With their ROG-series ASUS traditionally aims at gamers and overclockers. Finally the manufacturer managed to target gamers with their Formula and Gene motherboards and overclockers with the Extreme models. For the Gene series motherboards it's special that they feature an mATX formfactor and it is therefore possible to build a gaming powerhouse that is compact in size. 
The Rampage IV Gene is ASUS' high end mATX gaming motherboard regarding Intels X79 chipset. Therefore we're really curious what they've done from the layout and design perspective.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Spezifikationen / Lieferumfang
| CPU | Intel Socket 2011 2nd Generation i7 Processors |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM max 32 GB, DDR3 2400 (O.C.) /
2200 (O.C.) / 2133 (O.C.) / 2000 (O.C.) / 1800 (O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 /
1066 MHz Quad Channel |
| Multi-GPU | NVIDIA SLI AMD CorssFireX |
| Slots | 4 x PCI-Express 3.0/2.0 x16 (quad at x16/x8/x8/x8,
triple at
x16/x8/x16, dual at x16/x16) 2 x PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (single at x8, grey) |
| Sound | SupremeFX III 8-Channel Audio |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1) 3 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, JBOD) 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (ASMedia 1061) 1 x eSATA Gb/s (ASMedia) |
| LAN | 1 x Gigabit LAN (Intel) |
| I/O internal | |
| I/O Back Panel | |
| Forfactor | ATX (24.4cm x 24.4cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (64 Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS) |
Uboxing the Rampage IV Gene shows quite a lot of accessories and ASUS has been very consequent in making a motherboard for gamers. Therefore you even find an ASUS ROG "do not disturb" door hanger. We very much like this little idea. With stuff like that a manufacturer can definitely win a gamers heart. What you also find is a SLI Bridge and there even is an entire set of SATA cables.
Features
| EPU | If you activate the EPU this chip monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds and automatically sets them to guarantee an energy efficient operation of you system. |
| SupremeFX III | The SupremeFX III Audio-Chip is an Audio processor that comes from Creative. It is paired with a carefully selected 1500 uF capacitor which delivers a ripple free audio signal. Furhtermore the chip got an EMI shield cover that makes it immune to electromagnetic interferences. |
| Extreme Engine Digi+ II | Since quite some time ASUS has been equipping its boards with digital power designs. Using the the right software it is not only possible to adjust voltages whilst being in Windows on can now also control impedances. Furthermore this board features high quality 10K black metallic capacitor which guarantee a long lifespan. |
| ROG Connect | ROG Connect enables real-time overclocking via a notebook. For this purpose you connect your notebook via a USB cable to the rig you'd want to overclock. Afterwards you can overclock your computer remotely. |
| Game First | Game First is a feature that enables you to do traffic shaping. Traffic shaping itselfe describes a process which analyzes network traffic and gives priorities to the individually sized data packets. At the end of the day the network interface can prioritize small data packets. The result is low latency in when gaming even when you should be downloading big files from the internet. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
Already at a first glance the ASUS Rampage IV Gene looks very good with its harmonic design. Once again the ROG-colors - red, grey and black - suite nicely and together with the black PCB it becomes a very beautiful product. The layout itself is well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers. The fact that there are SATA connectors which have been angled by 90 degrees, allow an easy installation of oversized graphics cards like for example a Radeon HD 6990.
ASUS equipped the Rampage IV Gene with an 8+3 phase power design. In this case the CPU can rely on eight phases and the VCCSA gets its own three phases. Furthermore the memory gets another two plus two phases. Each of these 15 pahses comes with new high quality "Black Metallic Chokes". These can resist much higher current (50A instead of 30A). In other words this means that one phase can cope with far more load than the predecessor.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the Rampage IV Gene. Officially supported are the following clock speeds: 2400 (O.C.) / 2200 (O.C.) / 2133 (O.C.) / 2000 (O.C.) / 1800 (O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz. There is also engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders.
Northbridge, southbridge as well as the current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. The cooling blocks haven been positioned wisely, which means that they don't collide with memory or CPU cooler. Fortunately ASUS decided to not install an active southbridge cooler.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Anschlüsse und I/O
Totally ASUS equipped the Rampage IV Gene with six angled SATA ports as well as a straight one which can be found at the bottom edge of the motherboard. There are two SATA-III ports which come from the X79 chipset. Furthermore there are two more SATA-III connectors realized via an ASMedia 1061 controller as well as three additional SATA-II ports also coming from the X79 chipset. There are even practical onboard power- and reset-buttons located at the bottom edge of the board. And you'll even find a debug display in the top right corner. Inbetween the ATX power plug and the Debug-LED you can find measurement points to read out the different voltages.
Totally you'll find five fan headers on the Rampage IV Gene which is more than enough, to provide a well equipped and compact high-end or overclocking-system with fresh air. The fan headers are located around the CPU socket as spread over the motherboard
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASUS equipped the Rampage IV Gene with one PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, two USB 3.0/2.0 ports, eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports, one Power eSATA port, one gigabit ethernet port, an optical out as well as an analogue audio panel. Furhtermore you'll also find a BIOS reset button and the ROG connect button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| At a first glance the Rampage IV Gene definitely leaves a very good impression. The mix of overclocking features and a high quality audio hardware makes this a state-of-the-art motherboard for mATX-gaming. And next to a very nice looking design you find useful features like for example GameFirst. This software allows you to configure your network device the way gaming traffic gets prioritized (keyword traffic shaping). And then there is the "Do Not Disturb" door hanger. When we found this one we really had to smile. It really is these small thing that make manufacturers win gamers hearts! | - Design - Game-First - Supreme FX III Audio-Chip |
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| Layout | + | - | |
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Generally the ASUS Rampage IV Gene's Layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons. There is also a debug display which is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. We also liked the voltage readouts. But on the other hand there also are some hints that the ASUS design team have run out of space when putting all the features onto this little board. You can see this for example when looking at the power and reset buttons, which you can find at the bottom edge of the board. Meanwhile most of the manufacturers place them above the ATX power plug on the right hand side of the motherboard. |
- Angled SATA connectors - Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Spac around the CPU socket - Voltage readouts |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch