Price: $485+ CND Price Comparison
Manufacturer Product Page: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Manufacturer's Part Number: RAMPAGEIIEXTREME
TechWiki Info: ASUS Rampage II Extreme
Warranty: 3 year limited warranty



Hardware Canucks is proud to bring you a review of arguably the most lusted after motherboard in recent memory…the incomparable Rampage II Extreme. As a follow-up to the massively popular Rampage Extreme, ASUS had a considerable task on their hands and it would have been easy for them to drop the ball. However, at first sight, it looks like they have not only succeeded in creating another exceptional product, but have once again raised the bar when it comes to what enthusiasts will expect from a premium overclocking-focused motherboard.

With the new Core i7 series, Intel have made a long overdue improvement to their CPUs and moved the memory controller from the northbridge to the processor itself. Since motherboard manufacturers can no longer custom tweak chipset timings in order to greatly improve overall performance, the performance differences between X58 motherboards is essentially going to be nil. Therefore, more than ever, motherboard manufacturers have realized that unique and innovative features are going to be absolutely critical in distinguishing their models from the competition. ASUS is obviously aware of this fact, and since the Rampage II Extreme is the pinnacle of their lineup, they have decked it out with all sorts of goodies. Featuring three mechanical PCI-E x16 2.0 slots, CrossFire and much-anticipated 3-Way SLI support, six SATA II ports, eSATA and FireWire capabilities, SupremeFX X-Fi 8-channel HD audio card, two PCI-E Gigabit LAN controllers, two physical BIOSes, overclocking-friendly TweakIt and ProbeIt features, an eye-catching cooling system, a feature-rich BIOS, and an impressive bundle, the Rampage II Extreme certainly has everything that one could want in a high-end overclocking-oriented motherboards.

Quite a few Republic of Gamers (R.o.G) motherboards have passed through our labs this year, such as the Rampage Formula and Rampage Extreme, and they have left a very positive impression on the HWC staff. Consequently, although we have high expectations for this model, we will nevertheless scrutinize it with a microscope and try to find its every flaw. So can this new high-end board live up to the hype and survive our onslaught of tests? Let’s find out.