ROG line tries to strike a balance between price and performance

Aug 6, 2010 07:16 GMT  ·  By

ASUS may have already showcased a significant number of high-end motherboards, but the best it has gathered together and branded with the Republic of Gamers' logo. Thus, the ROG line has come to be synonymous with high-end performance and overclocking-friendliness. Now, the company thought it was time to see if it could do anything worthwhile for those enthusiasts that do not have limitless funds. It, thus, created a new product and named it the Rampage III Formula.

The product is not exactly available. In fact, it is unknown when it will come to market, since its maker has only disclosed part of its feature set, leaving the rest to be made public “over the remainder of the summer.” Apparently, it is based on the X58 chipset and fitted with support for such things as DDR3-2,000 RAM, SATA 6.0 Gbps and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connectivity. Naturally, one can also set up multi-GPU configurations, whether they are NVIDIA SLI or ATI CrossFireX. Another component is the SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio chip.

Nevertheless, true to its name and purpose, the product stands out more by virtue of being optimized for overclocking. For one, it features a network of heatsinks and heatpipes that make sure to keep temperatures within manageable levels. Another thing is the ROG Connect functionality, which permits remote overclocking. Digital voltage regulation is also available. All in all, the newcomer is expected to cost less than the others in its line while still providing most of the features enthusiasts look for. Finally, the company threw in the GameFirst! bandwidth multitasker.

The GameFirst Bandwidth multitasker “lets users download stuff in the background without causing lag or latency in online gaming.” Basically, it gives games priority over other programs when it comes to bandwidth distribution, so as to remove frustration as near to completely as possible. Unfortunately, pricing and availability details are still unknown.