Overclocking: Asus Rampage IV Extreme Versus EVGA X79 FTW
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Many companies claim to offer the best overclocking for your money, yet only two compete for the best overclocking at the very highest price point. Today we put those claims to the test, including a full set of benchmarks to analyze performance gains.
Test Setup And Benchmarks
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Test System Configuration | |
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CPU | Intel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E): 3.60 GHz, 15 MB Shared L3 Cache, LGA 2011 |
CPU Cooler | Swiftech Apogee GTX, MCP 655b, Triple-Fan Radiator Kit |
RAM | G.Skill F3-17600CL9Q-16GBXLD 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR3-2200, Benchmarked at DDR3-1600 CAS 9 defaults |
Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 580: 772 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4008 |
Hard Drive | Samsung 470 Series MZ5PA256HMDR, 256 GB SSD |
Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
Power | Seasonic X760 SS-760KM: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
Software | |
OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 |
Graphics | Nvidia GeForce 296.10 |
Chipset | Intel INF 9.2.3.1020 |
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Benchmark Configuration | |
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3D Games | |
DiRT 3 | V1.01, Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA |
Metro 2033 | Full Game, Built-In Benchmark, "Frontline" Scene Test Set 1: DX11, High, AAA, 4x AF, No PhysX, No DoF Test Set 2: DX11, Very High, 4x AA, 16x AF, No PhysX, DoF On |
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Update 1.4.27, Celedon Aethirborn Level 6, 25 Seconds Fraps Test Set 1: DX11, High Details Defaults (8x AA, 8x AF) Test Set 2: DX11, Ultra Details Defaults (8x AA, 16x AF) |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
HandBrake CLI | Version 0.95: "Big Buck Bunny" (720x480, 23.972 FPS) 5 Minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English, to Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile) |
MainConcept Reference | Version: 2.2.0.5440: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
Productivity | |
Adobe Photoshop CS5 | Version 12.1 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
WinZip | Version 15.5 Pro: THG-Workload (464 MB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
WinRAR | Version 4.1: THG-Workload (464 MB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
7-Zip | Version 9.22: THG-Workload (464 MB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
SiSoftware Sandra 2011 | Version 2011.10.17.80, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
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Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
57 Comments
Comment from the forums
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EzioAs Nice article.Reply
Where is the MSI Big Bang Xpower II? That's known to be a great board for overclocking as well. -
schn1tt3r I'd love to see a comparison like this between the Rampage IV Extreme and the Rampage IV Formula. The price difference is over $100 and I don't see WHY. 8 RAM slots is something I would never fill up so the Formula and its 4 slots seems perfect to me.Reply -
hellfire24 i would take rampage iv formula.it's cheaper and provides similar features.who needs 4-way sli?Reply -
Crashman WR2Kind of a lukewarm recommendation. Just 'Tom's Hardware Approved award'Only because there aren't many readers who can get $50 of value out of its specific feature set, compared to the WS.Reply -
halcyon I wish I hadn't seen this. I really do. I have no excuse to get an X79 based system. I don't. I..do...not. I want. ...but I can't. Food. Food is important.Reply -
master9716 You guys really need to start Testing @ 5760x1080 !!! , Monitors go for really cheap on craiglist now from wholesellers , you can buy 3 24" leds for like 300 bucks so a lot of people that I know have been runing 3 monitor setups for a while.Reply -
jaquith Thanks Thomas for another enlightening Article! :)Reply
Just knowing the ASUS and EVGA from past history (LGA 1366) which may or may not play any role here, ASUS tends to (lets call it adjust) the CPU vCore and VTT/VCCSA higher than advertised vs EVGA which probably explains* the problems with both the high frequency RAM and CPU OC's.
The disturbing thing to 'me' was the regulator voltages. I know the EVGA uses 12+2 vs ASUS's 8+3+(2+2) PWM and it's all digital controlled on ASUS, (*)but IDK if the EVGA is digitally controlled which might explain the inefficiency and OC.
The EVGA has always been a very 'manual' MOBO, so in that regard I'm not surprised you had to dive into the BIOS. I have no doubts if you raised the EVGA's voltages vs a cloned ASUS optimized OC set that you'd have no problems obtaining the SAME 4.8GHz OC. Both boards offer voltage check points and I'd be very interesting how they compared.
Just the other day I updated my ASUS BIOS and right-off I noticed an increased vCore increase by +0.01v~+0.015v and as part of the documented (improvements) was 'Improved Stability' ; yeah sure if you raise the vCore or VTT/VCCSA, phase, etc profiles... Now I have to redo my validations.
The most important testing here, to me, is the Baseline Comparison which tells me EVGA has some work to do ASAP, and hopefully a BIOS update can close the gaps. Further, personally I won't buy or recommend any X79 MOBO unless it offers an 8xDIMM option. In the forum it's been very clear which X79's I recommend since day one, and the ASUS R4E has always been on top on my list if you can afford it! ;) -
spookyman Considering Ivy Bridge is around the corner. Would it be beneficial in buying a Sandy Bridge-E board?Reply