ASUS Rampage II Extreme - First Look

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The CPU socket area is crowded but manageable for most cooling setups. ASUS utilizes their "16-phase" power delivery system along with a 3-phase system for the Northbridge. The EPU2 design allows switching between four or sixteen phase to save energy, although we think anyone planning to use this board probably isn't concerned with that feature. The board utilizes a combination of Fujitsu ML and Solid Aluminum capacitors; whether that is a good or bad thing will depend upon how much you push the board.

Speaking of cooling, the new LGA 1366 requires new mounting points, and this is going to be good news for the cooling companies as it opens up a new market. After speaking with companies ranging from Cooler Master to Thermalright, the majority of LGA 1366 cooling designs will be based on current LGA 775/AM2 products with the inclusion of new mounting kits. There will be new designs of course as the IHS is larger, but it appears that the cooling companies will release a new mounting kit for current favorite coolers and that the current designs are capable of keeping the i7 cool under most conditions.

Our first revised cooler in the labs is from Vigor Gaming. The Monsoon III LT features support for LGA 775, LGA 1366, LGA 771 Skulltrail, S754, S939, and AM2/AM2+ formats. The unit features two 120x120x25mm fans rated at 20 dBA idle with PWM control. Fan speed is adjustable from 800RPM~2000RPM. The unit measures 131x120.9x160mm with a weight of 855g. We cannot mention results yet, but they are certainly promising with the i7-965 overclocked.

That concludes our first look at the ASUS Rampage II Extreme board. We will be back later with previews of boards from a variety of manufacturers.