ASUS Maximus VII Ranger Preview
Category : Z97
Published by Hiwa Pouri on 14.05.14
When Intel introduced their Z87 Chipset almost one year ago, ASUS decided to round-off the lower end of their Maximus portfolio with the Maximus VI Hero. Meanwhile Intel has launched the Z97 chipset and they're again expanding their ROG lineup by another entry level model. This time the board is called Maximus VII Ranger and the new model marks the entry into ASUS's ROG class. With this board the worlds largest motherboard maker is targeting mainly gamers and therefore there should be quite a few interesting features.
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The Maximus VII Ranger from ASUS is the most affordable ROG board you can get, at least when it comes to Intel's latest Z97 Express chipset. With an appealing feature mix as well as an attractive price, ASUS is trying to conquer many hearts, especially those of gamers.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Specs and Delivery
| Chipset | Intel Z97 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3, 3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory |
| Multi-GPU |
|
| Slots |
|
| Sound | ROG SupremeFX Audio 8-Channel High
Definition Audio
|
| Storage | Intel Z97 chipset
|
| Network |
|
| Internal Connectors |
|
| Extrenal Connectors |
|
| Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (64 Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS) |
- 2 x 2-in-1 SATA 6Gbps cables
- 1 x SLI bridge
- 1 x I/O Shield
- 1 x 12-in-1 ROG cable label
- 1 x 2-in-1 Q-Connector kit
- 1 x ROG Door Hanger
- ROG motherbaord support DVD
- User guide
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
Extreme Engine Digi+ III |
As for quite some time ASUS has been equipping its motherboards with a digital power design. Using the right software, it is not only possible to adjust voltages while being in Windows, but one can now also control impedances as well. Furthermore, this motherboard features high quality 10K black metallic capacitors which guarantee a longer lifespan. The ASUS ROG Maximus VII Ranger is also using new alloy chokes. |
 |
ASUS Fan Xpert 2 |
ASUS Fan Xpert 2 provides customizable settings for fans that have been attached directly to the onboard fan headers. With the Fan Auto Tuning feature, the ASUS Fan Xpert 2 automatically detects and tweaks all the fan speeds and in the end reduces unwanted noise. We also can use AI Suite 3 to controll fans on the fly in Windows and also save profiles for different kind of use. |  |
M.2 Support |
Featuring an M.2 slot this board can be euqipped with an M.2 form-factor SSDs. The M.2 is wired directly to the Z97 PCH via two PCI Express lanes, therefore offering x2 bandwidth. In other words, up to 10 Gbps can be pushed over the bus through this slot, almost doubling the performance of the SATA-III interface. |  |
SupremeFX |
In case of SupremeFX you get ASUS' interpretation of onboards sound for gamers. Supporting up to eight channels the SupremeFX 2014 solution recieved shielding from other onboard components. Apart from that there are high quality ELNA capacitors offering as clear as possible audio. Furthermore ASUS provided the solution with the ROG color scheme. ASUS is also covered the audio chip with black chrome to minimize electromagnetic interferences. the other audio feature from Ranger is sonic Senseamp wich can detect headphone impedence when its below 65 / 65 ~ 150 / 150 or higher ohms and automaticly adjusts the build-in amp to have a perfect listening. |  |
| ROG RAM Disk | RAMDisk reserves part of system memory and turns it into actual storage space, so you can place favorite app and game cache files in it to enjoy high-speed RAM performance while accessing them. |  |
GameFirst III |
GameFirst is a networt management software, that lets you choose from four pre-defined traffic shaping methods: Optimization, Game, media Streaming and File Sharing. The software has been designed with the goal to make network optimizations as simple as possible. |  |
KeyBot |
KeyBot allows you to assign macro to specific keys without the need of a special keyboard, that comes with its own proprietary software. With KeyBot you can for example wake up your PC from sleep mode, you can overclock your machine by the simple press of a key or you can load XMP profiles via the keyboard. |  |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Layout
At a first glance the ASUS Maximus VII Ranger looks very good with its elegant and sleek design. Once again the ROG colors, red, black and white, suite nicely and together with the matte black PCB make for a beautiful product. The layout itself is well thought and there is plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even the largest CPU coolers on the market. The fact that there are SATA connector which have been angled by 90 degree allow easy installation of oversized graphics cards. The only PCIe 3.0 x16 slot on this board is the first red one. Pairing up two graphics cards in SLI/Crossfire mode will make them both run at x8. The motherboard also features another black PCIe wich runs in PCIe x4 mode.
The ASUS Maximus VII Ranger comes with a digital 8+2 phase power design. The CPU gets eight phases and the memory gets a stable current supply from two individual phases. Furthermore, ASUS equipped this motherboard with their so called "10k Black Metallic Chokes", which can cope with up to 60A per phase and can resist temperatures ranging from -70°C to +125°C. This makes the power desing even better for extreme overclocking where extremely low temperatures around the CPU socket can be reached.
In total, you will find four DIMM-slots on the Maximus VII Hero. Officially supported are DDR3 3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz. There is enough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you will not encounter any compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM modules with big heatspreaders. Also supported are version 1.3 Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP).
On the Maximus VII Ranger the southbridge is being cooled by a passive cooling block. A closer look at the area where the power VRMs are shows that there are two additional heatsinks, which have been connected using a heatpipe. If you are familiar with more expensive overclocking motherboards from ASUS, you know that it often features PLX bridge chip. In order to achieve a lower price point ASUS did not equip this board with such a chip.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Connectors and I/O
ASUS equipped the Maximus VII Ranger with six angled SATA ports. All ports offer 6Gbps bandwidth and all of them are natively wired to the Z97 PCH. You can also find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons in the top right corner of the board and it also features a LED debug display. The motherboards also also comes with a single M.2 slot.
The Maximus VII Ranger features a total of five fan headers, which is enough to provide a well equipped high-end or overclocking-system with fresh air. The fan headers are located around the CPU socket and spread over the rest of the motherboard.
As
far as the external connectors are concerned, located directly at the back-panel, ASUS
equipped the Maximus VII Ranger with one PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, four USB 3.0/2.0 ports,
two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, one gigabit ethernet port, an HDMI connector, a VGA out, a DVI port and an optical out as well as an
analogue audio panel. Furtheremore, you can also find a BIOS flashback button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
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