Again, this will be just a brief fly over of the package and the layout of the board. We start with a shot of the box and then the pile of stuff that comes with the board. The Rampage Extreme is a premium board and it comes with a premium package.

click for full size...

The standard ROG package encases the RE (Rampage Extreme) with more logos plastered all over this box than a Nascar driver. The logos do in fact provide a lot of information about the RE. ASUS has done a lot of work putting all of these features on the board, they might as well display them. The front of the package has a top flap that lifts up revealing even more information about the board in side. We also get a bit of a sneak peak at the board through the transparent sections of the package. The accessory pack is all neatly arranged in the additional box inside the package that accomodates the motherboard. Here is a list of the contents that come with the reatail package...
  • 1x IDE
  • 1x floppy
  • 6x SATA (3x 90 degree angled)
  • 1x 4-pin molex to double SATA 5-pin power
  • 1x dual USB & single Firewire 6-pin PCI bracket
  • 3x optional temperature sensors
  • 1x illuminated rear I/O panel
  • 1x optional cooling fan
  • ASUS Q-Connectors
  • 2x 1/4" > 3/8" & 2x 1/4" to 1/2" adapters and worm clamps
  • rubber motherboard stand offs for open air bench setup
  • 1x optional NB air cooling attachment
  • 1x optional PWM air cooling attachment

click for full size...

The optional heat sinks allow for a little additional cooling on the PWM and NB. Their construction is pretty basic and being made of what feels like aluminum I don't expect fantastic results from the use of them, but the NB block should be a bit better for cooling than the Fusion water block if you are just going to be air cooling. Let's now do a quick jaunt around the RE's layout.

click for full size...

The layout on the Rampage extreme is very good but with the large heat sinks surrounding the socket area, there are going to be some issues with CPU coolers. I have already found that the Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX will only fit in one direction, and it isn't exactly a large cooler. With the additional heat pipe attachments for the rear PWM and NB, even more issues could arrise. It appears that the Thermalright Ultra-120/Ultra-120 Extreme shouldn't have a problem as they should clear the heat sinks, but again, with the attachments it might be a different story. As for the rest of the layout, there isn't much to complain about. The PCI-E slots are nicely spaced for GPU pots or doul slot coolers and the memory slots are well away from the CPU socket. All other connectors are along the outside edges of the board in their usual spots and the 90 degree SATA ports are a welcome site. So despite the amount of 'stuff' on the board, ASUS has done quite well in making everything accessible and compatible in my opinion.