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Overclocking, Heat & Noise, Conclusions
Overclocking:
Today's test system consists of the hardware listed below, and as with all good testing a clean install is used and the latest Windows Updates and manufacturer drivers are applied. The applications and games used in today's tests are the latest of what was available at the time of this analysis.
Unfortunately we don't have the assortment of video cards needed to explore the multi-GPU performance of this motherboard in detail. OCAU member youngpro has posted his thoughts on this motherboard's Lucid Hydra implementation here. Our benchmarks will focus on the CPU-based performance of this motherboard, so for this set of tests we utilise SuperPi mod 1.5 XS and wPrime version 2.03 at multiple frequency increments. Gigabyte's UD7 will be used as comparison due to chipset similarities they share.
Overall the results are quite similar, and due to the same Northbridge and Southbridge implementation there isn't much to stray from, as only so many physical optimisations are possible. Our final clock attainable was 4.2GHz stable enough for benchmarking, however an extra .040 voltage was required to maintain stability during testing. While that does not make it a bad board, it may just require some more tweaking for lower working voltages.
Noise, Temperatures and Conclusion:
With such a menacing heatsink design we thought there would be no need for any extra fans. Unfortunately ASUS' engineers have beefed things up by including a small fan, situated on top of the Northbridge.
While we can appreciate them being extra cautious, the noise of the fan is quite audible as the results will show below. As a reminder a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 is approximately 48 dB(A) during idle.
Now taking a look at the chipset temperatures. The first set of tests were run in the overclocked system configuration looping 3DMark Vantage. Please note, that when a full set of four or five graphics cards are utilised, expect higher Southbridge temperatures due to the Lucid controller.
We found the temperatures quite reasonable, so in an effort to reduce general system noise we decided to unplug the integrated fan. Thankfully the increase wasn't as dramatic as we might have expected, however these temperatures are in a open test bench within minimal airflow. In a modern correctly-ventilated case the internal air flow will drop temperatures significantly, providing a more compelling reason to just unplug the fan.
Such a feature rich motherboard does come at the cost of space. The E-ATX form factor may not be suitable for all cases, however it's a more common size than XL-ATX. For the size you have more PCI-Express slots than you make poke a stick at, all the features you could ever want in a motherboard (and may have missed), and while some of the ROG technologies and features may be more of a distraction when overclocking, it doesn't mean people won't use them. In reality, each feature of this motherboard could entertain a separate review, that's how much depth some of the functionality implemented by ASUS' engineers has.
"A meal fit for a king" would be what I'd describe this motherboard if it were food. ASUS weren't joking that motherboards that come under the Republic of Gamers umbrella are the very best of what ASUS have to offer. With so many features and ASUS centric technologies there is something for everyone, no matter if you are just getting into the overclocking scene or a veteran overclocker, it's sure to make the most of any AMD processor, and keep you experimenting with different configurations and features for some time to come.
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