Jchick87 Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) Hey, I've been reading on this website, but never signed up, but now that I'm going to be building a PC, I have some questions. I want to go with a X58 board, and I really had my eyes on the Rampage II Extreme, but the price is too high. I was checking out the Micro version of it (Rampage II GENE), and was wondering what the downside to using a MicroATX board would be... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131371 I don't care about 3 PCI-E slots, as I'll only be using a single GPU, if anything, at most I'll be using dual SLI or Crossfire, but not 3. I was wondering if anyone has this board, and can shed some input on how you like it. It has a soundcard build into the board, unlike its bigger brother that comes with the external one. I was wondering, if I ever wanted to install my own sound card, could I put my GPU in the 2nd PCI-E slot, because a double sized card would block the PCI slot for the soundcard.. I would also be using this in a Mid/Full tower case, if that means anything... Thanks for the help Edited October 14, 2009 by Jchick87 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalPreist Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 i don't own that board but user "rourkchris" has it im sure. he may be able to answer any questions you have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E.A Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) i don't own that board but user "rourkchris" has it im sure. he may be able to answer any questions you have. = i agree , if you do not know that by the way WELCOME TO OCC............ Edited October 14, 2009 by N.E.A Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchrissypoox Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) I have the board, as I recall the reason to not use the second slot is because it runs at x8 automatically and is slightly farther from the cpu, which should cause a very light performance decrease. I'll run 3dmark06 later toady (by 10pm) in both slots and let you know the results. edit: pshh nvm, forgot I moved my under my desk, and so I'm too lazy to pull it out Edited October 14, 2009 by xchrissypoox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rourkchris Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 Yes you can use the 2nd PCI-E slot for your graphics card but I personally wouldn't. It's a good enthusiast overclocking motherboard. The only downside I've encountered is the spacing between the 2 PCI-E slots and of course not having a 3rd PCI-E slot. But you know that going in so can it really be considered a con? I find the onboard Supreme FX XFi audio to meet my needs but then I'm no audio expert. I haven't found really anything that I don't like about it. I can tell you some of the things that I really like about it: Q connector-makes it easy to connect the power, reset, HDD LED, Power LED to the case. Why every motherboard manufacturer hasn't gone to something similar is beyond me. EZ-Flash 2 Bios flashing. It makes flashing the BIOS simple and as worry free as I've ever used. Onboard Start, Reset, and clear CMOS buttons. You can use it on a bench or for early testing before mounting inside of your case. Just convenient. RAM latching mechanism. It's so simple I wish they had done this years ago. You can add or remove memory modules without the latching mechanism hitting the graphics card. You don't don't lose any functionality with this particular micro-atx board. It will handle 12GB of RAM, has room for large CPU coolers, and overclocks as good as a full size atx board. I don't think you lose much. Sure it's minus one PCI-E slot and has onboard sound(which I think is pretty good) instead of the actual sound card but you gain the ability to use smaller cases and have more desk space. I think the biggest plus to this board is it's price of $219.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131371 but you get a whole lot of performance per dollar spent. Personally I think it's a steal for an X58 motherboard. Geekspeak411 did an excellent OCC review here http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/as...ampage_ii_gene/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zertz Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 Beside the obvious limitations with expansion slots, it's an awesome board Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchrissypoox Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 I find the onboard Supreme FX XFi audio to meet my needs has room for large CPU coolers, and overclocks as good as a full size atx board. These things are very true, the sound is pretty nice, I have no audible noise on mine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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