Test: Asus Rampage II GENE

Konklusion

Det sker indimellem at man som hardwareanmelder kan gå hen og små-forelske sig i det hardware man sidder med. Det har været svært at skulle skilles med Asus Rampage II Gene, der har været en fornøjelse at teste. Asus har formået at skabe et bundkort der ikke bare dementerer, men faktisk er i stand til at sætte ny standard for bundkort i sin klasse - selv om boardet har en fysisk størrelse der hedder mATX, så er det stadig i stand til at konkurrere med markedets bedste X58 bundkort, og det i sig selv er noget af en præstation. Alt i alt må vi konkludere at Asus Rampage II Gene er et anbefalelsesværdigt X58 bundkort - selv som et alternativ til fuldstørrelses ATX bundkort.

Innovation/Teknologi - 5
X58 chipsæt på et mATX bundkort - den yderste spids for high-end møder et moderne krav om at tingene helst ikke må fylde alverden. Det kunne meget nemt ha' endt i ren katastrofe, men er i stedet blevet til et af de mest vellykkede bundkort vi endnu har set, der nemt tager førstepladsen på mATX-tronen. 

Bundle/Tilbehør - 4
Der er en mere end fornuftig bundle med til boardet. Små ting som en pose strips til at arrangere kabler efter installation kan være guld værd, specielt hvis bundkortet skal installeres i et plads-trængt mATX kabinet. Kabler var der nok af, og som en lille bonus-ting, havde Asus lagt et klistermærke med ROG-tema i æsken. Alt i alt fortjener tilbehøret 4 points. 

Design/Layout - 4
Man har i Asus Rampage II Gene, produceret et bundkort, der har stort set de samme features og tilslutningsmuligheder som et ATX-bundkort. Man har tilmed smidt en X-Fi lydchip på, så selv om boardets PCIe skulle være optaget af SLI eller CrossFire, så betyder det ikke dåse-lyd fra et alt for billigt produceret onboard lydkort. Det eneste negative punkt er, at heatsinken over northbridgen i vores test ved overclocking, blev overordenlig varm (så varm at man ikke kunne berøre den). Derfor vil vi ikke tildele topkarakter, men i stedet det tætteste vi kan komme herpå - 4 points.

Software/BIOS - 5
Det er især TweakIT der trækker scoren op her. TweakIT gør det muligt at "skrue op og ned" for sit overclock i Windows, som var det lydstyrken der blev justeret. Det tilsammen med Asus' sædvanligt store softwarepakke, der på ingen måde skuffer, udløser tilsammen 5 points i denne kategori. 

Ydelse - 5
Det er svært.. men vi vurderer ud fra hvad andre mATX bundkort er i stand til, og når boardet clocker så godt som det gør, hvilket kun lige præcis er en snas under niveauet for de bedste X58 bundkort i ATX-størrelse, så synes vi 5 points er på sin plads. 

Pris - 5
Med en pris på knap 1700 kroner er Asus Rampage II Gene også i stand til at konkurrere med markedets billigste X58 bundkort på prisen. Til de penge får man stort set alt, hvad Asus har af features på deres high-end X58 bundkort Rampage II Extreme, der koster ca. 700 kr. mere. Den eneste virkeligt store forskel på de to boards er antallet af udvidelsesporte, da sidstnævnte jo er et fuld-størrelse ATX bundkort. I stedet for udvidelsesporte har man i stedet muligheden for f.eks. at installere Rampage II Gene i et ATX-kabinet, og gøre brug af den ekstra plads man får til rådighed til f.eks. vandkøling, eller man kan lave en meget lille LAN-gamer, der i teorien kan installeres med verdens hurtigste retail CPU og grafikkort. Mulighederne er mange.

Test: Asus Rampage II GENE

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Bundle - Tilbehør	4
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	5
Ydelse	5
Pris	5
Samlet	93%

UK summary

Sometimes hardwarereviewers can get a little dazzled with the hardware they are working with. We found it difficult to part with the Asus Rampage II Gene, that has been a true pleasure to test. Asus has managed to create a motherboard that does not only meet the standards of its class, it actually defies its class by moving beyond the standards of motherboards in its class - although the board has a physical size of mATX, it is still able to compete with the best X58 motherboards, and this in itself is quite an achievement. Overall, we conclude that the Asus Rampage II Gene is a recommendable X58 motherboard - even as an alternative to a full-size ATX motherboard. 

Innovation/Technology - 5
An X58 chipset on an mATX motherboard - the tip of high-end meets the mordern demand for minimalism. It could have very easily ended in unmitigated disaster, but has instead become one of the most successful motherboards we've seen, easily taking the throne as king of mATX boards. 

Bundle/Accessories - 4
This is one of the more sensible bundles we have seen. Small things like a bag of cable-ties to organize cables after installation can be worth gold, particularly if the motherboard must be installed in a space-squeezed mATX cabinet. Cables included were sufficient, and as a little bonus Asus put a sticker with the ROG-theme in the box. Altogether, the accessories are awarded 4 points. 

Design/Layout - 4
Asus Rampage II Gene is a motherboard that has essentially the same features and connectivity options as an ATX motherboard. It has even got a X-Fi audio-chip, so even if the boards PCIe would be occupied for SLI or CrossFire use, users can still enjoy a decent sound quality, and won't have to put up with a  cheaply produced and bad sounding onboard sound card. The only negative point is that the heatsink over the northbridge got so hot that we couldn't touch it during overclocking. Therefore we will not award a top score here, although we are very close to it. 4 points.

Software/BIOS - 5
It is especially the TweakIT feature that draws up the score here. TweakIT makes it possible to turn the clockspeeds of the board and the CPU up and down in Windows, as easy as if it was the audio volume that was adjusted. Together with Asus' usual large software package that doesn't disappoint at all, this triggers a combined 5 points in this category.

Performance - 5
It's a tough decision... but we judge from what other mATX motherboards are capable of, and when the board clocks as well as it does, only a bit less than the best ATX-sized X58 motherboards available, we think that 5 points are justifiable.

Price - 5
With a price of roughly 227€ in Denmark, the Asus Rampage II Gene is able to compete with the markets cheapest X58 motherboards on price. For that amount, you get virtually everything Asus has of features from their high-end Rampage II Extreme, which costs approximately 94€ more. The only really big difference between the two boards is the number of expansion slots, since the latter is a full-size ATX motherboard. But instead of expansion slots, the mATX sized Gene board makes it possible for the user to install the board in an ATX enclosure, which should provide plenty of room for watercooling. Another option is to build yourself a small LAN-gamer, that in theory could be sporting the world's fastest retail CPU and video card. The possibilites are plenty