Product on Review: ASUS Rampage III GENE
Manufacturer and Sponsor: ASUS
MSRP: £200
Street Price: Not listed yet
For many years, the ATX form factor has dominated the PC landscape and certainly the enthusiast market was restricted to this. While the E-ATX factor was reserved solely to high end workstation and server motherboards, micro-ATX motherboards were more popular in no thrill pre-built systems whose sole tasks were running office applications or browsing the web. However, more recently, the demand in HTPCs and Lan rigs has meant that people now want performance in a smaller package, whether it be for playing high definition content or playing the latest games without the cumbersome traditional midi/full tower cases presenting an eye sore. Many companies have attempted to provide a solution for this ever growing market, none more successful than ASUS, whose Rampage II Gene brought the best features of its flagship motherboard and the Intel X58 platform into the much smaller micro-ATX form factor. For the most part, it didn't compromise on performance or features despite its size, and even proved to be a viable solution for enthusiasts who weren't necessarily restricted to smaller motherboards.
Today, we have the successor to the Rampage II Gene, the aptly named Rampage III Gene. As with the Rampage III Extreme we reviewed earlier this year, the Gene is an evolution of ASUS's flagship platform. One of the caveats of the Extreme was its size, which at 1inch wider, potentially created compatibility problems but the Gene manages to pack most of the features from its bigger brother into its smaller dimensions. As such, unique ASUS features such as Probelt, COP EX and other ROG capabilities are present. We can also expect to see SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 implementation thanks to the Marvell and NEC controller chips. More notably, the ASUS SupremeFX X-Fi 2 onboard sound makes a comeback. For the hardcore enthusiasts, the LN2 specific modifications have been given a miss but the ROG connect feature has been integrated for remote overclocking. The board may not cater to overclockers like the Extreme does but at its price point, the Gene promises to deliver excellent performance and a feature rich experience to even compete with other full sized ATX motherboard.
A bit about ASUS:
ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.
ASUS pursues technological and aesthetic perfection through continuous innovation. We place ourselves in our customers’ shoes to develop a deep understanding of, and genuine empathy for, their needs—enabling us to create user experiences that transcend the norm.
ASUS Design Philosophy
ASUS Design develops high-quality solutions our customers will enjoy.
Our design process is built on thorough research, early anticipation and well-planned execution.
We act with a global vision and a focus on local strengths, conditions and heritage.
ASUS comes from the last four letters of Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that represents the inspiration of art and learning. ASUS embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by this regal and agile mythical creature, soaring to new heights of quality and innovation with each product it introduces to the market.
ASUS pursues technological and aesthetic perfection through continuous innovation. We place ourselves in our customers’ shoes to develop a deep understanding of, and genuine empathy for, their needs—enabling us to create user experiences that transcend the norm.
ASUS Design Philosophy
ASUS Design develops high-quality solutions our customers will enjoy.
Our design process is built on thorough research, early anticipation and well-planned execution.
We act with a global vision and a focus on local strengths, conditions and heritage.
Following the ROG lineage, let's see how the much awaited Rampage III Gene fares.
