Maximus VII Ranger: High-value Entry-level ROG Gaming

The new Ranger is a brand new range of ATX motherboards from ROG, that hits the affordable, performance-mainstream segment. It's all ROG heart, albeit a little lighter on the features and eye-candy in design. You can see the first of this new breed below: the Maximus VII Ranger.

 

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Built around the Z97 chipset and LGA1150 socket, it has support for 4th and upcoming 5th generation Intel processors.

It still packs much of the same features as other Maximus VII boards, namely Intel GigE + LANGuard + GameFirst III, SupremeFX 2014 + Sonic extras, KeyBot + TrueVolt USB, UEFI BIOS with ROG enhancements like Secure Erase, USB BIOS Flashback and a support disc filled with extra software (Kapersky, RAMDisk, DAEMON Tools pro, WebStorage, HomeCloud, CPU-Z and AISuite III).

The Extreme Engine III is slightly tweaked with alternative Alloy chokes that forgoes only the fancier design to meet its price, not the performance, and you don't get the fancy inked PCB either.

SupremeFX 2014 packs all the latest audio goodies: Red-line and EMI cap shielding, ELNA audio capacitors, Sonic SenseAMP, Sonic Studio, Sonic SoundStage and Sonic Radar II.

An M.2 slot up to 2280 PCIe 2x is available, although there are 6x SATA III versus the Hero's 8x and while the heatsink lack the lighting effects too, the Maximus VII's core style of pure red and black remains throughout.

The board packs the ultimate combo of Intel GigE + LANGuard + GameFirst III:

While the rear IO houses two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, HDMI, DVI and dsub outputs, S/PDIF audio and 6x 3.5mm gold-plated, stereo audio jacks, USB BIOS Flashback and the red LANGuard Gigabit Ethernet socket. The IO shield is now metallic black to match your case.

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KeyBot IC is also added, and TrueVolt USB powers all USB ports (front and rear) directly from the PSU to provide the most stable power source.

See the Maximus VII Ranger product page and click the feature links in the text above for more info.