Asus Boards Rampage vs Maximus

C

Carnage

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Mar 18, 2008
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So I am looking at 2 motherboards right now, and I cant decide which one to get.
There's the Maximus II Formula and the Rampage Formula. I'll let the specs do the talking for you guys and pictures :D

So here in this corner, with the black coated heatsink is...

2166_l.jpg


* Intel? Core?2 Extreme / Core?2 Quad / Core?2 Duo Ready
* Support Intel next generation 45nm Multi-Core CPU
* Intel? P45/ICH10R
* Dual-channel DDR2 1200/1066/800/667 Support
* SupremeFX X-Fi 8-CH Audio
* CPU Level Up
* Pin Fin Thermal Module
* Speeding HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131319

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=117&l3=0&l4=0&model=2166&modelmenu=1

and in this corner, with the plain copper heatsink is...

2070_l.jpg


- Intel? Quad-core CPU Ready
- Supports Intel? next generation 45nm Multi-core CPU
- Intel? Core?2 Extreme / Core?2 Duo Ready
- Intel? X48/ICH9R
- Dual-channel DDR2 1200*/1066 MHz Support
- Pin-Fin Thermal Module Design
- CPU Level Up
- SupremeFX II 8-CH Audio
- 2-Phase DDR2
- LCD Poster
- ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit)
- Voltiminder LED
- COP EX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=117&l3=0&l4=0&model=2070&modelmenu=1



Ok, here's my opinion:

Maximus:
Pros: CrossfireX, love the black and red heatsink
Cons: P35 Chipset

Rampage:
Pros: X48 Chipset
Cons: Crossfire (without the "X")

I believe I read when a person goes "Crossfire," both cards goes X8 speed than x16. And CrossfireX is at X16 speed.

I don;t know, HELP ME DECIDE!!! They're both indeed great Mobos.
I don't want ddr3, that's why I chose them. :D
 
Maximus: It's a P45 board, not P35. It will run 8x/8x crossfire iirc

Rampage: X48 = full 16x/16x crossfire.

They'll perform roughly the same, GPU MAY be restricted by the 8x/8x bandwidth on the P45, but I have yet to hear of a card being bottlenecked on PCIe 2.0 8x...PCIe 1.1 perhaps...but not 2.0 yet.

Personally? I'd choose the P45. Sexy heatsinks/PCB, but with most ASUS boards, I despise the PCI/e slot placing. Terrible.

The P45 has the new ICH10R southbridge if you're a RAID user, that'll be helpful.

Thoughts, just random:

Eww, terrible placement of the CMOS battery on the X48...
Are those SCSI ports on the P45? (gray ones). X48 has all 90* angled SATA ports, helpful for those with 10.5" long GFX cards
Meh, both have onboard power on/CMOS reset buttons.


~Gooda~
 
Last edited:
Well, Asus boards rock, always used them, so theyre reliable.

If youre planning to run 2 ATi Cards in full CFX then yes go for the X48, other wise if youre going to run both in 8X or only use one card the P45 will suit you just fine.
 
I personally have a RAMPAGE and find it to be amazing, from the picture of the maximus you may have the same problem with either board, but getting an aftermarket heatsink on a CPU is a huge pain. It's definetly a good board though with lots of BIOS options, has a nice sound card, the lcd display is sort of hard to get plugged in on the RAMPAGE (it displays like successful POST or, that you have a problem with a GPU) but otherwise its a nice board. The northbridge runs a bit hot, but thats just because the thermal paste at stock is caked on the NB heatsink, if you get some rubbing alcohol and get it off then put your own on it cools it down a bit. If you have any other questions just throw me a pm
 
Awwww, I saw rampage in teh title... I though it was like, you smashing a mobo. :(
 
Carnage said:
What's the difference between Crossfire and CrossfireX?
Click to expand...

New name, new logo. Same thing really.

Crossfire was sorta the same as SLI, where you could only use the same cards. CrossfireX allows you to crossfire any cards in the same series (4870x2 with a 4850, etc).

I THINK, I could be wrong.

~Gooda~
 
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