ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces Crossblade Ranger

[WYP]

ROG's first AMD FM2+ motherboard is equipped with core game-boosting features including Intel Gigabit Ethernet, GameFirst III, LANGuard and many more.

Read more about the ROG FM2+ Crossblade Ranger here

I know I have reported on this earlier in the year guys, but full specs are now here etc. The 2666MHz ram speeds could be interesting, would be great to see numbers on this, but I'm doubtful many will try it.

 

[Wraith]

What what what.... eye eye fishy pie! Asus?, ROG?, Motherboard?, FM2+?... has the world gone mad, have I just awoken from a very deep sleep. I'm at a loss for words really, I never thought I'd see team red get some ROG attention, I need to see numbers now and settings and maybe some booby.

 

[MadShadow]

What what what.... eye eye fishy pie! Asus?, ROG?, Motherboard?, FM2+?... has the world gone mad, have I just awoken from a very deep sleep. I'm at a loss for words really, I never thought I'd see team red get some ROG attention, I need to see numbers now and settings and maybe some booby.

Asus wants the moneys

 

[Feronix]

Asus wants the moneys

I read 'monkeys' at first.
Asus wants the monkeys.

Anyway, I don't really see the point in expensive FM2 gaming boards tbh. In my opinion, there are two reasons for going FM2:
- You are on a tight budget and want a gaming rig, so you pick up an Athlon (like the 750/760k). You then pair it up with a low-end to mid-range GPU.
- You want an APU build, which are usually used for HTPCs but also as very, very low budget 'gaming' machines, with the option of adding a very low-end GPU in later for CrossfireX.

In the first case, if you're on a tight budget, why would you spend more on a motherboard than on the CPU? And with a CPU like that you really don't want to be running any type of SLI/CrossfireX set up either. You'd be better off putting that money towards an 8320/i5 with low-end board or put it towards a better GPU.

In case of the second scenario; ATX boards aren't exactly great for HTPC builds. An APU + dedicated GPU is still weak for serious gaming and there is no reason at all to buy an APU when you're getting a proper video card anyway.

Can anyone please enlighten me with a scenario in which the purchase of an FM2 gaming board would be a good idea (serious question)?

 

[MadShadow]

I read 'monkeys' at first.
Asus wants the monkeys.

Im cool with that. It'd probably be good advertisment.

 

[RamboOC]

FM2+ and republic of gamers expensive motherboard dont go well togeather

 

[Thelosouvlakia]

Everyone read monkeys apparently (me too )
A friend pointed out the naming sceme that goes on AMD sockets
AM3+ CROSShair
FM2+ CROSSblade
If ASUS was to make a cinematic about AMD products they would name it "The CROSSing"

Anyway, let's see if this motherboard can achieve some gobsmacking OC on that new Athlon CPU that's coming out soon

 

[RizeAllard]

I think FM2+ ROG motherboard is just an answer to Gigabyte's G1 Sniper A88X and MSI's Gaming A88 boards. They want to have a copetitor in this segment too...

I think these boards are really good for those who just want to play online games. These are supplied with better integrated audio, and enhanced networking sollutions like Killer 2100 or 2200 controllers.

For those who want to build a graphics monster gamingrig they will go on 1050 or 2011 boards or maybe AM3+.

 

[SeekaX]

Can anyone please enlighten me with a scenario in which the purchase of an FM2 gaming board would be a good idea (serious question)?

So little kids can feel like they have sick rigs. IT SAYS GAMING M8, IT MUST BE THE BEST. I LOVE MINECRAFT WHOOOOOOOO.

 

[WYP]

Can anyone please enlighten me with a scenario in which the purchase of an FM2 gaming board would be a good idea (serious question)?

Budget users who want to have a high class looking product. I can see people buying this and overclocking the balls of a Athlon 860K. Looks just as great as a higher end ROG with a 4790K, at a fraction of the cost.

Not everybody can afford a i5 K-series processor or higher.

 

[Feronix]

Budget users who want to have a high class looking product. I can see people buying this and overclocking the balls of a Athlon 860K. Looks just as great as a higher end ROG with a 4790K, at a fraction of the cost.

Not everybody can afford a i5 K-series processor or higher.

I understand, but here's the thing;

The Gigabyte and MSI FM2 Gaming boards have an average price tag of €100, plus the cost of the 760k, that would be €170 total.

For that price, you can literally buy:
An FX 8320 (€120) + MSI 760GA-P43 (€50).

Or for a mere €10 more:
And i5 4440 (€150) + any of the cheap Asrock/MSI boards that cost around €30-35. Granted you won't have the gaming gimmicks but you do get a lot more performance.


Guess some people prefer looks/bragging rights over performance, even in the budget segment?

 

[WYP]

I understand, but here's the thing;

The Gigabyte and MSI FM2 Gaming boards have an average price tag of €100, plus the cost of the 760k, that would be €170 total.

For that price, you can literally buy:
An FX 8320 (€120) + MSI 760GA-P43 (€50).

Or for a mere €10 more:
And i5 4440 (€150) + any of the cheap Asrock/MSI boards that cost around €30-35. Granted you won't have the gaming gimmicks but you do get a lot more performance.


Guess some people prefer looks/bragging rights over performance, even in the budget segment?

See the problem is that both your solutions can't really overclock, and the MSI 760GA is ancient, does that chipset even have SATA 3?

Budget minded overclocker who likes his rig to look higher end.

 

[Feronix]

See the problem is that both your solutions can't really overclock, and the MSI 760GA is ancient, does that chipset even have SATA 3?

Budget minded overclocker who likes his rig to look higher end.

Hehe tbf, I don't know too much about the AMD platform so I just picked a random €50 board. Plenty other options to choose from though.

Seems like that's a very small market though? But apparently big enough for Asus, Gigabyte and MSI to release boards for these users.

 

[Wraith]

I don't see what everyones problem is, Yeah it's an FM2+ ROG board, you stick a 6800K or 7850K in also add in a 750Ti, 770 or 280x or 290 and you have a pretty good solid start for a gaming rig.. Who said APU's weren't for gaming anyway? I like this board for it's Audio chipset and quality Ethernet. I think people pulling this down are being a touch defeatist, and maybe just a smidge Intel elitist "Explore the possibilities"

 

[WYP]

Hehe tbf, I don't know too much about the AMD platform so I just picked a random €50 board. Plenty other options to choose from though.

Seems like that's a very small market though? But apparently big enough for Asus, Gigabyte and MSI to release boards for these users.

Yeah TBH is I was even making a rig with a Athlon 860K, when it is released, I would probably go for the cheapest X88 chipset board with a decent looking VRM cooler on it.

I wish the site could get some testing done on the Athlon-K or ony overclocked Quad core APU with a Dedicated GPU to see how well they can do in gaming!

This Gigabyte one at £56 seems decent enough

Edit, Wraithguard is write, there is also the good audio and Ethernet to think about too.

 

[Feronix]

I don't see what everyones problem is, Yeah it's an FM2+ ROG board, you stick a 6800K or 7850K in also add in a 750Ti, 770 or 280x or 290 and you have a pretty good solid start for a gaming rig.. Who said APU's weren't for gaming anyway? I like this board for it's Audio chipset and quality Ethernet. I think people pulling this down are being a touch defeatist, and maybe just a smidge Intel elitist "Explore the possibilities"

Yes, but if you're already getting a 750 Ti anyway, why not just go with the cheaper Athlon CPU, which is essentially the same as the APU, but without the graphics bit. I'd reckon this is an important factor, especially within the budget segment. Why pay for a semi-decent graphics chip in a processor if you're not going to use it at all?

You're right about the audio and ethernet thing. Well, for me personally the ethernet wouldn't matter at all as long you're using a decent cable but I guess the audio part pulls some sales. If you really wanted good on-board audio though, you could easily buy a DGX for the easy €25 that you can save by not buying a gaming board.

I'm not saying that FM2 gaming boards are a bad purchase, I'm just pointing out that there are many different configurations that might be a better option when you're looking for something specific such as the audio, raw CPU power or actual gaming performance. They definitely offer a complete package, but imo it's just that this package is overkill for the hardware that it was designed for.

I'm not being elitist at all tbh. No idea why you'd say that. I love to use the FM2 and Ahtlon combinations in client budget builds and show them what awesome gaming performance they can get from a €350 PC and I even recommended another option that was also on an AMD platform, but much quicker (albeit without overclocking).

Yeah TBH is I was even making a rig with a Athlon 860K, when it is released, I would probably go for the cheapest X88 chipset board with a decent looking VRM cooler on it.

I wish the site could get some testing done on the Athlon-K or ony overclocked Quad core APU with a Dedicated GPU to see how well they can do in gaming!

This MSI one at £56 seems decent enough

Edit, Wraithguard is write, there is also the good audio and Ethernet to think about too.

Austin has a video on the 750k vs the 4670k with different segment video cards (sorry Tom, but you have no similar content so I'll just post his video if you don't mind).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIT9uLDjZcg

That link goes to a Gigabyte board btw

 

[Wraith]

Don't get me wrong I was just a little vex'd at some of the comments, it's like saying "you can't have these running shoes, you're not Usain Bolt".
I game a lot and my system only has a FX-4100 and a Budget motherboard but it doesn't stop me. Ok the 750Ti was a bit low but my statement still stands, you put a mid to high end card in the mix and you have a decent quality gaming system that is still under the budget of a equal performing Intel machine.

 

[SeekaX]

Don't get me wrong I was just a little vex'd at some of the comments, it's like saying "you can't have these running shoes, you're not Usain Bolt".
I game a lot and my system only has a FX-4100 and a Budget motherboard but it doesn't stop me. Ok the 750Ti was a bit low but my statement still stands, you put a mid to high end card in the mix and you have a decent quality gaming system that is still under the budget of a equal performing Intel machine.

Mate, the FX4100 was the worst piece of shit i've ever used in a rig. It can't even keep up with an i3. The 750ti is a far better product than the FX4100.
An FX4100 + GTX770 performs no better than an FX-4100 + HD6870.

 

[barnsley]

This is going to be good for OCing the balls off the athlons and going for world records. ROG isn't an exclusive brand as such so I personally don't see the issue.
everyone seems to want atleast one thing ROG branded in their rig so let them.

 

[RizeAllard]

As I had many experience with FM2+ rigs i had to say sometimes its better to have an FM2+ config with an APU insted of having an i5-4440 with a shitty motherboard. I know the raw performance of an intel cpu is mutch better, and the sinthetic benchmarks show that they are well ahead of AMD APU-s but, when you start using an APU in real life condition (gaming, multimedia, and some office sort of things). They can easyli deal with it. I think theres not as many people around out there who are really need that raw performance in computing as many buy them just they can afford it.

:huh:

And those cheap mobos looks realy ugly and they are lack of any extras....