ASUS Crosshair III Formula Motherboard Review

Features:

There is a hugh bounty of unique features on the Asus Crosshair III Formula Motherboard. To go through them all and explain their operation is an article within itself. Therefore, I will only comment on the best of the list.

We will highlight each below in a general description of their function. The performance and reliability features include : Voltiminder LED, Loadline Calibration, 2-phase DDR3, 8-phase CPU, MemOK!, COP EX, CPU Level Up, Memory Level Up, Pin-Fin Thermal Module, Extreme Tweaker and iROG.

SupremeFX-X-Fi-audio-card comes with Motherboard

MemOK!

Any memory is A-OK!Memory compatibility is among the top concerns when it comes to computer upgrades. Worry no more, MemOK! is the fastest memory booting solution today. This remarkable memory rescue tool requires nothing but a push of a button to patch memory issues and get your system up and running in no time. The technology is able to determine failsafe settings that can dramatically improve system booting success.

Pin Fin Thermal Module

Profession grade OC instantly Compare with traditional stacked-fin heatpipe solution, the new generation pin-fin thermal design result in better thermal performance, which enlarges the “heat-exchange” surface area surface and breaks the “Boundary-layer” phenomenon for effective airflow. The Pin-Fin Thermal Module is the most efficient thermal system there is on the motherboard.

External LCD Poster

Debug and read system problems with an new external look! The new LCD Poster now posts critical POST information in an ever friendly and flexible external display. When system malfunction occurs, the LCD Poster automatically detects device failure and translates the errors on the LCD during POST.

External LCD Poster

Voltiminder LED

Friendly reminder on the intentional madness In the pursuit of extreme performance, overvoltage adjustment is critical but risky. Acting as the “red zone” of a tachometer, the Voltiminder LED displays the voltage status for CPU, NB, SB, and Memory in a intuitive color-coded fashion. The voltiminder LED allows quick voltage monitoring for overclockers.

Loadline Calibration

Optimal power boost for extreme CPU overclocking! Maintaining ample voltage support for the CPU is critical during overclocking. The Loadline Calibration ensures stable and optimal CPU voltage under heavy loading. It helps overclockers enjoy the motherboard´s ultimate OC capabilities and benchmark scores.

ASUS Q-Connector

Make connections quick and accurate The Q-Connector allows you to connect or disconnect chassis front panel cables in one easy step with one complete module. This unique adapter eliminates the trouble of plugging in one cable at a time, making connection quick and accurate.

CPU Level Up

A Simple click for instant upgrade Ever wish that you could have a more expansive CPU? Upgrade your CPU at no additional cost with ROG´s CPU Level Up! Simply pick the processor you wanted to OC to, and the motherboard will do the rest! See the new CPU speed and enjoy that performance instantly. Overclocking is never as easy as this.

iROG

Intelligent multiple control at hand The iROG is a special IC which enables several ROG highlitghted functions that gives users full disposal of the motherboard at any stage! This design allows advanced user control and management to be processed purely at a hardware level. iROG greatly increases fun during overclocking for PC enthusiasts and it offers system maintainence and management with more control and efficiency.

Extreme Tweaker

One stop performance tuning shop Extreme Tweakers is the one stop shop to fine-tune your system to optimal performance. No matter if you´re looking for frequency adjustment, over-voltage options, or memory timing settings, they´re all here!

COP EX

Maximum OC with confidence with burn proof protection to chipsets and GPU! The COP EX allows overclockers to increase chipset voltages without the worries of overheating. It can also be used to monitor and save an overheating GPU. The COP EX allows more freedom and less constraint for maximum performance achievement.

Onboard Switch

No more shorting pins or moving jumpers With an easy press during overclock, this exclusive onboard switch allows gamer to effortlessly fine-tune the performance without having to short the pins or moving jumpers!

Board Design & Layout

The Crosshair III Formula makes its presence known with its full ATX form factor taking up 12” x 9.6” of space, but it feels much larger given its style and large invading chipset heatsink. Even with two pages of features and all the bells and whistles the board feels slightly roomy. Asus has done a commendable job with the layout of this board, tight spaces or overlaps are non-existent, it’s very neat and all components are well placed.

There are two PCI Express x16 Generation 2 slots on the board with ample room to install two dual-slot video cards. The expansion is laid out PCI Express x1, PCI Express x16, PCI Express x1, PCI, PCI Express x16, and PCI Express x1. If installing two HD 4870 X2 graphics cards or two 4890’s is your poison, there’s plenty of breathing room with proper airflow to maintain temperatures, thus encouraging maximum performance.

Which reminds me, there’s a IT8720F chip on the board which monitors temperatures and voltages conditions. Starting at the upper right hand corner we discover the 8-pin power connector, it’s well positioned as it leads straight from the PSU to the motherboard without interfering with wires or the CPU cooler

The CPU socket lies under the rear I/O and the heatsink covering MOSFETs. A row capacitors is above the CPU Socket and there is plenty of room for a aftermarket CPU coolers if needed. The 4-pin CPU fan header is above the 8-pin power connector.

CPU Socket

Row of Solid Capacitors

8-pin power Connector

The Northbridge which is the AMD 790FX chipset is covered by a flashy heatsink that really stands out and gives the board it’s distinguished look. The heatsink in all it’s glory is made of solid aluminum which does an outstanding job dissipating heat from the PWM’s, the northbridge and the SB750 southbridge.

The heatsinks uses what Asus calls their “Pin Fin Thermal Modules”, which offers better thermal performance compared to traditional stacked-fin heatpipe solutions. On the lower left side of the chipset you’ll find a lone PCIE x4 slot. This slot is reserved for the audio sound card.

While running a crossfire configuration the position of the sound card is far away from the video card configuration to eliminate over heating issues. The audio card is fully compliant with the Microsoft High Definition Audio standard but has a slew of other features including support for Creative Labs’ EAX 3.0 and 4.0 extensions.

The Northbridge

The Southbridge

The Republic Of Gamers chip is located just under the 2nd PCI Express slot. The board has 4 DDR3 memory slots with each slot capable of supporting 4 gigabytes of DDR3 SDRAM for a grand total of 16GB. Dual-channel operation is activated when installing memory on the same colored slots.

Two 3-pin fan connectors are on the bottom right hand corner of the board, in total the board has eight fan headers including the one for the CPU and all the fan connections are 4-pin PWM. To the left of the bottom 3-pin header we find the 24-pin ATX power connector, this region is probably the busiest area of the board.

Move left and we find the Primary IDE connector, and moving left some more we find four sideways facing SATA connectors with a fifth SATA connector facing towards the sky, which are all controlled by the SB750 chipset. The sideways configuration is a nice feature for those big monster sized video cards we all like adding these days.

SATA ports 1, 2, 3, 4 are capable of RAID operation and the lone vertical SATA port won’t cause any interference with an extra long graphics cards either. I’m not sure what ASUS was thinking by including only five, most of the competition will add up to ten. The Front Panel IO is located to the left side of the five SATA ports. Don’t worry about installing the FP I/O in the wrong place, each connection is well labeled.

5-SATA-Connectors with IDE Connector on Right

Four DIMM Slots

24-pin power connection

To the left of the FP I/O you will find the small red MemOk button, a labled red Start button and a small black Reset button. There are three USB 2.0 headers to the left of the Start button. Notice how well labled those buttons are in the below photo. Topping out the device headers is a IEEE-1394 header for Firewire. There’s a 4-pin Fan connector is to the left of the IEEE-1394 header.

The top of the Motherboard has two more 4-pin Fan connectors. The rear I/O on the board is pretty straight forward and simple in layout with a single PS/2 port for a keyboard or mouse, six USB 2.0 ports for a total of 12 supported, a RJ-45 jack, a Clear CMOS button, an external SATA port and a IEEE-1394a port for the Firewire bringing the total of those ports to two available.

MemOK, Start, Reset Buttons

Rear IO

Software

The Crosshair III Motherboard comes with an installation disk which comes with all sorts of software , drivers, and bundled on a single DVD. The installation disk allows users to choose exactly what software they wish to install.

Drivers are of course installed automatically unless that is you select to install them manually choosing exactly what you want. Their are some custom Asus tools that can be installed such as PCProbe II, AI Suite, Update, and some third party software such as AMD Overdrive, Kaspersky anti-virus and 3DMark Vantage which users get a full license for.

Just about every motherboard maker has their own software that accompanies comes with the hardware. ASUS has their AI Suite which includes a power management tool, overclocking tool, and a hardware monitor tool. Asus also includes EPU-6 Engine, AI NAP, CPU Level Up, Fan Xpert, and TurboV.

ASUS AI Suite Software

Asus PCProbe II

PC Probe II is a cool software utility, It provides voltage, temperature and fan monitoring conditions and easy to use. TurboV allows you to adjust speeds, voltages and set multipliers for the BIOS all within Windows, and without having to restart the system.

TurboV

Bio and Overclocking

The most important part of the motherboard is the BIOS, its the brain that controls all activities within the machine. The ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 Motherboard uses a modified version of the American Megatrends AMIBIOS. The BIOS menu categories are: Extreme Tweaker, Main, Advanced, Power, Boot, Tools and Exit. If you had a ROG board before the BIOS options are pretty much the same, even the Extreme Tweaker menu has almost the same options as the Rampage II motherboards. The Extreme Tweaker category is where all the overclocking magic is performed. This is where the BUS speed, multipliers and memory straps are set for desired overclock performance.

Starting at the top; the Ai Overclock Tuner allows you to set overclocking to Automatic or Manual mode. On Auto, the CPU Level Up utility which is Asus’s custom auto overclocker will take the CPU you have and configure a safe auto-setting profile for overclocking. Basically CPU Level Up is three point tool which will increase your CPU to the “next level” depending on what your running.Most users can expect to see three options in the 5%-20% range. For example if you had a Phenom II X4 955, your options to Level Up would be 3.4GHz, 3.6GHz and 3.8GHz.

The Main category is where you set the time of the system and the hard drive configuration. The Storage Configuration is where you set the properties of the drives; select the way the SATA drives operate, such as in IDE mode, ACHI mode for hot plug abilities, and RAID. Information is where you find the CPU, Memory, BIOS Date and Build Date of the BIOS.

The Advanced scategory, you are able to adjust things such as the CPU Configuration, Chipset, Onboard Devices Configuration, USB Configuration, PCIPnP, LCD Poster and LED Control and iROG configuration is set. The CPU Configuration is where you can turn on or off the Cool’n'Quiet and CIE support. Other settings such as C1E, Virtual Machine, GART Error Reporting and Advanced Clock Calibration are set here also.

Chipset settings are where the configuration settings for the Northbridge and RD790 are set. The Power category is where you can change the Suspend mode from S1 to S3 to Auto Advanced Power Management ( APM ) for “Power On” properties. In the hardware monitor section you can monitor system voltages, set parameters and warnings conditions for temperatures and fan speeds.

The Boot category controls the Boot Device Priorities and settings for boot up, such as quick boot, error messages, and boot logos of course. The Tools category has a few utilities available such as ASUS O.C. Profile, which allows you to save and load BIOS profiles for overclocked settings. Another option is the ASUS EZ Flash 2 which is a BIOS update tool.

Conclusion

The ASUS Crosshair III Formula was such a pleasure to work with. Set-up was straight forward and simple. There were no issues or problems during install what so ever. This board had a lot of options and the performance was outstanding. Very rarely did this board falter behind in my expectations. Looking back on the results, it’s clear that AMD have made up a lot of ground on Intel.

The layout and design makes it very clear ASUS spent a great deal of time engineering this Motherboard to be all it could be. The CPU area had plenty of room to install large heatsinks or water blocks. Overclocking was simple and almost childlike with both the BIOS and with the addition of AMD Overdrive included on the driver CD. I mean like the, ROG boards are designed to make computing and overclocking less of a headache and more of sport. The “CPU Level Up” feature will make new users to the game more comfortable to overclocking.

The LCD poster peripheral and the Supreme FX X-Fi card are two great accessories that weren’t necessarily needed but greatly appreciated. I am really pleased with the SupremeFX audio card, it put out better than my Creative ExtremeMusic card in my wife’s desktop.

This motherboard is at the top of my list of all motherboards I have tested thus far. I highly recommend the Crosshair III, that is of course if you want to push your system to the next level If you are looking for quality and performance then look no further than the ASUS Crosshair III Formula Motherboard.