Overall and Final Verdict

So now that I have taken a closer look at the Crossblade Ranger, its performance, and its software lets recap. First this is a good looking board, not that this is a big shocker, adding a little ROG styling never seems to go wrong. The red and black theme seems to be timeless and the new angular heatsinks look great as well. Asus really took a risk with this board, the FM2+ platform isn’t exactly a big enthusiast pleaser but in the end they put together a great package, great on board audio, a high quality NIC, and a whole list of other features that you just aren’t going to find on other FM2+ boards. There were no surprises with the software when it came to the UEFI and AI Suite 3. Where I did have fun was the new additions to the Asus software suite (well they aren’t completely new I did see them with the Impact) Keybot and SonicRadar. I have a feeling hat if Sonic Rader becomes popular there are going to be a lot of people upset that it is basically a cheat for FPS games. That said its still great to see that Asus aren’t sitting on their hands.

So what are the downsides to the board? Well with so many features, they pushed the pricepoint well above with the other FM2+ boards are selling for. Without question this is the most expensive board available for that socket, ironically it is cheaper than most of the X99 boards though lol. You can’t say you aren’t getting what you pay for though, this is a great board. To add even more into the mix, currently you can even get a copy of Sniper Elite III with it when you get it from some retailers. So is this a board I would recommend? Well if you are dead set on going FM2+ yes, this is without a doubt the best option out there. I would however make sure that FM2+ is the best option in your budget, especially when spending money on a premium motherboard.

fv4recommended

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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garfi3ld replied the topic: #36031 26 Dec 2014 18:25
I hope everyone had a great holiday. Before we get to the weekend check out our review of the Asus Crossblade Ranger, Asus's first ROG FM2+ board.

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