That is why the RIVE comes in steaming at $450 MSRP (currently $420 on Newegg) – an expensive product before you hit double processor motherboards, but cheaper than the $600+ price tag exhibited by some last generation motherboards.įor your big pile of green, ASUS comes bursting with features for the overclockers. With margins being very slim, all the small costs add up and pass onto the user. It is hard to do this with motherboards, because each individual feature needs to innovate, which costs money. To a large extent this is true in most marketing fields of components. If it is used by the best to achieve the best results, then other more moderate users will see this and buy ASUS products in turn. Note that instead of gamers being the primary focus of the Extreme (but are still welcome to purchase), the intention of the RIVE is to set a new level of innovation, performance and control in the motherboard arena. In terms of performance, due to the MultiCore Enhancement that ASUS use to boost turbo clock speeds, we do have an extremely fast system on our hands, beating other X79 and even the Gene and Formula in most circumstances.įeature wise, a user is spoiled for choice. Throughout all my testing, this was the expectation – the RIVE would be fast, easy to use and have that something extra that no other motherboard has. When using the Extreme, it is hard to escape the feeling that you are using the best high end motherboard that ASUS make.

That gets the user 12 inch x 10.7 inch (305 mm x 272 mm) of real estate compared to 12 inch x 9.6 inch (305 mm x 244mm). All the more esoteric features are to be plunged on the board – and as a result, it is larger than the standard ATX specifications, reaching into E-ATX (but not full E-ATX).

In my brief from ASUS regarding the Extreme, and from their marketing materials, we are to assume that the Rampage IV Extreme (RIVE) is something quite mad.

Asus rampage iv extreme fan control