ASUS Rampage II Gene micro-ATX motherboard review

"Space is a precious thing" is a lesson that I've learned more and more over the years, watching the detritus of my life in the form of possessions building up around me and taking up ever more space.  This is equally true when it comes to the space required for a PC - In the past I was a big fan of huge chassis with more fans than you could shake a stick at, but as time has gone on I want my actual system to take up as small a footprint as possible, leaving more room for peripherals, monitors and the like.

However, if you're an enthusiast with a penchant for small systems then you've been left pretty high and dry in recent years, with motherboard manufacturers tending to stick with the full ATX format for their offerings at the high-end and using micro-ATX for lower-end systems - A sensible business decision perhaps, but still disappointing for those of us who value space and performance from our PC.

However, and as is so often the case when it comes to doing something a little different, enter ASUS to shake things up, with a motherboard based around Intel's brand-new, Core i7 supporting X58 chipset, but in a micro-ATX form factor.  Its name: The Rampage II Gene, also marking it out as a true enthusiast-centric Republic of Gamers part.  Sounds promising, but can it deliver?