ASUS Rampage III Formula to debut ‘soon’
by Ian Cutress on August 6, 2010 3:46 AM EST- Posted in
- News
- Motherboards
- Asus
ASUS’ Republic of Gamers range is soon to have a new member, in the shape of the ASUS Rampage III Formula. Using the X58 chipset, this board is designed for looks, uncompromised performance, overclocking, and the best possible online gaming experience with the new SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio solution. However, based on our recent high-end X58 roundup, the X58 market is stagnating between the budget X58 and high end, where the minor features that few people end up using seem destined to create a huge markup price. ASUS hopes to alleviate such issues with the release of the Rampage III Formula, by finding a happy medium.
To dissect a motherboard in 2010 requires carving through the marketing fluff, and looking at the meat on offer. In this case, the Rampage III Formula offers a lot of what you would expect from a high-end X58 board – six DDR3 memory slots supporting 2200MHz and a maximum 24GB, three PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (in x16/x16/x0, x16/x0/x16 and x16/x8/x8) supporting 3-way SLI and CrossFireX, two SATA 6Gb/s via the Marvell 9128 controller, Gigabit LAN from the Intel 82567V Ethernet controller and USB 3.0 from an NEC Controller.
For the overclocker, ASUS give the usual ROG Connect, allowing the tweaking of parameters in real time via a notebook, as well as Probelt, an easy access panel for motherboard measuring points. For the gamer, ASUS give you GameFirst, a network traffic management feature that allows prioritisation of gaming ping over other network traffic coming from your machine. For the audiophile, the built-in 8-channel SupremeFX X-Fi 2 features hardware-accelerated EAX 5.0 and OpenAL for cinematic in-game audio, as well as supporting THX TruStudio PRO.
From the images, we can tell this board is at least aesthetically pleasing. For extra PCIe power, there’s a 4-pin molex connector near the top of the PCIe slots which could end up being fiddly inside a case. We like the fact that ASUS are at least spending some money on the better class of component in the Intel LAN controller. Until some tests and numbers come out the woodwork can we tell you if it’s any good or not, compared to the already saturated X58 motherboard market. ASUS are unfortunately being tight lipped on release date and pricing, but expect news ‘over the summer’.
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vol7ron - Friday, August 6, 2010 - link
I received Asus's P5W DH Deluxe way back when it was new. It was one of the only mobos to support the C2D line at the time.It was only 2-3 years later that they stopped supporting it. They supported Vista/x64 initially, then no more.
I used to build a new box every two years; a complete upgrade of everything except the HD, which is generally a hot swap upgrade. The dynamics of computing power have changed, though, and so my need to build is slowly becoming every 3-5 years, with small in between upgrades. ASUS was at the heart of every build for about 5 generations of computers.
I can't see buying another ASUS when they don't really support their products for at least 4 years after the release. Not to mention, their support site has always been slow and their staff are not understandable on the phone. I like their product when it works, but these things have slowly crept into the back of my head to just wait until a competitor has something better.
sidk47 - Friday, August 6, 2010 - link
So, what is the difference between this board and the Asus Rampage Extreme III? Which one is better? What are the feature differences between the two?ggathagan - Friday, August 6, 2010 - link
Extreme focuses on features that supposedly help overclockers wring the most out of their motherboards. Whether or not this actually helps is a question I've not seen answered.Additionally, the Extreme does not come with the X-Fi software stuff.
This has got a lot of market-speak in it, but here's what Asus' market guy said over @ [H]ardOCP's forums:
"Extreme is the highest end board in the ROG family, providing the highest level of OC performance focused at extreme benchers/overclockers as well as users looking for the maximum overclock ability. This unit will offer extended options towards overclockers. Additionally has a focus on Extreme Multi GPU configurations includes specializes hardware ( such as ROG Connect Bluetooth ) This is for users looking for the best of the best with all the bells and whistles.
Formula series is focused at mid to high end gamers looking for the best multi gpu board. Core implementations on the board are focused at providing a streamlined board focusing at gaming (multi gpu configurations (generally dual GPU ). This board is lower in cost than the extreme. While being lower in cost it still features high quality components, extensive bios options and high level overclocking and performance. (Removes specialized OC functions like ROG Connect Bluetooth or support for extreme multi gpu configurations such as 4 way crossfire) A top shelf motherboard streamlined for everything you want in a board plus some extras.
GENE series is the base platform for the ROG series while also being a MATX platform. It provides a superior bios, great overclocking ability and base multi GPU support. While the board offers multi GPU support most users will usually only need 1 graphics card so this is the focus for this segment. This is the lowest cost board in the ROG family. It provides the quality and performance ROG boards are known for and focus on providing the key requirements for a great board.
All three boards feature Intel Lan.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1036025353&...
DXRick - Friday, August 6, 2010 - link
I am curious what the demand is for X58 mobos at various price points. How many people are willing to spend $350 for one (the current price of the Rampage II)? For that price you could buy a cheaper one and a Sound Blaster (or other) sound card!AstroGuardian - Friday, August 6, 2010 - link
This sure is a wasted time and effort. X58? Come on...lihujin88 - Monday, August 9, 2010 - link
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METALMORPHASIS - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
For at least DDR 10,USB 9.0, PCIe 9.0+ and maybe built in SSD's.RagingDragon - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - link
Looks promising, nice layout and colours. It's nice to see Intel LAN. For computers, either I don't care about the audio (i.e. a server), or I'll use a sound card optimized for my needs: Xonar Essence for stereo sound, Xonar for home theatre surround sound, or X-Fi gaming. So unless the fancy integrated audio is a real XFi, to me it's a waste of money.RagingDragon - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - link
Looks promising, nice layout and colours. It's nice to see Intel LAN. For computers, either I don't care about the audio (i.e. a server), or I'll use a sound card optimized for my needs: Xonar Essence for stereo sound, Xonar for home theatre surround sound, or X-Fi gaming. So unless the fancy integrated audio is a real XFi, to me it's a waste of money.shree_kotekar - Saturday, September 25, 2010 - link
Hi Anandtech and team. When are you going to do a full review of this board? I specially want to check its performance against MSI big bang Xpower.