the eSATA issues (though it only says it adds support for new CPUs...).
Click to expand...

The software was painful. I knew that TurboV EVO would eventually be ruined. ASUS can't help themselves when it comes to the bundled software. They have a great utility then it will pack on MB of code and eventually it will be a bloated and unwieldy pile of crap. Then they'll get back to basics with a new slick utility. We'll love it and eventually it will pack on more code, more bloat, bad interface choices etc. and the cycle will repeat.
 
Dan, Great Review!

I purchased this about a month or so ago and cannot be happier with this Mobo. Great layout, decent (at least for me) onboard sound, and packed with OC features.

Earlier, I kind of disagreed with your remarks regarding the Turbo Evo software. Thought to myself that it was not that slow. When I got home, it launched rather quickly, but then I navigated the various tabs and, yes its dog slow. But I never used the older version so I do not feel too bad.

Also, I think that you should not knock it down from a gold to a silver just because Sandy Bridge is coming. Its not like this mobo will be less functional. Like Kyle's bottom line said, this board is a hell of a system that will last for many years. Sandy Bridge may be newer, but it has not proved anything yet. We will see sometime next year. :)

Anyways, a well enjoyed read. Thanks!
 
The software was trashed not just because of it's speed but for the poor and convoluted interface. Compared to previous versions of TurboV EVO, it's horrid.
 
I, too, have had this board for a month or two and have been very happy with the purchase. It's been completely stable for me and aside from the crappy software, a total joy to use. I haven't really done anything but use the auto OC to get my 930 to 3Ghz, but plan to play around more with the overclocking features as I have more time. This board epitomizes why my last few motherboards have all been from Asus.
 
On the test board I had, you could reach much higher BCLK speeds netting you an overclock closer to 3.8GHz or more just by increasing CPU voltage and the BCLK. Just remember to keep your memory close to it's rated speed and you should be golden.
 
Another great review. Would love to utilize this board in a future build. Sandy bridge...so...close. arg.
 
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but, strangely, Asus does not seem to be marketing this board in Europe. It's not even listed on Asus Germany or any of the price search sites here.
 
Last sentence in the article:

This was a "Gold" board has it arrived 6 to 8 months ago at this pricing level.

Did you mean,

This would have been rated Gold, had it been here 6-8 months ago at this price.

Unusual grammar slaughter for here ... :D
 
supergrover said:
Wait for Sandy Bridge or another 1366 board? Neither?
Click to expand...

If your in the market for an LGA1366 board then there is another choice you'll be hearing about soon that's about as good for far less money.
 
Dan_D said:
If your in the market for an LGA1366 board then there is another choice you'll be hearing about soon that's about as good for far less money.
Click to expand...

Would said board be available for mass consumption in a month or two?
 
Dan_D said:
If your in the market for an LGA1366 board then there is another choice you'll be hearing about soon that's about as good for far less money.
Click to expand...

Something with SLI and/or Crossfire support?
 
I love my formula III, I hit 4.1 Ghz on my I7-950 with out a problem. I am a happy camper.
 
So this board doesn't have a on board speaker?

That is strange.

I will be getting a little bit of experience in the next few days with this board :cool:
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
So this board doesn't have a on board speaker?

That is strange.

I will be getting a little bit of experience in the next few days with this board :cool:
Click to expand...

It comes with a speaker on short wires... so it sort of dangles at the bottom of the board. Also I really like the "Q-Connector". It really does make it easier to connect those front panel wires.
 
Cannydog said:
It comes with a speaker on short wires... so it sort of dangles at the bottom of the board. Also I really like the "Q-Connector". It really does make it easier to connect those front panel wires.
Click to expand...

oh good to know, thanks for the feedback
 
I have this board with an i7 950 and couldn't be much happier. I was not expecting much of a jump coming from an i5. I did go with triple channel and add an extra 2bg of ram. Everything is appreciably quicker apps more than games. I had a chance to sell my i5 setup and get all money back and I got great deals on the cpu and mobo. $199 cpu and $215 mobo. This deal came from Microcenter in Marietta GA. I am more and more impressed with the stock and prices of this store. $414 is an awesome price for that combo and much cheaper than the egg. O/c to 4.02 np
 
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