CONCLUSION
As a motherboard, the ASUS ROG Rampage IV Black Edition presents the pinnacle of what an aging chipset can be made into when modern design is poured into it. That said, even with all of ASUS’ redesign and modernization there still stands many considerations for acquiring this setup. For now, let’s break down the scores:
Performance. The Intel Core i7-4960X is largely just a forced hand for Intel to churn out an HEDT product before it steps into a smaller fabrication. The improvement is largely nothing special but even though we didn’t show data for it, from experience we can tell that power consumption is one of the major improvements in this release. The ASUS RAMPAGE IV Black Edition leverages the performance of the processor nicely showing good improvements when overclocked.
Build Quality. The R4BE just screams quality top to bottom. Looking around the motherboard, it is simply hard to find any fault to it. If there is a perfect motherboard, this is simply the closest anything can come to it… regardless of the aging chipset.
Functionality. The applications for such a system like the IVB-E is just immense especially for workstations and multimedia pros. Extreme gamers and hardcore overclockers will also appreciate the bevy of features this board packs.\
Bundle. The rich assortment of goodies included in the board is just great and with the inclusion of the Assasin’s Creed Black Flag, a 60USD value, it just adds a great deal of value to the already rich package.
Price. Here is where it gets ugly for a lot of people. At $500, this is simply one of the most expensive motheboards on the planet. For an aging chipset, that is quite unacceptable for most people. For what you get, its actually pretty reasonable although we do wish it can go lower. The free game is a nice touch but they can probably do away with both the OC Panel and the game and shed the board to around 350USD.
With that last part said, who in their right mind will buy a chipset on life-support for the price of what can only be an entire system? Simple, really. People who have already invested in an i7-3960X and quad-GPUs will easily find solace that they can breath new life into their systems, especially if they are packing mid-tier X79 boards from the first wave of releases.
As for adopters of the i7-4960X, well if you’ve already spent that money on a processor you might as well cave in and invest in the best you can get. If you are purely after performance, then you may have made a mistake as we really don’t see the 8-15% improvement of the IVB-E over SB-E as a reason to upgrade.
In closing, the ASUS ROG Rampage IV Black Edition is the full re-imagination of the X79 board that it the Extreme should’ve been before. Clad in all of the best that ASUS can bring, perfection never became so clear on a motherboard. Even so, the many nuances that its very heart (processor) brings puts a large dent in its shining glory and we look forward to ASUS future renditions of this model in future generations.
ASUS backs the Rampage IV Black Edition with a 3-year warranty. We award the Rampage IV Black Edition our B2G Performance Award and B2G Silver Award.