2D Performance Booster: Tested and Explained

For overclockers trying to get that .001 second off their SuperPi 1M or seconds off of their 32M scores, ASUS has included a 2D Performance Booster mode in the bios.  Simply enable it and it gives a boost in 2D applications and benchmarks.  Since ASUS does not have much information on this in the bios we assume the difference is made by tightening internal latencies that are normally not able to be tweaked in bios.  To test how much effect this had we used SuperPi 1M and 32M again at our 4.4GHz overclock.  The only change was the 2D Boost was enabled in bios.  Our 1M time improved from 9.5 seconds to 9.454 seconds shaving .046 seconds off, which is a huge gain in 1M.  In our SuperPi 32M test we saw the time drop from 9 minutes and 9.856 seconds to 9 minutes and 6.737 seconds.  Again another huge improvement!  This is just one of the many great innovations by ASUS.

Thermal Testing

Thermal testing was conducted in an air conditioned room kept at 68° F.  The tests were carried out for over 3 hours for each different location probed to measure the maximum temperature recorded.  To measure temperatures we used a UEI data logging K type thermometer.  One probe was installed inside the case to get a case temperature while the other probe was affixed to the CPU PWM, Northbridge, and Southbridge heatsinks.  Throughout the testing the K probes measured approximately 2 degrees cooler than reported in the ASUS PCProbe software.   To stress the machine out, the machine was loaded by playing a 1080p movie while running prime95 to load the processor to 100%.

Conclusion

After testing the Rampage III Extreme, we can easily say this is the best X58 motherboard at the time of writing this review.   It was very easy to overclock for the beginner and had all of the features and options the extreme overclockers would want.   It is a leap ahead of the competition with all of the accessories, features, and performance.  Two thumbs up to ASUS for providing such a great feature set and quality at a good price.  Although this board is at the higher end of the spectrum regarding price, it is definitely worth every penny!   If this board is out of your budget you may want to look at the Rampage III Formula which is cheaper by about $60.  We’ll have a review of the RIIIF soon.  All in all, the Rampage III Extreme lives up to the legendary name of the Rampage Extreme line.

The ASUS Rampage III Extreme receives the TechREACTION.net Gold Silicon Award!







The RIIIE can be found for $367 (at the time of writing) at Newegg, as well as other major retailers.

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