ASUS Rampage III Extreme motherboard test

You know, I have a soft spot for the X58 platform and the Core i7 processors that go along with it. And you know what, it is hard to believe that the first Core i7 processors and this chipset were released ages ago. I mean, the Core i7 965 Extreme and X58 chipset were released in 2008, November the 3rd to be precise.

And sure, there have been processor updates but really, our VGA tests systems for example, still run on X58 and that 965X processor. The entire setup is just THAT good, and we expect that it will remain being the case for a long time to come as well. Especially with that delicious six core 980X processor recently released.

Technology is evolving though and the biggest trend over the past few months and the upcoming year will of course be SATA 6G (6 Gbit) and USB 3.0 (5 Gbit). Intel is stalling though, they just won't release new chipsets with the new features. And as a result the ODMs are simply adapting and trying to pick up the trend by placing additional controllers themselves on the motherboard PCB.

As such for ASUS it was time to release their all new Rampage III Extreme. .. a motherboard that is doing it doggy style, with you being the bitch. Yes Sir.

What ASUS today releases with the X58 based Rampage III Extreme is unadulterated performance, quality, versatility, some recently introduced innovation and massive overclockability. It's amongst the most high-end X58 motherboards available. You can overclock it through your laptop, or even through Bluetooth over some (selected) mobile phones.

The rest of the specifications of the ATX form factor Rampage III extreme will endear itself to PC enthusiasts and gamers. It supports a maximum of 24GB DDR3 memory, and has a stunning four PCIe (physical x16) slots: which supports single, dual, triple, and quad graphics card configurations, plus obviously is supports both NVIDIA's SLI and ATI’s Crossfireas up you get to run up-to four graphics cards in PCIe x8 mode.

The sky is the limit with the rampage III Extreme, have a look at this brilliant motherboard with revamped features and new looks and then let's head onward into the review after which we'll test it with the Core i7 980X processor to see if we can lift it to 4.5 GHz on air (spoiler -- we certainly did!). Next page please.