14 DAY TRIAL // After Gigabyte presented its new G1-Killer motherboard line that targets hard-core gamers, it is now time for Asus to unleash upon the world its latest addition to the Republic of Gamers (ROG) series, the Rampage III Black Edition.
Just like all the other ROG boards released before it, the Black Edition carries the same black and red PCB theme and is build on top of Intel's X58 chipset.
This means that the board is compatible with LGA 1366 processors, including the six-core Core i7 980X CPU.
In addition, the motherboard is equipped with four PCI Express x16 expansion slots, six DDR3 memory slots, eight SATA ports as well as a wide assortment of USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and eSATA connectors.
However, its most imposing new feature is an add-on card, called ThunderBolt.
Disclosed a while back, ThunderBolt integrates a Bigfoot Killer 2100 network controller and an Asus Xonar sound card inside a black, EMI shielded enclosure that installs inside a PCIe x1 slot.
Although such details haven't been released yet, the Killer NIC probably comes with its own dedicated memory while the Xonar sound card is most likely based on the company's AV100 audio chipset found in the Xonar DS.
The chip provides 7.1 channel audio out with over 100 dBA SNR and packs EAX, Dolby and DTS software emulation as well as a headset amplifier.
Required power is provided via a 4-pin MOLEX plug that is placed at the back of the card.
Other features of the Rampage III Black Edition include on-board power, reset and clear CMOS buttons, a BIOS troubleshooting LCD display, individual switches for disabling each of the PCI Express x16 slots and a USB 3.0 header that allows for a breakout box to be installed in order to provide users with additional SuperSpeed USB ports.
No details were provided regarding market availability, but the board is expected to reach us really soon. (via Tech Power Up)