ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME Motherboard

On Board Peripherals

The Intel X99 chipset is a single-chip solution, which is also known as a PCH (Platform Controller Hub). This chip supports ten SATA-600 ports (there are no SATA-300 ports), supporting RAID (0, 1, 10, and 5).

The ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME offers those ten SATA-600 ports (two of them are shared with a SATA Express connector), plus two SATA-600 ports controlled by an ASMedia ASM106SE chip, which provides a second SATA Express connector. All SATA ports are located at the motherboard’s edge and rotated 90 degrees, so that video cards will not block them. ASUS could have used different colors for the SATA/SATA Express port controlled by the auxiliary chip.

Figure 5: SATA Express and SATA-600 ports

The Intel X99 chipset supports eight USB 2.0 ports and six USB 3.0 ports. The ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME offers six USB 2.0 ports, two soldered on the rear panel and four available through two headers located on the motherboard. It also supports 14 USB 3.0 ports, ten soldered on the motherboard rear panel (all of the controlled by one ASMedia ASM1042 and two ASMedia ASM1074 chips) and four available through two headers on the motherboard, controlled by the chipset.

The RAMPAGE V EXTREME does not support FireWire or Thurnderbolt ports.

This motherboard supports 7.1+2 audio format, i.e., eight channels plus two independent channels for audio streaming. On this motherboard, the audio is generated by the chipset using the Realtek ALC1150 codec (called SupremeFX by ASUS), which is an excellent audio codec, providing 115 dB signal-to-noise ratio for the analog outputs, 104 dB signal-to-noise ratio for the analog inputs, and up to 192 kHz sampling rate for both inputs and outputs, with 24-bit resolution. These specifications are good even for the user who wants to work professionally capturing and editing analog audio (e.g., converting LPs to CDs or MP3, converting VHS to DVDs or any other digital format, etc.).

The analog audio outputs are independent and the motherboard also comes with an on-board optical SPDIF output. It also has a header labeled “SPDIF_OUT”, where you can install an adapter to have a coaxial SPDIF output or to connect a cable to older video cards that required a physical connection to have audio on their HDMI outputs.

The analog audio outputs are independent only if you use a 5.1 analog speaker set. If you install a 7.1 analog speaker set, you will need to use the “line in” jack.

Figure 6 shows the audio section, with the codec covered by a shield against interference.

Figure 6: audio section

The portrayed motherboard has one Gigabit Ethernet port, controlled by an Intel i218V chip.

The RAMPAGE V EXTREME has an integrated dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi interface. It comes with a dual-band MIMO 3×3:3 antenna set. The board also supports Bluetooth 4.0.

This motherboard comes with a clear CMOS button and a “ROG connection” switch, which allows you to use another computer to control overclocking parameters.

In Figure 7, you can see the motherboard rear panel, with the “clear CMOS” button and “ROG connect” switch, shared PS/2 connector for mouse or keuboard, two USB 2.0 ports, ten USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, three Wi-Fi antenna connectors, one optical SPDIF output, and the analog audio jacks.

Figure 7: Motherboard rear panel