Live MB OC Report :: ASUS Rampage Extreme
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...sus_logo-1.png
This isn't going to be a typical OC Report like my last in that it will be much more compressed and focused solely on results. It will also be a bit of a Live OC Report as I will be posting results as I obtain them, and not just all at once after all testing is done. This may be a little un-organized but, what can you do? At this point, we are all familiar with ASUS and their motherboard line. Sure it may be confusing, but no one can say it lacks options. The recent gem of the bunch is the Rampage Extreme and ever since the first results have shown up in the forums, we have all been clammering to get one. I have managed to do just that and from what I have seen, this board definitely isn't going to let me down.
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...sus_logo-2.png
First and foremost, the sample I have was sent directly from ASUS as a review sample for HardwareCanucks.com. The entire review will be posted there in due time, but for now, consider this a sneak peek of what that will offer. Of course, this thread will also be home to all of the more exciting results with sub-zero cooling that I manage to come up with. This sample is a full retail product with serial number and all so it isn't an ES but it has been tested before heading out to me. This doesn't mean it was hand picked from my understanding, just pre-tested to ensure its functioning. Below you can find an easy to navigate directory for the various sections that will be populated with results from this board.
Directory:- Index
- Quick Specifications & Pricing
- Package & Layout
- Blue Martini's: BIOS Screenshots
- Appetizer: FSB Clocking
- First Course: Memory Clocking
- Second Course: GPU Testing
- Main Course: CrossFire Feast
- Insulation: You Can Live Without It, But Very Wet
- Dessert: Sub-Zero Benching & Other Goodies
Let's get started with a quick look at the specifications and pricing that this board is coming out at.
Quick Specifications & Pricing
I don't think most viewers of this thread are really going to be interested in a long discussion about the specifications here so this will remain brief. We all know what the X48 chipset is capable of at this point so there is no need to re-hash old information. After all, it has been around for some time now and this board is a bit of a late comer to the party. Here is a little excerpt from the ASUS web site and if you want to see more specifications, visit it here. This thread will remain primarily a results thread so you'll have to wait for the full review for more details on the specifications and features.
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...re/specs-1.png
As I said, this is a results thread so the specifications are limited to what is above. With that said, I could go on for days about the features, specifications and capabilities of this board. ASUS has absolutely thrown everything they have on this board and there is something unique for almost every user. There are a couple features that I do want to discuss here because they pertain directly to what we do, overclock.
BIOS FlashBack
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...re/specs-3.jpg
First up is the BIOS FlashBack feature which is essentially, a dual BIOS. What this dual BIOS offers, however, is complete control over both BIOS chips. We can switch between which the system boots off of in the BIOS, and we can run two different sets of settings on each. The BIOS ICs are also a DIP package again which means they are user replaceable. So even if you manage to bork both BIOS chips, you can still just order one and be back up and running...no RMA needed. Thank-you ASUS for this very nice old school implementation of a newer feature. Trust me lads, having a dual BIOS that you have full control over is very nice.
TweakIt
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...re/specs-2.jpg
Second is the fanciest thing on a motherboard since...well, since ever. TweakIt is a manual system adjuster that is purely hardware driven. This means that at any time, we can adjust various settings of the motherboard such as FSB and voltages. In reality, this is basically having not only variable resistors pre-soldered to the various voltage options, but also the ability to adjust the FSB on the fly. I have played with it briefly already and the interface is very intuative. The LCD Poster acts as your guide and your fingers do the walking...it is very cool. As has been discussed here already, Futuremark has a headache on their hands with this motherboard.
Let's now talk about probably the most important aspect of this motherboard right now...price, and availability. At this very moment, there is only one place I am aware of that the Rampage Extreme is available, and that is in the UK:
OcUK - £229.99 + VAT
Scan - £209.69 + VAT
The scary thing is that OcUK, notorious for price gouging, might not even be too far off with this price. If anyone has any further places that the board is available, just post em up and I will add them to the list. It looks like we are going to have to pay through the nose for this guy but when I consider how much my 790i, Maximus Extreme, and various other boards along the way cost...this is almost respectable for what it is. Hey...I said almost respectable. Time for some package and layout photos...as if you haven't seen enough already.
Blue Martini's: BIOS Screenshots
BIOS Repository
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0206
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0301
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0401
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0403
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0501
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0601
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0801
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0901
Just remember, as Kensek and ASUS say...flash at your own risk and use the EZ-Flash method to minimize a bad flash occurring.
OC Profile: BIOS configurations
The OC Profile feature of the ASUS BIOS allows us users to share complete BIOS configurations that can be saved to thumb drives and shared. Feel free to submit your own BIOS profile in the thread and fire me a PM if you think it should be posted here for others to use. Stuff like stable 450FSB~500FSB Quad core setups etc...
When posting a BIOS profile, be sure to include some useful information about how the BIOS is setup and be sure to list the BIOS version that it was saved from.
First Course: Memory Clocking
first on the docket is the 2x1GB PC3-16000 Crucial Ballistix...
click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...ll/setup-2.jpg http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...ll/setup-3.jpg
Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
7-7-6-X 1T / 7-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
930MHz :: 1.96v | 964MHz :: 2.05v | 980MHz :: 2.10v | 990MHz :: 2.15v
I hit a bit of a roadblock at 980MHz on the 266 strap and went up to the 333 strap to get 990MHz ran. More vNB didn't help on the 266 strap as temps were getting up over 50C under load. On the 333 strap, the memory again ran out of steam at 990MHz and that is far as I will take this kit for now at CL7. Time to move on to CL8 and for that, I figured I would see if the optional heat-pipe attachment for the NB would help.
8-7-6-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
1030MHz :: 1.96v
Since I have hit that wall at 1030MHz and tried everything I could, I have fired off an e-mail to ASUS to see what their thoughts are. In the mean time, I have to move forward and decided to start the XMP testing. For those looking for compatible kits, this is what you want to watch. These are just the screens after dual 32M testing but full stability testing will be done for the review. BIOS defaults are loaded for each kit, and all settings are left alone.
3DMark 01
8-7-6-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
1110MHz :: 2.12v
I have finally replaced the thermal paste and modified the stock heat sink to provide more mounting pressure and low&behold, MCH temps dropped a solid 10~15C across the board at load and idle. This has allowed me to increase MCH voltage and do some fun things with the memory. I can get a single 32M done at 1050MHz 8-7-6 now but still no improvement on dual 32M with this D9GTS based Ballistix kit. 3DMark 01, however, was a little more fun as seen above :D
click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/rev...ll/setup-4.jpg
Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
6-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48 & G.Skill 2GBHZ PC2-12800:
Click link for full size screenshot...
800MHz :: 2.00v | 822MHz :: 2.05v | 842MHz :: 2.11v | 860MHz :: 2.15v
With all this talk of D9GTR doing well I figured it was time to give it a proper shot and so far so good at CL6, but that isn't the issue with D9GTS. I still get the weird boot issue once in a while with the D9GTR kit and after putting them in, I couldn't get POST without removing a single stick, loading BIOS defaults, then POSTing. Then the second stick could go in and I could get POST. I didn't have to change anything in the BIOS, just POST with a single stick first and save & exit. Also, don't mind the LN2/Dry Ice container, the fan on the stock heat sink went so I am improvising ;)
XMP Testing
click for full screenshot...
Corsair TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN - ver3.1 (Micron) :: XMP :up:
G.Skill F3-12800CL7D-4GBPI :: XMP :up:
I as of yet haven't determined which is at fault for the Mushkin Ascent 2x2GB kit failing to run XMP easily on this board but the kit did pass full stability testing on the GA-EP45T-Extreme recently but at 2T.
Second Course: GPU Testing
single card GPU testing first in this section. nothing fancy just some basic numbers...
Main Course: CrossFire Feast
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...ll/setup-5.jpg
The games have begun with a pair of ATI HD4850s. Both cards have been volt modded and the setup is still all on air. Tonight was simply a shake down of the system, the cards, and my run order/LODs for 01. The cards don't appear to be that strong but 800MHz core and 1075MHz memory seem to be do-able for consistent benching with reasonable volts on air. Here is where I am at so far...
3DMark // AM3...OC Report
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // Stock Cooler fan @ 100%:
Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 93028 | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 785MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 01 = 93028
03 = 83566 | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 785MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 03 = 83566
05 = 32141 | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 775MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 05 = 32141
06 = 22523 | CPU @ 589*8 4712MHz | GPU @ 760MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 06 = 22523
AM3 = 294913 | CPU @ 600*8 4800MHz | GPU @ 800MHz / 1075MHz
So I got AM3 sorted, with these ATI cards you have to delete the DLL file, not patch it. Man it has been too long since I benched ATI, this weekend should be fun with what I have in store for this setup :D
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...ll/setup-9.jpg
CPU at 6GHz+ on LN2 // Stock Air CF 2 x ATIHD4850
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // Stock Cooler fan @ 100%:
Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 112959 | CPU @ 610*10 6100MHz | GPU @ 820MHz / 1075MHz | ORB
03 = 88615 | CPU @ 600*10 6000MHz | GPU @ 815MHz / 1075MHz | ORB
05 = 39111 | CPU @ 610*10 6100MHz | GPU @ 825MHz / 1075MHz | ORB
AM3 = 355645 | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 815MHz / 1075MHz | HWBot.org
Oh yeah, the HD4850s tore it up with a 6GHz CPU. The board performed very well and the performance was quite good for the clocks. It really was a treat working with this setup as there were very little issues throughout the whole 9 hour session. Putting cold on the cards is next and hopefully happening this weekend.
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...l/setup-10.jpg
CPU at 6.15GHz on LN2 // CF 2 x ATIHD4850 at 1000MHz core+ on LN2
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // TEK-9 4.0 SLIM:
Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 114997 | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1020MHz / 1075MHz @ 1.508v | ORB | HWBot.org
03 = 102558 | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1050MHz / 1075MHz | ORB | HWBot.org
05 = 40110 | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1000MHz / 1075MHz | ORB | HWBot.org
The culmination of all previous testing went down earlier this week with a 3 pot LN2 session on the HD4850s. I got my E8600 stable at 6150MHz for all benches and managed to improve a couple with some help from a pair of Tek-9 4.0 Slims on the GPUs. I did not have thermal probes on the GPU pots so it was fly-by-wire and they could have been maximized quite a bit more I believe. Either way, some CF HD4850 WRs fell and a solid chunk of HWBot points were earned from this very strong setup...cracked the top 50 :up:
http://www.hwbot.org/signature/u5357.png
Insulation: You Can Live Without It, But Very Wet
Alright, so now that the final push for the review is done, time to get back to work on this thread. I will start off with the insulation job for the LN2 session that was posted in the review. I will also be posting the benchmark results here sometime this week.
click for full size...
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-1.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-2.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-3.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-4.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-5.jpg
I start off with a 1/2" thick layer of armacell closed cell insulation cut from a large sheet. This is cut to fit perfectly inside the heat pipe cocoon and then a dremel with a dry wall carving tip is used to cut out the holes for the caps and inductors. Next is a double layer of the blue shop towels, thanks to Vince for the idea here. On top of that are two more layers of the 1/2" armacell with cutouts to accomodate the pot. Then the pot with a small donut makes an appearance on the scene. At this point the setup is ready for the inner armacell pipe insulation and a wrap of whop towels around the mounting hardware followed by another larger layer of armacell pulled over top the entire assembly. At this point we are snug as a bug and ready to rock.
click for full size...
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-6.jpg
There was one amendment that had to be made to the outer ring of armacell pipe insulation because of the Fusion block and it's flurry of worm clamps. When I find the thread that the stock heat sink uses I should be able to mount the MCW30 and will likely not have to have a chunk of the outer insulation missing. Benching was now in full swing and I finished a 9 hour LN2 session with the RE followed promptly by a nap. The board held up really well and the NB was great using just the Fusion block. It was suppose to be a feeling out session for the CPU as it hadn't been cold before but it turned into an all out benching romp when I easily found the CPUs limits. The RE benched at 600~615FSB on the 333Strap 5:8 ratio with a tRD of 9 the whole time. My E8600 had a crappy cold bug around -110C so 6100MHz was about the limit for all benches. Sorted a solid Pifast, 1M, and 32M for 2D which was followed by 01, 03, 05, & AM3 with CF HD4850s (volt modded but stock air) and single HD4850 01, 05, AM3. I have to go through all the results but here some photos...
click for full size...
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...ll/setup-6.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...ll/setup-7.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...ll/setup-8.jpg
From left to right, benching SPi early on, later I went back to it with a single HD4850 but I always start with my trusty 8600GTS with no drivers installed for 32M. My withdrawl device wouldn't build pressure so getting LN2 came down to manual labour. Setting the dewar on the milk crate at an angle let me rock it rather easily while using the second crate as a sort of safety stop in case I managed to lose the balance. It worked rather well but with a couple cracked ribs and recently separated left shoulder...it was a very tough 9 hours, considering I only had a 750ml thermos cup to fill :eek:. The last photo was during tear down. There was the outer armaflex layer of insulation over what is shown here but there wasn't a drop of water in site. A good bit of frost under the shop towel but absolutely zero water anywhere...the setup could have easily gone a lot longer had more cold stuff been available. I then took a couple photos during tear down, not bad for 9 hours of being -105C at the CPU base.
click for full size...
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-7.jpg http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews...sulation-8.jpg
As mentioned, the insulation held up remarkably well and will be my permanent insulation solution for this setup. Having a very alrge A/C unit with de-humidifier in the bench room really helps with condensation but even still, the setup stayed perfectly dry and was begging for more. Results from this session will go up before the weekend, followed by more benching, hopefully with some extra special GPU action :up: