ASUS Rampage II Gene @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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ASUS Rampage II Gene - The Rampage II Gene is the newest release from ASUS in its Intel Core i7 motherboard line. While it may seem small in stature, this Republic of Gamers branded board looks to be able to easily compete with the big boys, and do it with a much smaller footprint!


ASUS has built what is likely the ultimate enthusiast board in a Micro ATX form factor. The market for the GENE will be like its footprint, small. That said, you already know if a motherboard like this is of interest to you. No doubt though, if you are in the market for a Micro ATX form factor motherboard that is packed full of enthusiast features, the ASUS Rampage II GENE should be at the top of your very short list.
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sweet. been waiting for this one to be reviewed. (now off to read..)
 
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Great review guys. Your conclusion pretty much echoes what I've experienced with this board for the last month and a half or so. It's been incredibly solid. In fact, it's the best system I've ever used.

I haven't spent much time OC'ing yet, as I'm still using the OEM CPU cooler, but plan to do so once I get proper cooling. It will be interesting to see if I run in to the same 3.8ghz limit. Anyway, thanks for the review!
 
This would be my choice for motherboard now. No need for all the extra slots and stuff. And quality is really good.
 
Great article as always. It actually occurred to me initially to put one of these in my cavernous Lian Li PC-A70 in place of a standard ATX board based on the price point and all the buzz surrounding the GENE.

One quick comment:

While Morry tested with Windows XP, we moved to Windows 7 RC b7100 for our benchmark and stability testing. We had no issues with the GENE in an Win7 environment. However you need to be aware that we could not install any of the supplied ASUS software under Win7. The ASUS programs see these applications as not supported by Win7 and denies their install.
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If they are the same utilities that come with the Rampage II Extreme, some work and some don't playing with compatibility modes as you mention they may.

I was able to get the fan thing, the AI Suite, and 3DMark Vantage (horray....:p) to install and run properly by playing with compatibility settings. However, TurboV, (the actual overclocking app that I may have actually used on occasion), doesn't work at all regardless of compatibility settings in Win7.

It hardly matters since most of that stuff is only marginally useful at best for my purposes, just wanted to confirm your suspicion that a few work but it's hit or miss.
 
Great read. I can agree with all the compliments given to this product by Asus.

I've been using this board for over a month now too, and I can attest to it's stability. I've been running it at only 3.6ghz, with all settings at AUTO. Rock solid performance. Not one glitch.

But, I can also agree with the Northbridge temps, mine heats up to about 85c after a few hours. This is by no means dangerous, but it's still pretty damn hot. There should be an active cooling solution for this.

Also, I know that the 965 is an enthusiast level CPU, but what percentage of people on this forum would buy it? Not many that's for sure. Wouldn't it make sense to test the motherboard with a more common processor like the 920?
 
you guys always say that all the programs report different temperatures, and it results in you having to use hardware based temp monitoring. Can you tell us the program that comes closest to real world hardware based testing?
 
VolvoR said:
Also, I know that the 965 is an enthusiast level CPU, but what percentage of people on this forum would buy it? Not many that's for sure. Wouldn't it make sense to test the motherboard with a more common processor like the 920?
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Pretty sure this is to showcase what the board is actually capable of w/o exposing it to any bottlenecks.
 
I've also been running the board close to a month, although I won't until today have my tripple channel ddr3 1866 to let the board stretch it's legs. Currently running at 3.8 ghz, but havn't finished my tweaking/testing yet. Like the guys at the [H] I've been in windows at 4Ghz+ but haven't gotten rock solid stability at that speed yet. I'm also going to be replacing the stock chipset heatsink with a Zalman to see if that helps northbridge temp.
 
risqu3 said:
you guys always say that all the programs report different temperatures, and it results in you having to use hardware based temp monitoring. Can you tell us the program that comes closest to real world hardware based testing?
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I use Realtemp on my systems.
 
VolvoR said:
Also, I know that the 965 is an enthusiast level CPU, but what percentage of people on this forum would buy it? Not many that's for sure. Wouldn't it make sense to test the motherboard with a more common processor like the 920?
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We figure 3.2GHz on a Core i7 is pretty much going to be middle of the road for [H] readers. I would focus more on the GHz rather than the model number. I am still surprised so many readers get hung up on model numbers of processors....anyway. Also you will not that all of our OC testing happens with a retail Core i7 model 920.
 
great article, but i didn't expect otherwise. [H] never disappoints in that regard.

i was just a little disappointed that you didn't pay more attention to the on-board audio. i'm not in the market for an i7 system, but the advertised X-Fi on board caught my eye when this board hit the market. of course, i guess there isn't a lot more you could have said about a subjective listening experience.

if anyone has the board and can compare the on-board audio to prior experiences with a discreet X-Fi card, i'd love to hear your feedback.
 
I'm using the on board audio, and I came from an X-Fi Titanium. I'm using AT AD-HD700 headphones. The sound quality is quite good. Placement is excellent, and the dynamics are very good. Not the best sound I've ever heard, but considering it's on board audio, I'm quite impressed.

Sorry about the model number reference Kyle, but I thought there was a difference in the way memory was utilized between the 920 and 965, even if both CPUs are at 3.2Ghz, the 965 would be a faster processor, right?
 
dystopic said:
great article, but i didn't expect otherwise. [H] never disappoints in that regard.

i was just a little disappointed that you didn't pay more attention to the on-board audio. i'm not in the market for an i7 system, but the advertised X-Fi on board caught my eye when this board hit the market. of course, i guess there isn't a lot more you could have said about a subjective listening experience.

if anyone has the board and can compare the on-board audio to prior experiences with a discreet X-Fi card, i'd love to hear your feedback.
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What exactly do you want to know about it?
 
VolvoR said:
Sorry about the model number reference Kyle, but I thought there was a difference in the way memory was utilized between the 920 and 965, even if both CPUs are at 3.2Ghz, the 965 would be a faster processor, right?
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We overclock the memory on our standard 3.2GHz setup to 1600MHz. This has been our clock standard for quite a while now. And yes, when you alter the BCLK you will alter the memory clock as well. We try to keep our stock clocks somewhat "neat."
 
So... the DFI mATX i7 or the Asus mATX i7? That is the question.
 
dystopic said:
i suppose i'd find it more informative if you were to compare it to other audio solutions- the Realtek audio that seems to be on most boards, the non X-Fi branded ADI implementation on the Rampage II Extreme, vs. dedicated audio cards, etc. it'd also be nice to know what speakers or headphones you used during testing, for reference (unless i completely missed that info).

as i said, i thought the review was great the way it was, and maybe this topic would be better handled in its own article. it seems to me the X-Fi branding on the GENE is (or is at least meant to be) a selling point. using two double-wide graphics cards would leave you with no room for dedicated audio on this board, so would the X-Fi branded on-board audio be satisfactory for people used to higher-end dedicated audio? (a question which VolvoR responded to, and TYVM for that BTW).
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I can't compare in regard to realtek chipset performance, but I also have been very satisfied with the onboard x-fi solution. My previous rig was a core 2 quad system with an x-fi fatal1ty, and in both cases i have been using Klipsch pro media 2.1 for speakers and zalman surround headphones when going to lans. The feature i was the most satisfied with is the crystalizer, and to my ears, sounds the same between the two solutions. I haven't done, nor do I intend to do, any exhaustive testing between a pure hardware and software x-fi solutions, because I just don't care that much if it uses a couple extra cpu cycles on my i7. I can say that I haven't noticed any differences in sound quality yet, in game, movie, blu-ray, or dvd-audio, so I am very satisfied and not at all interested in upgrading.
 
I can't believe you burned yourself. After reading that, I have to wonder if my P6T gets that hot and now feel the need to watercool the chipset as well.

I just can't get over that....
 
dystopic said:
i suppose i'd find it more informative if you were to compare it to other audio solutions- the Realtek audio that seems to be on most boards, the non X-Fi branded ADI implementation on the Rampage II Extreme, vs. dedicated audio cards, etc. it'd also be nice to know what speakers or headphones you used during testing, for reference (unless i completely missed that info).

as i said, i thought the review was great the way it was, and maybe this topic would be better handled in its own article. it seems to me the X-Fi branding on the GENE is (or is at least meant to be) a selling point. using two double-wide graphics cards would leave you with no room for dedicated audio on this board, so would the X-Fi branded on-board audio be satisfactory for people used to higher-end dedicated audio? (a question which VolvoR responded to, and TYVM for that BTW).
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You still have not told me exactly what information you are seeking. What do you want compared exactly and how do you want the comparison to work?
 
Bigbacon said:
I can't believe you burned yourself. After reading that, I have to wonder if my P6T gets that hot and now feel the need to watercool the chipset as well.

I just can't get over that....
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P6T does not come close in heat IIRC.
 
One of the first things I did with this board is burn myself as well...lol. That NB was one of the first things I knew I had to watercool... luckily, all the blocks that fit on the Rampage 2 Extreme also fit this board (the Swiftech, the EK), so its easily taken care of. I would not consider the stock NB cooler to be enough. But that leaves the SB. What did you guys think of the SB temps?

Also, in the preview, there was some talk about which x16 slot should be used for GPU's... did you guys get a chance to look into that at all?
 
undertheradar said:
One of the first things I did with this board is burn myself as well...lol. That NB was one of the first things I knew I had to watercool... luckily, all the blocks that fit on the Rampage 2 Extreme also fit this board (the Swiftech, the EK), so its easily taken care of. I would not consider the stock NB cooler to be enough. But that leaves the SB. What did you guys think of the SB temps?

Also, in the preview, there was some talk about which x16 slot should be used for GPU's... did you guys get a chance to look into that at all?
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Actually running some of the final numbers on this now.......and just burned the shit out of my finger again on the NB. Frigging thing is 81C at idle on an open test bench.
 
Differences between slot 1 and slot 2......NONE.
 
Good article, and you already answered the two questions I had in this thread, thanks!
 
I'm also running the Win7 beta with a gene (specs in sig). Did you guys figure out what the 'Unkown Device' was that's in the device manager? Win7 got all of the hardware automatically except one component, and I don't really know which it is. Granted, I have not spent a whole lot of time figuring it out as the system is rock solid without the driver installed, this is more of a general curiosity.

Also, for those that are curious or planning to get this board and putting aftermarket heatsinks on the mosfets and NB. I'm currently using a HR-01+, HR-05 IFX, HR-09 U Type 2. It all fits together nicely and there's enough room to orient the cpu heatsink either direction (parrallel or perpendicular with the back of your case) without trouble. But do note that using the IFX, you won't have the necessary room to have a HR-03 with the fins on the top side of the video card, as there isn't enough room between the northbridge and the first pci-e slot.
 
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blackrose said:
I'm also running the Win7 beta with a gene (specs in sig). Did you guys figure out what the 'Unkown Device' was that's in the device manager? Win7 got all of the hardware automatically except one component, and I don't really know which it is. Granted, I have not spent a whole lot of time figuring it out as the system is rock solid without the driver installed, this is more of a general curiosity.
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I think it is an ASUS sensor chip on the board.
 
Too bad its so hot, still wouldn't keep me from buying it.

I'd get this in a heart beat if I wanted to upgrade both my HTPC and gaming rig, and just combine both into one PC, right now I have both my gaming PC and HTPC hooked up to the same TV, when I watch movies or TV I just turn off my gaming PC, this way I wouldn't have to bother with either.

Man I really hope Asus gets a mATX board out with the next gen socket quickly again so I can do this!
 
Question about the Gene Kyle, I don't think I saw it mentioned anywhere, does it resume from hibernate/S3 correctly?

dystopic said:
if this were unrealistically ambitious i would at least use an above-average quality speaker setup like the Z5500's.
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Heh, such a semi-systemic approach and you're gonna use those to evaluate it all? Honestly, from the sound of it (no pun intended), you'd probably be happy with any decent on-board sound solution. If you wanna be more critical or discerning about your audio, you should probably start by doing some research first, no offense... FWIW, ASUS does seem to use ADI sound chips for all their high-end boards and Realtek chips for their mid-range stuff, been that way for a while. /shrug Edit: Sorry for the OT tangent.
 
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Impulse said:
Heh, such a semi-systemic approach and you're gonna use those to evaluate it all? Honestly, from the sound of it (no pun intended), you'd probably be happy with any decent on-board sound solution. If you wanna be more critical or discerning about your audio, you should probably start by doing some research first, no offense...
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none taken, i know i don't have the most comprehensive knowledge base to run such a test myself (that's why i come here :D ). i know Z550's are by no means high-end speakers, but off-hand i don't know specific brands that are considered as such (and again, you're right, i should have done a bit of research on that).

if you were going to run an audio chip comparison like that and only use one set of speakers, what would you recommend (if you have a recommendation)?
 
This would be an amazing board for any Lian Li A05 build, I'll keep this mobo in mind when i eventually upgrade my Q6600/GA-P35C-DS3R build, as a smaller board would make the inside a bit less cluttered
 
My knowledge on active NB coolers is limited. Can anyone recommend a certain brand/model that is compatible?
 
http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=425

Thats the only block that even comes close. Its mounting is low profile enough, and its mounting mechanism should line up with the holes on the board no problem. I have one but I have not attemped strapping it on yet. From what I have seen, the SB chip is large, so this block might not be large enough to cover the whole thing even. 'Just in case', I also have a Thermalright heatpipe cooler, normally reserved for NB's like the nVidia chipsets, but it may work here. Otherwise, I have a feeling that if nothing else, taking off the little sink that is on there and just redoing the thermal goo under there might help alot. If its anything like the crap-job I found under the NB, putting some good paste under there alone should help alot.
 
Pepsiennis said:
Kyle or Morry, is there any indication as to why the NB is hotter than other, similar i7 implementations?

Morry, great job, you're picking up! And it's great to see MB manufacturers providing enthusiast class boards in the mATX form factor!
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I believe the design of the Northbridge cooling loop itself to be to blame more than anything, due to its passively cooled nature. The X58 chipset does get hot, even with Intel off-loading the memory subsystem in to the CPU, and with no active airflow, gets real hot. In my testing, I found that a 40mm fan blowing directly over it was enough airflow to bring it down to reasonable temps...
 
Good, board. My only major complaint is the position of the SATA connectors. In a standard sized mid tower it shouldn’t be an issues, but in the smaller cases (or cases that are not that deep, e.g. X500) it can be very inconvenient.
 
which is the best memory I can get for that MB

I have Corsair Dominator GT PC2000 CL8 right now but they are not compatable with the MB, maybe because of the use of Elpida Hypers.

Can anyone confirm that??
 
I've been fiddling with my Gene for about 3 weeks now.

- I got my 2x2GB OCZ Reaper HPC DDR3-1333 CL6-6-6-18 to 1600 MHz with 9-9-9-24 at 1.65V and a lot of fiddling with the advanced timings in Channel 1+2 (2+3 wont work as nice)

- Haven't been able got get my Base Clock beyond 180 MHz, though fiddling a lot with the volatages, and of course keeping CPU and RAM low, though haven't raised CPU PLL past 1.9V yet, so maybe Kyle's settings will help, I'll test it in a few minutes

- Fiddled with getting an old CPU heatink fitting on the NB, messed up when drilling the holes though... Then put a slow 40mm fan on there

- Fan Control:
Changed all case fans to PWM: The two case fan connectors are handled as one. For my fans (Arctic Cooling 120mm PWM) the profiles aren't great. When set to Silent they hardly turn when system is idle and spin up to top when system is taxed. Which funnily makes NB and MB temps to DROP when system is LOADED. I would prefer if they would spin a little higher when idle but don't go as high. Other settings don't help in that.
When using AI Suite to change profile I have to set it to "Disable" and then choose a profile to make it work, AI Suite doesn't have a user setting for case fans.

Using AI Suite on the CPU Fan works as one would exspect and is nice.

Having no Opt Temp cables connected (yet) I cannot really control those speeds and in AI Suite I can't adjust the Opt1+2 fans as well. Maybe when connecting temperature probes on these I can make them user adjustable.

In BIOS the options for Opt1+2 fans are fully customizable, unlike the case fans. Can be set to fixed duty cycle, profile or user.

Would like the case fans to also allow for a custom profile

- When messing up the BIOS settings usually the board will go to default settings after 2 unsuccessful boot attempts and prompt you to either run setup or load defaults

- LCD Poster is nice. Would like the BIOS to give you a few more choices.

Sorry for the long post ;)

[Edit]

K, tried out Kyle's voltages, which resulted in no noot, tried some more: still no success. However: I set everything to auto and used the CPU Level Up. Set it to core 965 (3,6GHz), worked flawlessly. Then raised the Bus Speed to 180 and: Success. Only needed to raise voltages a bit and now I'm running fine with Turbo mode enabled (=180x21=3780MHz when under load). I still have no freakin' idea what setting I got wrong all the time but it seems solved now. Core temp is about 95°C according to Real Temp and NB says 80° (with fan) though when fully loaded. Btw. I'm running on air with an Alpenfön Brocken + Artic F12 PWM. I'm pretty pleased with this little board. Now I just need a SSD to kill those boot times.
 
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I have np posting at 200+ blck but my com is not fully stable. Think a try to raise the vQPI or relax timings a bit
 
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