Asus rog rampage vi extreme encore review in Spanish (analysis)

The new Intel Cascade Lake-X (CL-X) have already seen the light, and with them the plate manufacturers have also got down to work and we have already found practically all the proposals for this new refreshment of the giant's enthusiastic platform blue. Today we bring you nothing less than the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, the highest performance board that the brand has released for the 10th generation that aims to fight the new Threadripper 3000 in principle.

Asus has taken the opportunity to implement the instruction code number in the X299 chipset for these CPUs, but we have many new features. First, 10 Gbps network connectivity and Wi-Fi 6, improved RAM capacity up to 256GB at 4266 MHz and 4 M.2 thanks to the Asus ROG DIMM.2. All this together with an incredible aesthetic. Ready to see the most expensive Asus board for Intel? Let's go there.

But first, we must thank Asus for trusting us in giving us this plate to be able to do our analysis.

Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore technical features

Unboxing of the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore

We will see in the design section that this Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore is very very similar to the ROG Zenith version for AMD, and this starts from the same presentation. We have a hard cardboard box with a box- type opening that is completely painted in the brand's colors and provides a lot of information about the VRM, Live Dash and the various heatsinks and connections that have been implemented.

We open this box and find the plate tucked into a black cardboard mold and protected at the top by a hard plastic lid. In this case, there is no antistatic bag, although we do have a second floor divided into several sections for the large number of elements that accompany it.

These elements will be the following:

• ROG DIMM.2 card with heatsink Various ROG stickers 6 SATA 6 Gbps cables M.2 mounting screws Antenna for Wi-Fi Q-connector 2x extension cables for RGB and A-RGB strips 3x temperature thermistors USB with drivers and holder USB 3.2 Gen1 - 2.0 adapter card fan expansion Power cord, NODE and screws for installation Rubber pad Screwdriver

The bundle is very similar to the one we saw or will see in the Zenith review, having practically the same cables and accessories as the ROG DIMM.2 and the fan controller with 6 outlets.

Design and Features

Well, we started fully describing the design of this Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore as well as the details to consider. And as always the first thing will be to know that the format of this board is between ATX and E-ATX, since its measurements are 305 mm high and 277 mm wide, not reaching the maximum extension. However, we must be aware of the size that supports the chassis that we have.

The motherboard is practically a carbon copy of the Zenith if it were not for the chrome plate that we have on top of the chipset. As we know, the Intel X299 doesn't heat up as much as AMD's, so it wasn't necessary to put any kind of fan on it. This time, Intel has separated this heatsink into two parts, so that we can remove the part that covers the M.2 if we need to remove the rest. Below them are the corresponding thermal pads to cool the installed SSD drives. In this area we also have abundant RGB AURA Sync lighting.

We go to the top of the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, where we find a huge heatsink installed above the VRM. At the level that the plates are advancing, soon it will be a constant to have heatsinks with fans as this is the case, with two of them being axial. And this VRM is made up of 16 high-quality power supply phases for the high energy consumption of these CPUs, which also support overclocking.

Using a copper heat pipe, the heatsink extends into the EMI shield placed in a thick block on the rear port panel. The most relevant thing we have in this area is the Live Dash OLED screen that is responsible for monitoring the status and performance of the CPU and other hardware in real time. In addition, this will serve as a Debug Led monitor for BIOS status messages. Likewise, we have another AURA lighting area under the chrome plate that we see above. The aluminum cover continues downwards to cover the entire sound zone, which also includes its corresponding lighting.

On the back, we have a backplate that covers most of the plate, made of aluminum of considerable thickness and painted in matt black. In it, specifically in the right area, an LED strip has been installed that will illuminate the entire rear area, of course compatible with AURA Sync.

As for details, we have the ROG DIMM.2 slot located next to the right memory bank. Likewise, all the interaction buttons for the board are located in the lower area and the truth is that we have a total of 5 buttons and 3 switches that will manage the boot of the board and the BIOS, and activate different modes of boot like slow mode, pause or RSVD. It would have been a great detail to have the side connectors all at 90 ^or like the SATA, so as to take up less space and not bend the cables.

VRM and power phases

We are going to develop a little more everything regarding the power system of the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, which in this model has used the same configuration in the version for AMD. A total of 16 phases will handle the V_core, while two phases on each side of the DIMMs will handle the SoC.

These phases can be considered real, since there is no signal doubler between the digital PWM controller and the MOSFETRS, so that latency in the responses that these devices introduce in the transient is completely eliminated. However, the DIGI + EPU used generates 8 independent signals, which in turn are divided into two to control the phases in pairs. We also saw this solution on the AMD X570 boards a while ago and it gave very good results.

The first power stage features Infineon TDA21472 three-component MOSFETS in the form of DC-DC converters, which have an individual capacity of 70A. In the second phase of throttling , 45A alloy core chokes have been installed and next to these, solid 10K Japanese capacitors for I / O filtering. In addition, a fourth stage has been installed to optimize the transient response in the form of 8 SP capacitors, thus improving performance by 13.8% compared to Rampage VI Omega.

But we still have the important detail of the power supply, which in this case is quite forceful. First off, we have two 8-pin CPU connectors in the upper right corner, these are accompanied by a third 6-pin PCI connector to supply power to the PCI slots and ROG DIMM.2 independently. The set is completed with a MOLEX connector, if you have read correctly, located in the lower area also to support the power supply of the expansion slots.

Socket, Chipset and RAM

After seeing this sample of power in the food, we will continue to see the components of the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore that are going to make use of it. In addition, we have a platform refreshment, so it will be necessary to see what are the novelties that they bring us.

Starting with the socket, luckily we have no change regarding its configuration, being the traditional LGA 2066 implemented from the Skylake-X architecture. Let's keep in mind that these 10th generation Intel processors are yet another iteration with revised 14nm transistors optimized for the new Cascade Lake-X or CL-X architecture. Its objective is none other than to compete with the Threadripper 3000, and it will not be precisely in gross power (a priori), although its PCIe lanes increases to 48. But they will compete in price, with an impressive drop in prices compared to the very expensive Kaby Lake-R, which also gave a spectacular performance.

The RAM capacity has also been improved, already fully supporting 256 GB of DDR4 memory thanks to the 8 288-pin DIMM slots with support for Quad Channel configurations. In addition, the compatibility with XMP profiles causes the supported frequencies to increase to 4266 MHz for both the Intel Core i9 10000 X-Series and the Intel Core 9000 and 7000 X-Series.

Same chipset, greater compatibility

And speaking of compatibility and chipset, the term X299X as these boards are called could lead us to the error that we are releasing a chipset, but nothing is further from reality.

With the launch of the Intel CL-Xs, we certainly have a refresh of technology and with this it has become necessary to optimize the microcode of the chipset to make it compatible with the new i9-10000. The problem that arose with the existing boards until now is that yes, an update of the code and the BIOS could be carried out, but the lack of space for the microcode of all the existing technologies can make Kaby Lake-R unusable according to what plates. This is somewhat similar to what has happened with the AMD B450 for the Ryzen 3000.

The solution adopted by most manufacturers has been to expand this space for instructions on the chipset and thus rename them X299X. In this way we have boards optimized for the CL-X architecture and also compatible with Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X. Be careful, this does not mean that these boards are mandatory to mount these new processors, but they are certainly optimized for them. In any case, we will have to take a look at the support list of the previous boards to verify if our board (the one you have) is compatible with these new CPUs.

This chipset continues to have a total of 24 PCIe lines in version 3.0 and a link to the CPU at 8 GB / s via DMI 3.0 interface, so it is not necessary to detail its operation for the sole purpose of the lane distribution that Asus has made with its expansion slots.

Storage and PCIe slots

Let us now see what are and how the storage capacity expansion slots of this Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore board are distributed. Being a top of the range, Asus has used its well-known ROG DIMM.2 solution to expand the capacity of M.2 slots thanks to a DIMM slot connected directly to the CPU.

But let's start with the expansion slots first, since in this case we have 3 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and one PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. The three largest ones feature steel reinforcement to support heavy graphics cards. And we also have support for AMD CrossFireX 3-way and Nvidia Quad GPU SLI 3-way.

Let's see how these slots work and where they connect:

• The three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots will be directly connected to the CPU. But the PCIe_3 slot shares bus with one of the ROG DIMM.2 M.2 (DIMM_2) The PCIe 3.0 x4 slot is connected to the chipset and shares bus with the second M.2 slot on the board (M.2_2) when we install a 48 lane CPU (i9-10000 case) will work at x16 / x16 / x8, x16 / x16 / x4 or x16 / x8 / x8. When we install a 44 lane CPU (case of the i9-9000) they will work at x16 / x16 / x8, x16 / x16 / x4 or x16 / x8 / x8. And when we install a 28-lane CPU (case of the i9-7800) they will work at x16 / x16 / x4, x16 / x8 / x4.

We can see then that there are quite a few factors to take into account regarding the use of the maximum capacity of the expansion slots. The fact that it has a 48-lane CPU means that extensive connectivity requires regular bus sharing. This for example does not happen so much in the Threadripper with its 56 lanes.

We now continue with the storage of which we also have a lot of options. In total, there are 4 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots available, of which only one of them, the M.2_1, will also be compatible with SATA, although this is not very important. Two of them are installed directly on the board, between the PCIe slots, while the other two are available with the ROG DIMM.2 extension module. To this we add the 8 SATA III ports at 6 Gbps that will be connected to the chipset independently.

Let's see how their lanes and limitations are distributed

• The 1st M.2 PCIe x4 slot (M.2_1) is the one located at the bottom of the board. It supports sizes 2242, 2260 and 2280, and is connected to the chipset without sharing a bus with anyone. The 2nd M.2 PCIe x4 slot (M.2_2) is the one located at the top. It supports sizes 2242, 2260 and 2280, and is connected to the chipset, although it shares a bus with the PCIe x4 slot. If one works, the other will be disabled. The remaining two slots belong to the ROG DIMM.2 supporting sizes up to 22110 and PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Of these, DIMM.2_2 shares 4 lanes with the third PCIe x16 slot.

In this way we round off both plate expansion functions with their corresponding limitations. In all cases, both M.2 and SATA will have support for Intel Rapid Storage technology and RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations. It also offers compatibility with Intel Optane Memory.

Wi-Fi and 10 Gbps network connectivity

In this new generation of boards, Asus has taken advantage to improve the network connections of its Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, maintaining the same level when it comes to sound.

Precisely we will start with the sound, which will be generated using an Asus SupremeFX S1220A codec derived from the Realtek reference chip. This provides us with a maximum sensitivity at the input of 113 dB SNR and up to 120 dB SNR at the output, with a capacity of 8 channels of high definition audio. In this way we have support for 32-bit audio playback at 192 kHz. In addition, an ESS SABER9018Q2C DAC has been installed that supports professional quality headphones up to 600Ω. This does not prevent us from having support for DTS Sound Bound, an advanced three-dimensional sound system, and manageability with Sonic Studio III and Sonic Radar III.

And as a main course we have triple connectivity for the network. The most powerful wired link amounts to 10 Gbps thanks to an Aquantia AQC-107 chip directly soldered on board. The second link provides a 1000 Mbps bandwidth with the typical Intel I219V chip. Finally, for wireless connectivity, the Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 chip has been installed, with a bandwidth of 2.4 Gbps at 5 GHz and 733 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 5.0. All these elements will be connected to the chipset consuming about 3 PCIe lanes.

I / O ports and internal connections

We finish this design and description phase of this Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore with the internal and external ports with a clear absence, Thunderbolt connectivity.

Starting with the rear I / O panel we have:

• BIOS button FlashBack Clear CMOS button2x Antenna outputs 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (1 Type-A + 1 Type-C) 8x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A1x USB 2.02x RJ-45 Optical connector S / PDIF 5x Jack 3.5 backlit audio mm

Despite the fact that we are on a platform that supports Thunderbolt 3, we see that Asus has opted for a more extensive “normal” USB connectivity with the presence of a Type-C port that doubles its width of walk to 20 Gbps. This will be managed through an ASMedia chip as it usually is in these cases.

As internal connectivity we find:

• 4x LED strip headers (2 ARGB and 2 RGB) 2x USB 3.2 Gen22x USB 3.2 Gen1 (up to 4 USB ports) 1x USB 2.0 (up to 2 ports) Front audio header Key connector VROC7x headers for fans or water pumps 10x measuring points Voltage Temperature Thermistor Connector Asus NODE Connector

Finally we have the presence of the VROC connector on this motherboard. VROC stands for Virtual RAID on CPU, and it is an Intel proprietary solution to directly connect NVMe SSDs by creating RAID arrays quickly. In this way we will not have to use the typical RAID or HBA host bus adapter. In principle, this connector is not available in a purchase bundle, and we will have to purchase it independently.

In this case, the Asus NODE connector will be busy if we wish with the fan expansion card that is included in the bundle. This card is FanXpert 4 compatible, and has 6 extra 4-pin connectors for fans and PWM control. The lighting capacity is also not lacking, with 3 included 4-pin headers (those in white) In addition, it includes three temperature sensors that are attached to the 4 arranged on the board. The board can easily be installed in any chassis with 2.5-inch SSD space.

testing bench

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i9-10980XE
Base plate:	Asus ROG Zenith II Extreme
Memory:	32 GB G-Skill Royal X @ 3200 MHz
Heatsink	Corsair H100i V2
HDD	Samsung 860 EVO
Graphic card	Nvidia RTX 2060 FE
Power supply	Corsair RM1000

As we can see we opted for a state-of-the-art test equipment. Of course we have assembled the Corsair H100 V2 liquid cooling system as in other cases, but for the overclocking test a more powerful system such as the Asus Riujin 360 has been necessary.

The chosen graphics card is the RTX 2060 in its reference version. We believe it is a good option since it is affordable for many mortals and is the one we use for all our tests. For 2020 we will choose to mount a higher graphic, to see if we get an RTX 2080 SUPER.

Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore BIOS

Well, it's time to tell you about the BIOS of this "refined motherboard". In general terms we always end up very happy with ASUS and this time it has been like that too.

The possibilities of this BIOS is great: design, options to overclock, monitor and regulate the voltages / temperatures at the click of a button or the prediction zone that they inserted in the Z platform seems great to us.

VRM temperature test and overclocking

It is time to talk about the feeding phase temperatures (VRM). As ASUS has used us on its motherboards, we have excellent temperatures . At no time does it exceed 50 ºC, what 's more, in the thermal images we can observe the temperatures reached with an i9-10980XE during 12 hours of stress. The fans above the heatsinks only start when a certain temperature is reached.

In the overclocking section we have exceptional performance. We have managed to raise the processor to 5 GHz with a voltage of 1.4v. We consider that this voltage is very high for this range of processors (although it holds it well), but since we do not have a top-range thermal solution (Liquid cooling with large area radiator: 280/360 mm) available, we have decided to establish as good 4.9 GHz to 1.3v (not completely tuned, since we are sure that we can lower the voltage a bit).

Final words and conclusion about Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore

The Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore is one of the best motherboards on the market we've tested. The manufacturer has opted for 16 direct phases (without benders) of the highest quality, very good components, an air cooling system that is the best on the market and great performance for overclocking.

Intel has decided to launch a new rehash to the market but with a more attractive price for the release of new AMD Threadripper (Coincidentally both are released at the same time). And is that mounting a good motherboard is key to having excellent performance, with the Extreme Encore we have everything we need. Since we have managed to establish an overclock of 4, 900 MHz with a voltage of 1.30v. We boost processor performance by up to 34% more power.

At the connectivity level, the motherboard has four PCI Express 3.0 connections, eight SATA connections, an improved sound card, two wireless connections (10 Gigabit + Gigabit) and a Wifi 6 wireless connection with Intel AX200 + Bluetooth 5.0 chipset.

We have already seen the motherboard listed for an amount of 844 euros. We believe that it is a price within the reach of very few, but it is the perfect motherboard for this generation of processors. Has it all! What do you think about the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore ?

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN	- PRICE WITHIN REACH OF VERY FEW
+ MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE
+ OVERCLOCK TO THE RANGE TOP PROCESSOR: I9-10980XE
+ 10 GIGABIT AND WIFI 6 CONNECTIVITY
+ IMPROVED SOUND AND PCI EXPRESS CONNECTIONS

The Professional Review team awards him the platinum medal:

Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore

COMPONENTS - 95%

REFRIGERATION - 90%

BIOS - 85%

EXTRAS - 95%

PRICE - 95%

92%