Introduction

So far Intel's Core i7 platform has managed to acquire quite a few participants. In fact, all of the major players out there have X58 based boards out now and even more coming out in droves. It seems that while high in price, X58 and Core i7 has a following for being the fastest in desktop computing.

One of the biggest things, as stated, with Core i7 is the price. The CPU is expensive and the platform boards are not really that cheap either; however, ASUS is trying to remedy that while keeping up to their standards of high performance boards.

The Republic of Gamers or ROG based ASUS boards are what ASUS calls their cream of the crop boards; a lot of time and effort goes into them and so far all the boards we have tested under the ROG name have been impressive. However, none have been this small before; we are talking real small, MicroATX. The Rampage II Gene is the first MicroATX board to come from ASUS under its ROG seal of approval and with a price tag of 249.99 U.S. Dollars over at Newegg at the time of writing, this makes Core i7 a bit more affordable. But can this board really keep up with the big guns? - Let's move onward and find out!