The Rampage III Extreme is a high-end gaming motherboard designed by Asus to provide high levels of performance for graphically intense applications. The Rampage III is an Intel-based system that is only compatible with Intel Core i7 model processors. It supports DDR3 memory and it is compatible with both SLI and CrossfireX graphics card configurations.
PCI Slots
The Rampage III provides SLI support for up to four video cards using 4 PCI Express x16 slots. In a four-card SLI configuration, all four PCI Express slots operate at 8x and a three-card configuration provides one 16x slot and two 8x slots. PCI Express slots for SLI configurations using one or two cards operate at 16x. The Rampage III also provides a single PCI 2.2 slot and a PCI Express x4 slot for additional cards.
Processor and RAM
The Rampage III supports 130W Core i7 processors using the 1366 processor socket. It accepts both regular and extreme additions of the Core i7 models. The on-board chipset of the Rampage III is an Intel X58/ICH10R that supports 6 DIMM slots that use triple-channel DDR3 memory architecture. This board supports a maximum of 24 gigabytes of RAM rated at 1600 megahertz. However, RAM modules used in this board can attain speeds up to 2200MHz through overclocking.
Storage and USB
The Rampage III supports a variety of hard drive components including an Intel ICH10R controller that manages six 3.0 Gbps per second SATA ports that support RAID 0,1,5 and 10 hard drive configurations. This board also has a JMicron JMB363 PATA and SATA controller that provides a single external 3.0 Gbps SATA port and a Marvell 9128 PCIe SATA controller that manages two SATA 6.0 Gbps ports. USB 3.0 connectivity is controlled by a NEC USB 3.0 controller that provides two rear-mounted USB 3.0 ports. An additional nine USB 2.0 ports are controlled by an Intel ICH10R Southbridge chip. Six of these ports are rear-mounted ports, two are located mid-board and one is reserved for the ROG Connect feature.
Features
The Rampage III offers a plethora of features to support overclocking and tweaking enthusiasts. The ROG connect feature allows users to view hardware performance information and adjust it on the fly using a USB link with a notebook PC. ROG connect also allows users to flash the motherboards BIOS and view POST code. The RC Bluetooth feature also provides users with the ability to monitor and control their PC using the included Bluetooth card.
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