ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX DDR3 Republic of Gamers ATX Motherboard
Product Features :
- ASUS Core Unlocker -Unlock extra cores for true core performance
- TurboV & Turbo Key for Easy O.C. -Simple and real-time O.C. tuning in OS environment; one button levels up the system performance
- GameFirst - Prioritize packets with an intuitive interface
- ROG Connect - Connect to a notebook and overclock!
- SupremeFX X-Fi audio card - Bring gaming to life with HD
Technical Details :
- Compatible Processors: Sempron, Phenom II X3, Phenom II X2, Athlon II, Phenom II X4
- Ram Memory Maximum Size: 16 GB
- Networking Feature: Network adapter
User Review By William Scarbrough (Elkton, MD) :
Asus has hit a homerun with this mobo! Using the
Asus Crosshair IV Formula and my new AMD 1055t Athlon II x6 processor, I was able to easily OC the stock 2.8 Ghz proccy to 3.76 Ghz with almost no effort whatsoever. I had originally intended to go with the AMD 1090t proccy but couldn't see paying almost $100 extra (at that time). I realize now the Black Edition processors are a little better with faster through put but I'm still very happy.
My first impression of the packaging was simply "WOW". Normally you expect to get a mobo in a box that's been clear-tape sealed with a disk an instruction booklet and a CD and perhaps some cables/ribbons. This package is like no other mobo you'll ever buy. An extremely detailed booklet with plenty of info on anything and everything about the board and it's features as well as Bios tips. Cables, tie straps, and an amazing rear IO plate that put my faith back into premium quality mobos. Also included is an ROG (Republic Of Gamers) badge sticker as well as a pretty large side case sticker that goes perfectly with my Red and Silver Backtrack 4 logo ;). Assembly of the board is standard except for the RAM slots which feature one end clip on each slot. Yep, no more fumbling around underneath wires to have to pop out your RAM sticks with two latches, this feature alone is enough for me to be happy but it doesn't stop there. Asus has gone out of their way to deliver not only performance but a great assembled package that shows the pride of the ROG community.
Some (including one of my closest friends) balked at the color scheme until he got a longer look at it. Admittedly, red wouldn't have been my first choice either since I like blue and green better but it quickly grows on you aesthetically. Now, many have complained about the heat of the Northbridge which in some cases featured incorrect standoff heights. For a new and "featured" product it was sad to see such a blatant mistake which also proved a lack of QC/QA on Asus' part before shipping (IMO) on one of their premiere and premium prodcuts. However, with that said, I was one of the fortunate ones who had no problems with the heat of the NB.
Assembly was typical like any other motherboard until it came time to start it up. I have to admit this was the first time ever I had no problems running it correctly the first time with absolutely no flaws. Loaded in Windows Ultimate 7 64 bit and away it went.
For this build I opted for all top of the line products including: Corsair H70 proc cooler, 8Gb G.Skill Flare RAM, OCZ 850w GamerXStream PSU, Diamond ATI 1Gb DDR5 5870 GPU, Antec BluRay BD ROM, LG DVD/CD reader/burner, NZXT Sentry 2 LE Fan Controller, Lian Li 4 port mini-duckbill light switches, Cooler Master Sickle Blade Fans (6), Antec 1200 case, Sabrent 51 in 1 card reader, WD RE3 Enterprise Edition 1Tb drives (2), Corsair C300 64 Gb SSD, Bulgin LED Power Switch, Flatron 24" HDMI monitor,Logitech G19 Keyboard and last but not lease the Logitech G5 gaming mouse. And all fed through a Logitech 540 5.1 sound system.
My intention was to future proof this build as much as possible within a set budget and I've easily accomplished that with a few dollars leftover. The lighted switches, buttons on the motherboard are flat out sexy too. I've also got to admit the AMD 890 chipset totally rocks! My previous system was an Asus A8N32-SLI Premium mobo with an AMD Opteron 170 which is still a good build but nothing compared to the newest screamer! If you're looking for performance, capability, consistency and overclocking capabilities I would have to put this at position #1 with a bullet!
I had originally intended to use the Noctua NHD14 cooler which is mammoth but fits my case, until that is, I attempted to put it in with the performance RAM from G.Skill. If you're intending to use the Noctua cooler you can only use standard side cover heat spreaders on your RAM. Forget about the add-on top heat spreader such as the G.Skill Flare or Corsair Dominators, it just won't fit. The bottom 3-5 fins of the NHD14 hit the top of the RAM and will not seat anywhere near the top of your processor as it should. Hence the Corsair H70 which works like a charm and provides excellent cooling.
User Review By T.Winn (CA,USA) :
This Motherboard rocks.
My Rig
Haf 922 Case
AMD 1090T Thuban 6 Core Black Box
G.Skill 100gb SSD
2nd Drive just normal 7500 WD 1 Terrabyte Drive
G.Skill 4gb x 2 ddr3 1333mhz Ram
Corsaire H-50 Watercooled CPU Unit
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670 DDR5 1GB Memory Card
650 Watt Power Supply
Pioneer Blu-Ray 505
The Good.
Overclocked the CPU to a solid 4.0 ghz (Passed Prime 95 torture test) with G.Skill Ram running at it's rated 1333. I used manual settings which I found on Youtube and tweaked a little. According to the utility Asus Probe the Northbridge, CPU and Southbridge are all running at under 50 Degrees Celsius.
My H-50 Cooler fit perfectly inside the Motherboard but I think a bigger cooler could block your last
Memory slot. For my Haf 922 case the Sata Cable connectors are right next to my drives so I don't have sloppy cables reaching across the board or had to buy 3 footers to spring behind the backplate. Interestingly enough the temperature went down by 2 degrees when I operated the system with the case closed. Really good airflow in the Haf 922.
The Bad;
I feel like Asus should provide Motherboard Standoffs because I had to do some fiddling and really tighten the screws to get a good line up for the Back Plate.
My built in sound card didn't work properly. I tried everything installing de-installing drivers devices etc but for some reason sound only comes out of 1 speaker. This is not a biggie. I'm going to throw in a $30.00 SoundBlaster Card and the world should be right. But still if one pays more than $200.00 for a board you would think the sound would work.
I feel like one drawback of the board is that they allow AHCI on ports 1-4 and IDE on 5 6but that is your only option. You can't control the ports individually and if you set AHCI the ports disappear in the bios. Yes AHCI causes all 4 ports to not be seen in the Bios. I thought that I had a defective MB but than I looked through the manual and it mentions this.
The first slot is unusable a heat sink fin blocks it. I was hoping to put a exhaust intake fan under the Video Card but it was too big. Asus suggests you use the 1st PCIE slot for maximum performance when using only 1
Video Card. Next month I plan to set up a Crossfire configuration. I also wish there was a way to speed the Bios Process. I can boot to Windows in 15-20 seconds but the Bios just lags as it double checks everything. Guess this is necessary on an Overclocker Motherboard.
