Conclusion

General		+	-
The first impression which the ASUS Maximus VII Ranger leaves is definitely a good one. Once again, we liked the ROG design, which still works quite well, especially for the targeted gaming market. It is always remarkable to see that with every single generation ASUS manage to improve the looks of their ROG series motherboards. Basically, this board offers everything to set up a decent overclocking rig since there is a capable power design, featuring only the high-quality components, such as black-metallic caps. In addition to that, there is the ROG BIOS with a plethora of settings related to overclocking, but still, being well organized for you to find the settings needed reasonably fast.		- Design - Layout - Features
Layout		+	-
The ASUS Maximus VII Ranger's layout has been well thought. You get practical angled SATA connectors as well as power- and reset-buttons. There is also a debug display, which is very useful in case you run into any issues with a component or the board itself. Even the placement of the PCI-Express x16 is very well chosen. Between the first and the second PCI Express x16 slot there are two free slots, which means that the first card in a SLI/CrossFire setup gets plenty of fresh air. Apart from that, there is generally a lot of space on this board since, it has not been squeezed to the rim with features. Basically, this is yet another advantage of a "not so pricey" motherboard. Should you use this board for a high-end gaming rig, then you will find enough features for gamers as well as enough room to install a large CPU air cooler. As far as the onboard audio is concerned, we like the fact that it has been shielded from other onboard components. It also comes with high-quality ELNA capacitors and we have to say, the result is overall pleasing.		- Angled SATA connectors - Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Space around the CPU socket - Audio Solution

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Layout
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery	Page 5 - Connectors and I/O
Page 3 - Features	Page 6 - Conclusion

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Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch Luca Rocchi l.rocchi@ocaholic.ch