Asus Rampage Extreme w/Air Cooling and no OC'ing - still worth it?

I've been holding my breath for a few weeks now waiting for the Asus Rampage Extreme to be released, all the inital specs seem to indicate this will be one insane motherboard and I am not adverse spending good money to get a good quality product - however a LOT of my readings on reviews are focused on massive overclocking as well as water cooling systems - while I get why (this is an OC'er board) my interests lie elsewhere.

Personally I plan to slap a Q9550 on it with a 4870 and full Air Cooling (Antec 1200 case) - nothing fancy, maybe OC to 3.00ghz (maybe not) ... and some standard DDR3 ram...
My goal is simply to get a rock solid board that will stay as cool as possible (P4 was a monster in summer - never want to go there again), last a while, and run stable for all my little gaming needs.

So - asking all those who are using the board like I plan to - just as a rock solid board - still worth it?
(I assume so ... no matter what - OC'ed or not - this is a killer board - but wanted some general opinions).

Thanks,

Since you're only clocking the Q9550 to 3ghz, then a cheaper board will suit your needs. You have good air circulation (1200) so slighlty more voltage, as a result of a "lousier motherboard" should not be a problem either.

I believe you're only getting a 4870 so go for a p45 motherboard instead. Even if you do crossfire 2 4870, the difference between a x48 and p45 is marginal. Like 200 vs 215 at MOST. Average difference is %3. Read here.

Just some questions, why ddr3? If you care to spend so much for a case, why not go with a good air cooler, like thermalright ultra extreme 120 (aka TRUE) or better yet, high end water cooling?

Edit: link

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=571156

The biggest reason for the Case is exactly for cooling - I've had a P4 in a Mid-tower for the last 4 years and at summer time in my appartment when playing games ... well lets say I won't put up with that anymore.

I'm also looking to get a PC that will last me again another 4 years - so I thought X48 DDR3 would be the best approach (newest technology tends to last longer) - I did some shopping and the difference between a good DDR2 and DDR3 system is only around $200USD (due to the assumed price on the rampage extreme at $360USD and the 4gigs of DDR3 which is $100 more expensive then 4gigs of DDR2).

None of this means I won't be going to a much better air cooling system as well - going to put the system together and test it out for a bit to see what I need - doubt I'll go water (hopefully won;t need to).

I expect the 4870 will ... cook an egg Hopefully the mobo's new design, dissipators, and the rest of the eye candy will also help...

What do you think?

Yes, that is indeed a good case and I'm glad you're getting some good cooling!

I doubt a better oc motherboard will last longer than one with lower oc cababilites. If you want quality, go for DFI, in my opinion (IMO). Unless you're NOT upgrading your CPU with 775 socket, then go for cheeper motherboards. I say this as ocing to 3ghz is nothing for most motherboards, let alone maximum extreme.

I am not sure but the motherboard's design has nothing to do with the temperature of the GPU.

Hope that helps!

DDR3 is great (don't get me wrong there, I'm a sucker for insane bandwidth) but unless you're doing synthetic benching then DDR2 is better value, you won't see a difference in games or anything like that so just pick up 4GB of some decent DDR2. 1066MHz with 5-5-5 timings or better and some nice heatsinks will fit the bill perfectly.

With DDR2 in mind (instead of DDR3) then I'd also pick up a P45 board, the DFI ones (as Blazing said) are probably the best - they come with hefty cooling and will easily clock up a Quad to 3GHz. Then with the money saved you can get a TRUE and a pair of good fans to combat the heatload. The 1200 is a great case so good choice

If you're hell bent of going DDR3 tho, then I'd say the Rampage Extreme is the way to go, its what I'm most probably gunner pick up to replace this 790i board ..

Shaitan000 said:

Personally I plan to slap a Q9550 on it with a 4870 and full Air Cooling (Antec 1200 case)

Click to expand...

If you plan on running a Quad and a single card...you dont want this board...you want a P45 board...the X38/48 chipset if physically limited on quad OC's...the X38/48 are really made for the D2C's...

If this is what you want to do...then you should look at either the P5Q Deluxe or if you want a DDR3 version...the P5Q3 Deluxe is a much better choice...

glock19owner: what do you mean exactly? About the x38/x48 being limited on Quad OC's? How is it a worse choice when compared to the older P45's?
Thanks,

what hes saying is there is a fsb wall on the x38/x48 boards. the p45's can obtain much higher fsb's. with what your looking to do a deluxe should be more than enough and is still a really nice board. many people around here see it as one of the best for quads as of late.

But isn't the P45 an old/out dated intel chipset? I would have assumed the newer X48's were the way to go.

I get that that might be more limited (which is odd no? the OC'er board of choice the Rampage and it is X48 not P45) but for someone like me who is not really looking to OC past maybe 3.0ghz will the X48 really block me at all? What kind of block am I looking at?

And how much better is the P45 (out of curiosity)...
Thanks for the info...

The P45 is actually newer than the X48. For some reason most P45 boards clock quads better than X48's. (With a few exceptions)

Really, a board as expensive as the Rampage Extreme is a complete waste of money for someone with your needs, you should be looking at boards that cost half as much as it. (Like the P5Q)

Serious? the P45 intel chipset is actually NEWER then the X48??? Wow I am lost now - I was sure the order was P45 -> X38 -> X48 - making the P45 3 generations old....

I find the P5Q looks ... flimsy ... what about the Maximum II Formula? Its P45 (which for some odd reason seems to be recommended often), has a lot of the nice advantages of the Rampage (design, components, etc...) and is resonably priced...

Anything wrong there?

Yes. It has a better south bridge too. 9 vs 10.

You can look at DFI too. They arguably make the best quality (oc aside) motherboard. Don't count on me though.