So last week I took a look at Asus’s AM3+ board, today I have the chance to take a look at a more recent AMD based ROG board called the Crossblade Ranger. Asus launched the Crossblade Ranger not to long ago and as you can tell from the lack of any numbers in the name this is their first Republic of Gamers FM2+ board. Why did they take so long to bring one out? Frankly the FM2+ platform was always designed to be more of a mainstream platform but that didn’t stop some people from using them for gaming. Asus noticed there was interest in a gaming focused board and here we are. Today I’m going to dive into the Crossblade Ranger and see what kind of features Asus packed in then after that I will get it on the testbench and make sure it performs like it should as well.
Product Name: Asus Crossblade Ranger
Review Sample Provided by: Asus
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Specifications |
|
CPU |
AMD Socket FM2+ Athlon™/A- Series Processors Supports CPU up to 4 cores Supports AMD® Turbo Core 3.0 Technology |
Chipset |
AMD A88X (Bolton D4) |
Memory |
4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR3 2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2250(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133/1866*/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory * Dual Channel Memory Architecture Support AMD Memory Profile (AMP) memory |
Graphic |
Integrated AMD Radeon™ R/HD8000/HD7000 Series Graphics in the A-Series APU Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI-D/RGB ports - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz*1 - Supports DVI-D with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz - Supports RGB with max. resolution 1920 x 1600 @ 60 Hz Maximum shared memory of 2048 MB AMD® Dual Graphics technology support |
Multi-GPU Support |
Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology |
Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (Single at x16, dual at x8/x8, red) *2 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode, black) 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 2 x PCI |
Storage |
AMD A88X FCH(Bolton D4) chipset : 8 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), , Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD |
LAN |
Intel® I211-AT, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) |
Audio |
ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking - SupremeFX Shielding Technology - ELNA® premium audio capacitors Audio Feature : - DTS Connect - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel - Sonic SoundStage - Sonic SenseAmp - Sonic Studio - Sonic Radar II |
USB Ports |
ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue) AMD A88X FCH(Bolton D4) chipset : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) AMD A88X FCH(Bolton D4) chipset : 8 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, , 6 at mid-board) |
ROG Exclusive Features |
Extreme Engine Digi+ III : - Full Digital CPU/DRAM Power - NexFET™ Power Block MOSFET - New Alloy Chokes - 10K Black Metallic Capacitors ROG Extreme OC kit : - Slow Mode - LN2 Mode ProbeIt KeyBot - CPU Level Up - XMP - Direct Key UEFI BIOS features : - GPU.DIMM Post - Tweakers' Paradise - ROG SSD Secure Erase - Graphic Card Information Preview ROG RAMDisk GameFirst III Extreme Tweaker USB BIOS Flashback |
Special Features |
ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5 : - The tuning key perfectly consolidates ASUS-exclusive DIGI+ Power Control, TPU, EPU, and Fan Xpert 3 optimize the digital power setting, system performance, power saving and whole system cooling configuration ASUS Exclusive Features : - MemOK! - AI Suite 3 - Ai Charger+ - USB Charger+ - USB 3.0 Boost - Disk Unlocker Interactive HomeCloud - Media Streamer ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - Stylish Fanless Design Heat-sink solution & MOS Heatsink - ASUS Fan Xpert 3 ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode - Push Notice ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-Shield - ASUS Q-Code - ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) - ASUS Q-Slot - ASUS Q-DIMM - ASUS Q-Connector |
Operating System Support |
Windows® 8.1 86x64 Windows® 8 86x64 Windows® 7 86x64 |
Back I/O Ports |
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x DVI-D 1 x D-Sub 1 x HDMI 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 3.0 (blue) 2 x USB 2.0 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s) |
Internal I/O Ports |
1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) 3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x TPM header 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin) 1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (3 x 4 -pin) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 1 x DRCT header(s) 1 x MemOK! button(s) 1 x Slow Mode switch(es) 7 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 1 x Power-on button(s) 1 x Reset button(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) 1 x LN2 Mode jumper(s) 1 x ROG extension (ROG_EXT) header(s) 1 x KeyBot Button 1 x Sonic SoundStage Button |
Accessories |
User's manual I/O Shield 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) 1 x ROG Door Hanger(s) 1 x ROG Mouse Mat |
BIOS |
64Mb UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.7, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI5.0a, Multi-Language BIOS |
Manageability |
WfM 2.0, DMI 2.7, WOL by PME, PXE |
Support Disc |
Drivers ROG GameFirst III ROG RAMDisk ROG CPU-Z Kaspersky® Anti-Virus DAEMON Tools Pro Standard ASUS WebStorage HomeCloud ASUS Utilities |
Operating System |
Windows® 8.1 32/64-bit Windows® 8 32/64-bit Windows® 7 32/64-bit |
Form Factor |
ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) |
Management Solution |
WfM 2.0, DMI 2.7, WOL by PME, PXE |