ASUS Crosshair V Formula 990FX Review

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+ FXâ„¢/Phenomâ„¢ II/Athlonâ„¢ II/Sempronâ„¢ 100 Series Processors
Supports AM3+ 32 nm CPU
Supports CPU up to 8 cores
Supports CPU up to 140 W
AMD Cool ‘n’ Quietâ„¢ 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 CrossFireXâ„¢ 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® Advancedâ„¢ HD 5.0 
– THX® TruStudio PROâ„¢
– 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 )