Asus Rampage III Extreme Motherboard Review

We know several overclockers that swear by Asus products and turn their noses up at even considering a different motherboard brand.  After having used the Rampage III Extreme for what it was intended we can see where this comes from.  On the surface the R3E looks like any other gaming motherboard but some of the subtle features help to distinguish this board from being a simple gaming platform.  Features like ROG Connect and OC Station (the add-on overclocking board) really extend this board beyond the gaming case and directly to the test bench.  

Had this been a normal review we would have tested the entire system using our standard Core i7 920 so that scores can be compared from our entire database, however as we are trying to turn a new leaf and show our enthusiast nature the 980x seemed like the proper platform for the job.  Overall performance was exceptional and the wide variety of overclocking controls helped to really unlock the power of the 980x.  

Board layout is very distinctive and clearly designed to take advantage of multi GPU configurations.  3-way SLI and 4-way Crossfire are fully supported on an open air test bench and if you use single slot coolers a 5 card configuration is possible using the "extended" 4x slot in the middle of the motherboard.

We did take issue with the motherboard cooling option and while it does look nice the design doesn't allow for the system to cool in a manner worthy of a high end motherboard.  During our testing we used the included aircooler in conjunction with a 120mm fan and still found the motherboard heatsinks hot to the touch.  Granted this temperature is well within the operational range but we feel a better system could have been used.  On the positive side several companies have designed full coverage waterblocks for the Rampage III Extreme ensuring a good cooling solution can be found.

Red and Black Color Scheme
PCI Express Disable Switches
Excellent BIOS Support
4-Way Multi GPU Support
3-Way SLI Support
Lots of Aftermarket Parts

Motherboard heatsink could have been designed better
Lots of stuff around the CPU socket (difficult to insulate)
Bluetooth connect not available on PC
ROG Connect won't adjust multipliers