ASUS Crosshair V Formula 990FX Review
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Published: 31st May 2011 | Source: ASUS | Price: TBA |
Introduction
It's been quiet on the AMD front for a little while now. Thankfully the wait for something groundbreaking to appear is nearly over with the much vaunted Bulldozer (Zambezi) processors just over the horizon.
In anticipation of those CPUs the first 990FX motherboards are starting to appear and we've got the ASUS Crosshair V Formula on the bench table today.
Obviously this is only a part of the new wave of AMD products. However as the Bulldozer processors have yet to appear and in keeping with the AMD business model of gradually upgrading your PC whilst still retaining the majority of components, we're going to take a look at the Crosshair V Formula partnered to the current top of the line AMD processor, the 1095T.
Like the Boy Scouts it's best to be prepared, so is the Crosshair V Formula worthy of your pennies?
Technical Specifications
With the very latest chipset on board there is an extraordinary amount of technology squeezed into the Crosshair V. From the inclusion of official SLI support, through the plentiful USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbp/s ports, and on to the ability to support a whopping 32GB of Memory, this breathes yet more life into the AM3+ socket. Proof that the AMD method of allowing the user to gradually upgrade without needing a whole new system is one that still keeps on rocking. Intel could learn a lot from AMD in this department.
| CPU | AMD AM3+ FX™/Phenom™ II/Athlon™ II/Sempron™ 100 Series Processors Supports AM3+ 32 nm CPU Supports CPU up to 8 cores Supports CPU up to 140 W AMD Cool 'n' Quiet™ Technology |
| Chipset | AMD 990FX/SB950 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 Hz ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture |
| Multi-GPU Support | Supports NVIDIA® 3-Way SLI™ Technology Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology |
| Expansion Slots | 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (dual x16 or x16, x8, x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI |
| Storage | AMD SB950 controller : 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 ASMedia® ASM1061 controller : 1 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), red |
| LAN | Intel®, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller |
| Audio | SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : - X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™ - EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0 - THX® TruStudio PRO™ - Creative ALchemy - Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel |
| USB Ports | ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 6 x USB 3.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) AMD SB950 controller : 12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (8 at back panel, black+white, 4 at mid-board) |
| Overclocking Features | ROG Connect : - RC Diagram - RC Remote - RC Poster - GPU TweakIt Extreme Engine Digi+ : - 8 + 2 phase power design UEFI BIOS features : - ROG BIOS Print - GPU.DIMM Post GameFirst iROG Extreme Tweaker Overclocking Protection : - COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX) - Voltiminder LED - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Special Features | ASUS TPU : - CPU Level UP Core Unlocker ASUS Exclusive Features : - MemOK! - AI Charger+ ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS Q-Shield - ASUS O.C. Profile - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS MyLogo 3 ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) - ASUS Q-Connector |
| Back I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0 (white port can be switched to ROG Connect) 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) |
| Internal I/O Ports | 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 7 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 2 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 3 x Optional Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 8 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 3 x Thermal sensor connector(s) 1 x En/Dis-able Clr CMOS header(s) 1 x EZ Plug connector(s) (4-pin Molex power connector) 1 x Power-on button(s) 1 x Reset button(s) 1 x CPU Level Up button(s) 1 x ROG Connect switch(es) 1 x Go Button(s) |
| Accessories | User's manual I/O Shield 6 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x CrossFire cable(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ROG Connect cable(s) 1 x Cable ties pack(s) 1 x ROG theme label(s) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) |
| BIOS | 32Mb Flash ROM, UEFI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a, Multi-Language BIOS |
| Manageability | WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE |
| Support Disc | Drivers Sound Blaster® X-Fi 2 Utility Kaspersky® Anti-Virus DAEMON Tools Pro Standard ROG CPU-Z ASUS Utilities |
| Form Factor | ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) |
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Today we take a look at the latest AMD AM3 motherboard based upon the 990FX Chipset, the ASUS Crosshair V Formula.
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