Filling the gap

Another occasion arised from the depths of the Internet. Very special board, first from the generation that started the division between high and low end enthusiast platforms. In other words this is the birth of the HEDT legacy. First socket 1366, X58 board from the 2008 – Republic of Gamers Rampage II Extreme. New and advanced socket, tripple channel DDR3 support, 3-way SLI compatible and passive cooling ready to be converted to a part of LC custom loop are just a few features.

Thanks to the piece of luck I`ve got the full box.

Just like many of the previous top RoG boards, this particular one also features external Hi-Fi sound card. Of course sound card is in it`s newest revision powered by ADI AD2000B 8 – channel High Definition Audio CODEC and EAX Advanced HD 4.0.

Also like other premium RoG boards Rampage II Extreme features some neat buttons and voltage measurement points.

But board does not work by itself. Motherboard so special required a very special CPU as well. The only possible choice was of course the very first Extreme Edition CPU from brand new Core i7 familly. The SLBCJ is 3.2 GHz 4C/8T Nahalem microarchitecture CPU called Core i7-965 Extreme Edition. It comes from the first 45nm Bloomfield subfamily.

It can boost on a single core up to 3467 MHz or to 3333 MHz on all four cores thanks to Intel Turbo Boost 1.0. But one other thing is also important and it is not a performance value. Comparing to modern Intel CPU`s, first generation PCB thickness is massive !

Finally my previously acquired RoG Rampage III board does not feel lonely 😉 Now looking for the Holy Grail, first edition Rampage Extreme.