Though available Core i7 processors are typically limited to around 220 MHz BCLK, a few select samples can at least exceed that limit. Extreme overclockers, especially though with sub-ambient cooling, will also try higher voltage levels than most of us would consider safe. Here’s what the two Micro ATX Core i7 motherboards offer in BIOS.
| BIOS Frequency And Voltage Settings (For Overclocking) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asus Rampage II | DFI LANParty Jr |
| CPU Base Clock | 100-500 MHz (1 MHz) | 133-250 MHz (1 MHz) |
| CPU Multiplier | Yes | Yes |
| DRAM Data Rates | BCLK x6 - x16 (x2) | BCLK x6 - x16 (x2) |
| PCIe Clock | 100-200 MHz (1 MHz) | 100-250 MHz (1 MHz) |
| CPU Vcore | 0.85-2.50V (6.25mV) | 1.00-2.00V (12.5mV) |
| Uncore Voltage | 1.20-2.50V (6.25mV) | 1.21-1.61V (10mV) |
| IOH Core | 1.11-2.20V (13.25mV) | 1.10-1.45V (50mV) |
| ICH Core | 1.11-2.20V (13.25mV) | 1.05-1.35V (100mV) |
| DRAM Voltage | 1.51-2.50V (13.25mV) | 1.455-2.40V (15mV) |
| CAS Latency | 3-11 Cycles | 1-11 Cycles |
| tRCD | 3-10 Cycles | 1-31 Cycles |
| tRP | 3-10 Cycles | 1-10 Cycles |
| tRAS | 3-31 Cycles | 1-31 Cycles |
While the Rampage II Gene offers a broader range of Bclk and voltage settings, the LANParty Jr X58-T3H6’s BIOS limits still exceed the tolerable levels for available hardware.
The toughest test is to see how far each motherboard can stably push our Core i7 920 processor using the same voltage settings and timings. We used eight threads of Prime95 x64 to stress each configuration.

The Rampage II Gene beat the LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 in top clock speed at 1.45V core, but not by enough to consider a definitive victory. More significant is that both Micro-ATX motherboards proved more stable than the full-sized Asus P6T, invalidating myths about Micro-ATX incapacity.

A base clock of 220MHz could potentially take a Core i7 920 to 4.40 GHz, but only with a very good core and advanced cooling. A lower multiplier allowed us to bypass those special conditions to find a retail processor’s Bclk limit on each motherboard, just shy of the 220 MHz mark for both the LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 and Rampage II Gene. Both motherboards beat the full-sized P6T, again putting to rest notions about Micro ATX instability.

DFI wins the memory overclocking comparison. The second-place Rampage II Gene beats the full-sized P6T on average due to its much higher six-module results, but the P6T rises to the middle when only three modules are installed.

Asus alters the standard voltage level slightly in addition to its 0.20% default CPU overclock, but the increase in power is still somewhat surprising. Our most recent experience has shown that most motherboards typically fall between the LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 and Rampage II Gene in power consumption when using these components, so DFI deserves about half the credit for the significant disparity in power consumption.

In spite of its higher power consumption, the Rampage II Gene runs slightly cooler than LANParty Jr X58-T3H6.
Although this review let me have a little more respect for the board I'm still asus and gigabyte all the way.
Good point, and I agree, that the hardest thing for the market is for those who have idealisms that the atx board with the most slots are best, have to admit that this not the case, that they don’t need and wont likely use them. It’s about time technology moved on and we start shrinking the components. We've come a long way from house sized computers but seems to have got stuck with fridge-sized atx, time to change that and join the 21st century!
Really, the reason the Rampage II Gene wasn't considered for the $2500 PC is that it didn't show up under a Newegg category search (LGA-1366, Micro ATX) and Newegg didn't fix that until this week. It's a good board, and if you need a weird cooler style, supports the more popular LGA-775 coolers.
but im missing the MSI X58M (160€ best prive vs 198€ asus and 190 dfi) here, theres a great review at anandtech. the board really rocks and has only a few weak points (fan control and s3 wake up problem if overclocked). i think ppl would be glad if the msi could be added to this comparison.
best regards,
roman
P eople go for a full atx build simply because they can (
Personally, I'd probably give up a tiny bit of performance for the more noteworthy reduction in power used by DFI; I like the cooler flexibility of the Asus though. It would be a tough call.
The article was put together a month ago, written two weeks ago, and waited in queue while other articles that had time restrictions went up first. That unfortunately left MSI out of contention, since its Micro ATX motherboard was more recently released.
I don't know why anyone thinks Asus's Rampage II Gene is better than DFI Lanparty Jr.
A mATX shouldn't drain as much power as full ATX. Asus's draining more power on idle is a huge negative. I've also always assumed that mATX will not match full ATX in performance. DFI's 14.44% more overall efficiency with 2.26% less performance vs. Asus's 2% more overall efficiency with 0.46% better performance, DFI wins this hands down.
Sure, if you're out there to get a full ATX board, you might as well get the mATX Asus Rampage II Gene. But if you're out to get a mATX board, which is what this comparison is for, DFI Lanparty Jr is way better.
DFI is the clear winner in this category.
I'd like to see micro-ATX get more popular, and there's really no reason why it should not be. There's no reason at all for lower performance. None.
so true, but i havent seen any bad usb performances on x58 boards yet.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3568
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3568
Read the 10th post in this thread.