The flagship of this new family is the Rampage VI Extreme, which balances power and design to elevate showcase PCs. It’s made specifically for machines with custom liquid cooling and carefully bent tubing. Along with all of the usual fan and pump headers, we added dual flow headers that let you monitor the coolant coursing through your loop. There’s also a special connector that lets water blocks designed for the Extreme provide flow, temperature, and leakage data.

Almost every aspect of the Rampage VI Extreme has been enhanced to give you more. The usual Intel Gigabit Ethernet controller is bolstered by an onboard 10G chip capable of increasing networking throughput by an order of magnitude. We’ve also upgraded the Wi-Fi to the latest 802.11ad standard, increasing wireless bandwidth up to 4.6Gbps.

To help avoid unsightly wiring, three M.2 SSDs can be added to the board without using the VROC card. One slots under the Extreme’s outer skin, while the other two ride our DIMM.2 module next to the memory slots. A U.2 connector is also included for compatibility with enterprise-grade PCIe SSDs. The onboard Thunderbolt header lets you extend high-speed connectivity to external devices with our optional add-in card.

A reinforcing backplate helps the Rampage VI Extreme support heavily loaded rigs. The metal bracing also includes a separate GPU Holder that shoulders the weight of sagging graphics cards. The low-profile bracket leaves enough clearance for SLI bridges, and it’s strong enough to handle the beefiest cards.

New for X299, the Rampage VI Extreme integrates a LiveDash OLED screen that lets you monitor system temperatures, frequencies, and fan speeds right on the board. The dashboard also displays custom messages and graphics to add a little extra flair to your build. It’s complemented by enough onboard LEDs and strip headers to put on a show.

Even the audio goes the extra mile. Backlit audio jacks save you from fumbling around in the dark, and they’re set into an integrated I/O shield that simplifies motherboard installation. Our Sonic Studio III software completes the package with new VR functionality that extends its HRTF effects to headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Simply put, no other motherboard matches what the Rampage VI Extreme can do.