ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME, Extended ATX X99 Motherboard for LGA 2011 Socket Type and DDR4 3300MHz Memory

Amazing motherboard... I came from using the older Rampage IV Extreme motherboards (legacy 2011 socket) and this board does ALMOST everything better. If you are familiar with rampage extreme boards... you already know there is too much to list here but I will touch on some of the major key features for this revision.This board passed POST and worked fine right out of the box for me; ive seen some POST & BSOD problems others had that were resolved with the latest BIOS update (no big deal). When you are on the cutting edge of technology this is to be expected sometimes.- More CPU socket pins then standard allegedly allow more stable overclocks by reducing voltage drop (makes sense on paper) - real world results?- X99 SSD Trim support; AWESOME FOR SSD RAID!!! 2 drive SSD RAID 0 literally = 100% read/write increase 1000 MB/s.+- DDR4 - Cool but I dont think the DDR3 speeds were much of a bottleneck yet... Quad channel memory has HUGE bandwidth.- 6 core + HT processors for around $300 now on this platform!!!!- Socket 2011 to 2011v3 conversion backplate (allows reuse of old waterblocks/coolers just like the IV board - saves you $75-$120 by allowing you to reuse your existing high end 2011 and 1366 cooling solution!!) I have been using the same water block since X58/1366! this alone has saved me money twice over now (about 240$ so far), keep it going ASUS!- Gets rid of the small fan in the southbridge cooler (that are always short lived and die anyway)- Similar component and plug layout and same great PCI socket spacing! Though the PCI-E EZ plug is now an inverted molex connector at the bottom of the board - I don't care for this but its not a huge deal either - make sure if you need it that you have enough clearance for the plug!!!- Reset on the fly to last known stable bios configurations with the push of a button!!! You don't start from scratch!- AWESOME ambient red lighting on the motherboard (Republic of Gamers lights up and pulses too!)- Way better setup/BIOS menu... So many options, tweaks, and capabilities here its incredible - too much to mention.- Bay mountable digital read out screen!!!!! Fan Controllers!- Even More SATA ports!- Insanely massive heatpipe coolers - there is hunks of metal on this board; it is heavy!- Enhanced Audio!- Built in AC Wireless standard NIC! (if you use a wireless network connection for a desktop - I don't; hard wire FTW!)ROG FTW!Like I said above... If you already have a high end 1366 or 2011 cooler be sure to deduct 100$+ from the cost of this board since you don't need to buy a new one for 2011v3!!!

Aesthetically, the board and kit are great. It is also feature-packed, which I'm sure contributes a lot to the cost.I just submitted an RMA for mine after the initial build, however. There are two BIOSes on the board. The extra is to allow you to roll back a bad flash, whatever. Neither of mine are operational.BIOS_1 won't even power on the screens. It turns on, everything spins up, lights up, etc. Screen stays in power-save mode and the board halts. It won't go into a boot menu, it won't go into config, it's a dead stick.BIOS_2 will turn on the screens. It shows the splash screen (but pressing DEL or F2 don't actually do anything). It progresses to a black screen with American Megatrends (bios company) at the top, but it stops there. Almost looks like a bad flash, or a bad rom maybe. In any case, that bios won't get to a boot menu or config screen either. So basically, after installing everything and finally powering up for the first time, I've got a dud.So I just put in my help ticket (11/2). It says they'll get back to me within 48 hours, which annoys me a bit considering the price I paid for this board. I will update this review as the saga unfolds. Hopefully they get back to me quickly and if the board needs an RMA it can happen quickly.UPDATE: Tech support got back to me and I finally got the BIOS flashback to work. This info doesn't appear to be in the manual, but is available here http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/usb_bios_flashback_guide/ if you need it (in case Amazon clips that, search for usb bios flashback).Now I have the updated BIOS loaded on both chips. Everything is running smoothly with only one exception (that I can't put on the MB necessarily). I have an Amazon Basics USB 3.0 hub (the 7-port) and when I connect that to the MB, and put my Logitech G700s receiver in the hub the mouse will work fine for a while and then begin to stutter. Reseating the receiver clears it (for a while), but like I said, it's 3.0 so it could be anything in the chain causing this, not necessarily the MB. Moving the hub to a USB 2 port seems to clear the issue.At this point, I'm updating the review to 5 stars. Once it was up and running it's been going strong. My 2666 ram is OC'd to 3000, and the proc is running at 4.2 (5820K). Overall, I'm satisfied and tech support met expectations.