We saw an experimental RAIDR back at Computex, then all went quiet for six months as the ROG engineers locked themselves behind closed doors in furious development. Now after much work, RAIDR is back!

...but in what form?

All will be revealed next week at CES 2013. In the meantime, let us know your guess' in the forums.

Before Starting, Please Note:

Installing the i7-3770K in the Maximus V Formula

• Release the CPU socket tension arm
• Install the CPU, ensuring the notches on the CPU line up with the socket. This requires zero insertion force, but once seated the socket pins are extremely delicate so don't wiggle it.

• Secure the tension arm and it should look as shown above.
• Add thermal paste (as necessary)

• Use a flat edged item such as an old credit or debit card to smooth the thermal paste flat and even. We've used a spreading spatula here to ensure a thin, even coat.
• If you’re using a dual-channel memory kit, fit the two in the pair of red slots, furthest from the CPU socket.

• Aiming for 4.7GHz, you’ll need a hefty CPU cooler. Here we've used the Corsair H100i liquid cooler, which requires the fitting of a back-plate mount behind the motherboard. Fit this now to avoid having to do so inside your built PC.

Followed the guide, or do you things a different way? Let us know in the forums.

We sat down with G46 designer, Tony, from the ASUS Design Team to throw him some questions on ROG's new 14" addition to its gaming notebooks.

Did you adapt the G55 to make G46, or did you chuck everything out and start again to make a new 14” design?

Tony: Well this is the first 14” design we've ever done before so we classed it as a new generation, however it’s still inspired from the F22 stealth fighter in its angular design, speed and minimalism. But, it cannot only be an aggressive form all for show; it still has to fit into your life whether you’re working, out-and-about or gaming. You need to feel good to open it on the train, in Starbucks or at a LAN.

Compared to the G55 and G75, the G46 is actually thinner at the back in the middle. How and why did you design it this way?

Tony: The G46 has two thermal modules in the back to cool the GPU and CPU separately, but between them this area is now empty from anything significant, which means we focused on making it structural and thinned it out. We moved the battery to the front and spread out its mass across the chassis. Now you can carry it by holding the G46 between the two thermal outlets at the back, so the weight of is at the bottom and balanced on your hand, which makes it much easier to carry.

The G46 is only an inch diagonal smaller but it’s nearly 2.5KG lighter, and it still contains a quad core Intel Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GTX 660M graphics card. How did you manage to get it so thin and light yet still packing heavy-hitting hardware?

Tony: Firstly we removed the optical drive as it was clear to us from the start as it takes up a lot of space and weight. These days many ultra-portables do without ODDs, and more games are often downloaded from services like Steam or Origin, so rarely is one required. If an optical drive is needed there are plenty of USB ODDs on the market, so instead of always carrying it around and never using it, you just bring an external one when you need it and it can be used between multiple PCs or notebooks. It’s actually a cost saving for a consumer to use 1 external ODD device between several family and friends

Other than that, not having a detachable battery means we can reduce the mass of plastic and electronics, and also being able to spread out its mass gives us more freedom in design.

What’s the future of 15” to 14” G series?

Tony: 14 inch will be the future as the trend continues towards more ultra-portable designs across the notebook industry, and also there is a bigger gap between the fully featured traditional 17"ers and the new 14", so it makes the buying decision easier.

If I get to design the G47/48, I would maybe like to try some sports-car styling or materials perhaps. You will see!

Thinner, sleeker..., leathery?

Tony: Ha! Possibly. It depends on the hardware too. The limitation is the thermal requirement and to a lesser extent the possible electrical design.

Possibly eh? How about a Lamborghini/G series mix?

Tony: No comment yet haha.

If you’re not yet in the early stages of designing the G47, what are you doing now?

Tony: I’m currently designing the next generation 17” G series. There’s still a way to go on that one.

Any sneaky info?

Tony: No comment again sorry! Marketing will kill me if I comment haha.

Why is 14” the future then?

Tony: Our research team tells us that many Asian markets prefer lighter, portable 14” notebooks, whereas Western markets predominantly still prefer the 17”, so this is why we now have two distinct designs. It’s not exclusive to each region because the US was the first to stock the G46; it’s just a trend.

It's true that we've had a lot of global inquiries about the G46! However some users who already own one have voiced a need for mSATA access in addition to the memory DIMMs.

Tony: This time the electrical design couldn't accommodate mSATA access for users, as the mSATA connector is on the PCB top under the keyboard. Hopefully next time it can be underneath next to the DIMMs. mSATA designs are changing with NGFF for example, so anything is possible going forward.

All G46 ship with Windows 8, so was there any accommodation in design to the new OS?

Tony: One thing we see in Windows 8 is the addition of touchscreens to use the modern UI. But gamer's don’t need a touchscreen at all – it’s all keyboard and mouse, or sometimes a specific USB controller for driving or flying games – so we deliberately left it out of the design.

The G46 rear exhaust vents are very attractive: they look sharper and stronger compared to the G55.

Tony: I previously designed the G74, G75 and now G46, so these vents have evolved in each iteration. They have to still provide the same space for air exhaust as even G75's for example, but the smaller space means they became a bit more angular and sharper.

The balance is that about 70% needs to be open to allow enough unrestricted airflow, while not allowing foreign objects and fingers inside.

Moving inside, the keyboard in the G55 and G75 series are all aluminum but on the G46 the entire panel from wrist-rest to keyboard to LCD is one sheet of alu!

Tony: As you may have seen on the N and Zenbook series, these started the trend for large aluminum panels for every major face. This is now the design language and fashion across ASUS Design Team. We want to keep a consistent identity across ASUS products and have brand recognition because we take pride in all our designs.

The triangular power button is very angular though, not like the concentric circles of Zenbook or circular dots of N series.

Tony: Because ROG always has to be sharper than its cousins to fit in with the F-22 stealth theme; we tried to make things more triangular or at least angular in the G46. Triangles bring us a unique feeling in a world of squared laptops and squared buttons, but avoids the softness of the circular effects on the N or Zenbook for example.

The ROG logo just used to be embossed in the LCD cover, but now it’s illuminated: why the change?

Tony: It’s just for looks: it doesn't take any more battery life. I just thought it was really cool haha!

When you’re in a dark room playing games you still want to show off that your notebook is ROG!

Did we answer all your questions on the G46, or are you tempted to go and buy one? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.

It's still too early to reveal all,

But we had to let you know a little.

There's more than just a new socket,

Intel 4th Generation Core CPUs

And a new Z87 chipset.

It's time for the brand new Gryphon

New, true ROG innovations

And the tastiest Deluxe we've ever made!

Prepare your upgrades for mid 2013.

Let us know your thoughts and guesses in the forums!

Today, Republic of Gamers are proud to release their latest graphics card, the MARS III. Now tastier than ever.

Here's some 3-way MARS action!

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It's back! Our 2013 Wallpaper Competition is GO!

Prizes:

Key Info:

Need Inspiration?

Competition Rules

• Submitted wallpapers must be at least 2560 x 1600 (16:9) or 2560 x 1440 (16:10) in resolution (to suit all monitors, including our new PB278Q!), while 5760 x 1080 are also accepted for triple-monitor users.
• Entries must contain your name and the designs title. (Be inventive! We've got dozens of "ROG" titled and "untitled" ones)
• There is no limit to the number of entries one person can submit, so long as they're unique.
• Wallpapers must directly reference the ROG brand, any ROG product, or ROG history (we're 7 years old this year!)
• We cannot accept entries that use copyrighted materials from other companies or brands. Not even Blizzard/StarCraft sorry.
• They must remain tasteful (yes, we know you guys!): no nips or adult bits. We’ll be liberal, but ROG staff reserve the right to remove entries if they are not family friendly.
• The competition ends on 30th April 2013 at 23:59pm (GMT) (measured by our ’slightly overclocked’ forum time)
• The competition entries will be rounded up in the first week of May 2013 and voted on by ROG forum users  (1 winner) and ROG staff (1 winner), along with the three runners up.
• ROG will contact the winners by forum private message/registered email address – so please make sure these are monitored.
• ROG reserves the right to upload any of the entries (along with due credit to the designer) to the ROG site downloads page when the competition is complete. Winners have 1 week to reply after the public announcement.
• The prizes are non-exchangeable for cash or other items of the same value.
• Please note the prizes will be posted in late May due to ROG Polo shirt availability.

This is a one off. Well, there are three.

It's the ultimate in tech exclusivity as they will never go on sale.

While it's NOT an official Black Edition, we've affectionately dubbed it the Rampage IV Extreme - Black.

Do you prefer this style? If you're a modder - how would you use one? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.

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And finally, how it compares to the older Rampage III Black Edition:

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote! Below are the winners of our 2013 ROG Wallpaper competition. You'll receive a private message or email from ASUS staff in the next day or so asking your address, so please keep an eye out!

Winner:

Neuropass

Neuropass thoroughly deserved the win, having taken the winning spot with not one by two entries shown below (although we only have one StarCraft II HoTS box-set to give away sorry!)

ROG Staff Choice Winner:

julsterobias

We felt this was one of the most unique, with fantastic artistic skills and attention to detail with the ROG eye as their own eyes. We'll be proudly using this in our ROG press conference soon!

Runners Up:

ShikelGr

Differential

Paultan

Congrats to the winners and thank you everyone for taking the time to submit your entries. If you still want to download a new wallpaper for your PC, you can stick pick one out from this article.

From Fusion Block to Hybrid Thermal cooling. What could be the next evolution of for ROG in 2013?

Let us know your thoughts in the forums!

This morning saw several new products launch at the ROG press event, Computex 2013. Below is a gallery of the event as it happened!

ASUS Chairman, Jonney Shih, presents the opening keynote. Simple fact: ASUS still sells more motherboards than anyone else!

Jonney Shih explains how the PC enthusiast/Home CIO manages and enjoys using an array of hardware. The PC enthusiast market isn't going anywhere folks!

Jonney's message: ROG is PC gaming done right!

ASUS VP Joe Hsieh presents the new Maximus VI Formula! The Formula packs ROG Armor, mPCIe Combo II, new SupremeFX and CrossChill hybrid cooling.

Kent Chien, General Manager of ASUS Multimedia presents the new Poseidon graphics card!

Here's the Maximus VI Formula combined with Poseidon graphics card, fully watercooled with an EK kit, BitsPower barbs, G.Skill Trident Memory, ROG RAIDR SSD all wrapped in an In Win D-Frame.

Kent Chien, General Manager of ASUS Multimedia presents new Sonic Radar, which provides enhanced audio and also a visual overlay of sounds in game.

Sonic Radar is coming to all ROG sound cards and 2013 ROG motherboards as a free upgrade.

Joe's back. He's just launched the super-secret weapon: the new Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard!

Here's the Impact and GTX 670 DirectCU Mini: made for each other!

Joe explains how the Maximus VI Extreme dominated the Corsair-Intel OC event the day before with a 91% success rate! See more here.

All the new products launching at the ROG press event 2013.

From left to right: G750, Maximus VI Formula, Poseidon graphics card, Maximus VI Impact, GTX 670 DirectCU Mini, Watercooled PC, G30 Tytan, Maximus VI Extreme with OC Panel and Orion headset for consoles.

Media going crayyzieee over new kit.

Media go hands-on with the Impact.

The new G750 with 4th Gen Core i7, Nvidia GTX 765M/780M and Leap Motion!

The Orion for Consoles headset. Bring the benefit of ROG to your PS3 or Xbox.

Digital Storm and Falcon Northwest are two American PC houses who will use the Impact in their upcoming mini gaming PCs! Look out for them.

Parvum built us a custom-made mini-ITX case for the Impact and GTX 670 DirectCU Mini. If you want a mini-ITX acrylic Parvum case, nag the guys on their Facebook page!

The ROG Nomad backpack - carry your 17" notebook anywhere. It's waterproof, plus it has padding to protect your back and notebook as well.

Love what you see? Drop us your thoughts in the forums!

If you missed the ROG press conference or ever wondered what media gets to see - below is the full slide deck from the event.

If you prefer to watch a video of the event in full, head on over here.

Here's the trophies won by master overclockers, Andre Yang and TL Ng at the Intel-Corsair overclocking event!

Now let's go inside inside our ROG booth at Computex for a look around.

Need a new backpack for your laptop? Check out our new ROG Nomad.

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You can test the Orion for consoles headset with a PS3. It's got ENC and a headphone amp built in.

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The new Maximus VI Formula and Poseidon get watercooled. Just add a kit and it's now extremely simple to do.

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The Poseidon area breaks-down how the new graphics card is made.

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A new GX1000 in anodized black and red? Oh-so-tasty!

The Front Base is an upcoming ROG 5.25" display that mixes OC Panel normal mode technologies with fan, temperature control and other extras. It also comes bundled with game recording software! Due in stores around July-August.

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Select G750 notebooks will come bundled with Leap Motion hand gesture hardware.

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The ASUS VN279QLB is a super narrow bezel display that's perfect for surround gaming. It's also mighty thin to boot!

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GPU Tweak will soon be updated with game streaming software, so keep an eye out!

The separate parts of ROG Armor: cover, motherboard and strong SECC steel plate.

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The CrossChill can be both air cooled or water cooled. Your choice.

The fins don't just look great, they help extend the surface area for better air cooling. The top cover is made from a very strong ABS plastic so barbs won't rip it apart when you screw them in.

The new G30 Tytan is ideal for those who want to just game straight out the box. It's got a Core i7-4770K with instant OC button on the front of the case, and there is a choice of powerful GeForce GTX 700 series cards inside.

The Maximus VI Extreme area.

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Everyone loves a good competition, so we have teamed up with the great folks over at Cooler Master to offer you the chance to win the only Rampage IV Extreme - 'Black' motherboard available, as well as a CM V1000 power supply to power it.

Entering the contest couldn't be easier! Either click on the photo above, or follow this link, like the Cooler Master and Republic of Gamers Facebook , fill in your details, then sit back, relax and see if you are the lucky winner of this pair of amazing prizes.

Have you entered the contests? What would you do with that limited edition motherboard if you won? Let us know in the forums.

Before You Start: The Foundation Info

• A very good air cooler is required for voltage levels above 1.15V.
• 1.20V-1.23V requires use of closed loop water coolers. 
• At 1.24V-1.275V dual or triple radiator water cooling solutions are advised. 

On to the guide!

Other Important Notes:

• Don’t skim read the guide! It will only give you a fraction of the info you need to OC properly. Grab a cup of coffee and make time to read it! Overclocking is serious business.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are stuck or confused!We've got a great discussion thread going, not to mention an entire forum dedicated to the Maximus VI series motherboards.

The Problem: Haswell CPUs Are Limited To 2.0V

The Solution: Make Maximus VI Series Ignore The Rules

Stage 1: 2.55V VCCIN = 2.087V Vcore

Stage 2: 2.6V VCCIN = 2.138V Vcore

Evidence of running CPU: