ASUS Rampage IV Formula
RRP: $359.99 | Website: www.asus.com
Test Machine
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Intel Core i7 3930K
G.Skill RipJaws Z 2400MHZ CL11
SEAGATE 7200.12 500GB
AMD RADEON HD7970
ANTEC HCP 1200
Windows 7 64-bit SPI
W
ith the entire Ivy-Bridge
buzz around, it’s easy to
forget that INTEL actually has
only one enthusiast chipset.
In fact according to INTEL’s
slides, X79 is the true enthusiast
platform and not just the high
end desktop market where IvyBridge is.
We don’t necessarily agree
with this, but we must admit
that there’s plenty of life left in
this platform and rightfully so.
The two functional CPUs of the
chipset are expensive, so are
the memory kits and by and
large the motherboards as well.
Of particular interest then
to us are the motherboards.
Despite our reluctance and
22 The OverClocker Issue 19 | 2012
as much as it pains us, ASUS
had and continues to have the
leading X79 motherboard on
the market courtesy of the
Rampage IV Extreme. There
was simply nothing as mastered
as that board and that remains
the case even today. Having
said that, the price of that
particular board isn’t friendly in
the least and when we checked
last in our roundup, it was at
least $100 more than the 2nd
most expensive board. So
despite our high praises for
the board, we had to concede
that not everyone would be
willing to spend above $400
on a motherboard especially
on platform that is so CPU
dependant and where most
CPUs are by and large rubbish
for extreme overclocking.
Enter then the Rampage
IV Formula. At $359 it’s
significantly cheaper than its
bigger brother. Sure enough
you lose out on the OC-Key
and some other neat features
which, depending on your point
of view, were all that made the
ASUS board special. However,
whatever it is that you lose it’s
still worth less than the price
difference between the two.
Essentially you are left with a
stripped down version of the
Extreme board, but it will most
certainly do all the extreme
clocking you could ask of it. Add
to which where performance
is concerned, there’s nothing
between the two boards. Every
tweak, every setting and every
option that’s on the Extreme
board is present here as well.
The fascinating thing about
this board is that at this price
point, it is in line with the other
high end boards from the
competitors but still manages to
offer more not only in terms of
OC-related features but in sheer
performance as well. So despite
the price difference you’re still
getting a board that is better
than the rest and is only pipped
by its bigger brother.