Xpander extensive overview

[Brian@ASUS]

Xpander overview guide

This thread is an overview for you to get a better understanding on the technology behind the Xpander and how you can get the highest performance from your system. I have written this so that upcoming ROG enthusiasts and even the Pros can find some useful information.

So Everyone is wondering why the hell did ASUS make a daughter card to allow 4way SLI? Why didn't they just make it part of the Rampage III Extreme board since it already has spacing for 4 cards? Well this thread is to shine some light on those questions.

First, in order to allow 4 way SLI, Nvidia requires you to have TWO (2) NF200 chips!
So why not just add them on the Rampage III Extreme? Well, If you have two NF200 chips on your board and you are not running 3 or 4 way SLI, you actually get a decrease in performance. Up to 2% decrease in graphics performance! (proven by HardOCP - LINK HERE (http://hardocp.com/article/2009/01/06/nf200_true_3way_sli_preliminary_results)) It may not sound like much, but hey when you're paying for top notch components, you expect to get the best performance and you also trust that the manufacture will make a product in favor of the user's experience. Why charge a premium when you get less performance for your money...

So does that mean if i add an Xpander to my Rampage III Extreme for 4way SLI, it will be slower than other boards that already have 2 NF200 built in? I mean you would think so since it's built in! but the Rampage III Extreme actually performed 2% better in crossfireX with 5870 and 1.14% better in 4 WAY SLI with GTX480 compared to the UD9.

So why did we decide to go this route? Well, after doing some homework, only 1% of users world wide actually use 4 way SLI. Not only does the NF200 also requires more power and generates more heat, but it would add more $$$ to the cost of the board! The Rampage III Extreme is $380:cool: on newegg vs the UD9 is $600!!:mad:

So it didn't make sense to include a feature that did not benefit the 99% of enthusiasts out there. Why not make the board faster, more affordable, and more efficient, yet we still have the Xpander as an option for 4 way SLI!

Smart huh...

Below is what you get with the Xpander. The Daughter card incorporates 2 NF200 chips with a heatsink and fan to directly cool the chips. Comes with the 4 way bridge and pci-e lane adapters.

Be sure to download the latest bios to allow 4 way SLI on your ROG board
217

How to install it properly!
218
How it looks on the Rampage III Extreme
220
Did i mention it also works with the Rampage III Formula?! This board supports up to 3 way SLI but is able to take advantage of 4 way SLI?! Thats pimp!
219
221

Now you might ask... how the hell am i going to put this in my case?! Well, the Xpander is mainly used by the overclocking community in an open bench platform, but for you hardcore gamers, DangerDen came to the rescue with the Tower 29 Xpander case!

http://www.asusrog.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=157&d=1285114358
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs394.ash2/67227_10150115402657178_115494032177_7750247_75684 31_n.jpg

[Brian@ASUS]

Rampage III Extreme with 4 way SLI 480
222
223

Rampage III Formula with 4 way SLI 480
224
225

[Brian@ASUS]

who wants an xpander sandwhich?

226

[pcjunkie209]

I'm hungry! does it come with mayo? :)

[chew*]

How about some scores.

http://chew.ln2cooling.com/qdig-files/converted-images/ROG%20results/lrg_50K%20vantage.jpg

[martin_metal_88]

om nom nom brian you are a pertty good cook. Just curious to know, would this work with a board that have the same PCI-e lay-out but that is not asus? If yes that would be damn nice for Asus, a good way to upgrade GPU without changing everything.

Also, you compare it to the price of the UD9 ( which is useless unless you want 4 wau sli ) but is the cost of the Xpander low enough to be under the priec of a UD9? or is there ay price for the Xpander? Finally ( yeah I have ton's of question :| ) since the PCI-e slot are higher with that, is there any case or tech bench with PCI screw that can fit it? or you have to run it case less?

[chew*]

Custom cases can accomodate an expander.

Not quite sure on pricing compared to UD9 but i believe its rather competitive.

Expander needs bios support to work correctly which ASUS provided for there R III E and R III F boards.

[martin_metal_88]

Yeah but if you have to buy a custom case then it make the expender the expensive extender ahah:P
let see what time will tell us:)

[V2-V3]

Yeah but if you have to buy a custom case then it make the expender the expensive extender ahah:P
let see what time will tell us:)


If you have the money for a Rampage III Extreme, ROG Xpander, and 4 GTX 480 Cards, I hope you saved some money for a nice case!!!!!!!!!

[rEd2k]

All I want to know is where can I buy an ROG Xpander??
I've called Asus of America and they can't help me as the product doesn't appear to be for sale in the US or Canada :(
Anyone know? Thanx in advance if you can help out ;)

[Brian@ASUS]

itll be on sale soon. will keep you posted

[awalp]

Is the ASUS ROG Xpander available for purchase?

I can't find it for sale anywhere.

I already have a Rampage III Extreme, and Tri-SLI GTX570s + a GTX460 for Dedcated PhysX...
-- I see a slight decrease in performance running in 8x/8x/16x mode...
-- the 4th card cripples the system...

I'm ready to buy the ASUS ROG Xpander simply so I can run my primary GTX570 in x16 mode.
(Physically when using slots 1,2, &3, the 3rd slot gets x16 when the 1st slot should.)

Isn't the bandwidth between the 2x NF200s and the CPU/Memory still limited by the Northbridge at 36 lanes?
--So this expander board does nothing more than allow the cards to communicate with each other at x16 speeds,
but don't all those 4x16 = 64 lanes still have to fit into the 36 lane Intel NorthBridge chipset?
(correct me if I'm wrong)

[Brian@ASUS]

X8 through all lanes

[awalp]

This Asus ROG Xpander has been "coming soon" for months.

Is this product every going to be released -OR is just vaporware?

I need to know asap, so I can return my R3E and get a WS SuperComputer if a ROG Xpander won't be coming out.

[xeromist]

I can tell you that it's not vaporware. I've seen it in action in a working system but I think that was a small production run.

[awalp]

Still wanting to know... where does one buy one of these???

I keep seeing NEW benchmarks and world record news, etc, yet where can I buy one? I'm ready to buy one right now, tell me where.

It's been almost a year, either Asus gives them to people so they can promote Asus by making news, and it's not every gonna be publicly released, or prove me otherwise.

[c3cris]

Still wanting to know... where does one buy one of these???

I keep seeing NEW benchmarks and world record news, etc, yet where can I buy one? I'm ready to buy one right now, tell me where.

It's been almost a year, either Asus gives them to people so they can promote Asus by making news, and it's not every gonna be publicly released, or prove me otherwise.

i agree

[thed0nch1]

Add me to the list, 6 months later, and over a year since it was anounced,
Where are they?

[thed0nch1]

STILL Waiting

[Zodiak]

Hello everyone :)

I am new here but I have been reading about the ASUS ROG Xpander. I am having difficulty finding information about this product.

1. Is it out yet?
2. I know it is being advertised for the ASUS Rampage III but do you guys think it would work for the ASUS Rampage IV to get 2x NF200s on it and get 4x 8x PCI-E lanes?
3. How much is it?
4. Where can I learn more about it?

Thank you very much :)

[claydough]

where can one buy an asus branded 4 way sli bridge pictured here?:
http://www.asusrog.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=221&d=1289880307
I can get an evga branded 4 way easily from their products page. ( imagine that? )

Last word on proper 3 way placement I got from the asus forums was to ignore the manual and instead the current wisdom was to now install cards at the 1rst 3rd and 4th slots.

which means the 3 way sli will not span the recommended slots.
Although the 4 way bridge does not plug twice into every card ( 2,1,2,1 ) I am hoping the 4 way will still be as stable as the 3 way was/is. ( the ribbon connectors seem to be hit or miss for me )