990FX Motherboard Roundup with Thuban and Bulldozer – A Second Wind for ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Biostar
by Ian Cutress on April 5, 2012 11:00 AM ESTASUS Crosshair V Formula In The Box
For a top of the range Republic of Gamers’ motherboard, we all want goodies in the box. With the Crosshair V Formula, we get plenty of SATA cables and SLI connectors to fit the bill.
IO Shield
Driver CD
User Guide
Six SATA cables (locking, right angled)
Tri-SLI bridge
SLI bridge
Crossfire Cable
Q-Connectors
Image courtesy of Newegg
Board Features
| ASUS Crosshair V Formula (990FX) | |
| Price | Link to Newegg |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | AM3+ |
| CPU Support | AMD FX/Phenom II/Athlon II/Sempron 100 |
| Chipset | AMD 990FX |
| Base Clock Frequency | 200.7 MHz |
| Core Voltage | Auto, 0.675 V to 2.300 V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 4.0x to 39.5x |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.20 V to 2.90 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T or 2T |
| Memory Slots |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB Up to Dual Channel Support for DDR3, 1066-2133 MHz, ECC or Non-ECC |
| Expansion Slots |
3 x PCIe Gen2 x16 (x16/x16 or x16/x8/x8) 1 x PCIe Gen2 x4 1 x PCIe Gen2 x1 1 x PCI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
6 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 1 x SATA 6 Gbps (ASMedia ASM1061) |
| Onboard |
7 x SATA 6 Gbps (6 Chipset, 1 Controller) 8 x Fan Headers 2 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x USB 3.0 Headers 1 x S/PDIF Output Header 1 x Front Panel Header 8 x Measure Points 1 x Clear CMOS Header 1 x 4-pin Molex Connector Power/Reset Buttons OC / ROG Level Up Button 1 x Go Button |
| Onboard LAN | Intel 82583V |
| Onboard Audio | SupremeFX X-Fi 2 |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector 1 x 4-pin 12V connector 1 x 4-pin Molex connector |
| Fan Headers |
2 x CPU Fan Headers (4-pin) 3 x CHA Fan Headers (4-pin) 3 x OPT Fan Headers (4-pin) |
| IO Panel |
1 x Keyboard/Mouse PS2 Port 1 x Clear CMOS Button 1 x Optical SPDIF Output 8 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 1 x eSATA 3 Gbps 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Audio Outputs |
| BIOS Version | 1003 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years |
The ROG board is the only 990FX we are testing today to have an Intel network controller, a non-Realtek audio solution, and one of only two to support ECC memory according to the specifications.
Software
The bulk of ASUS’ software is always to be found in AI Suite, and in the land of ROG motherboards, we get a ROG specific skin. Also to hand is a ROG themed CPU-Z, in order to detect accurately the clock speed of the processor.
AI Suite II: As this software is now a few generations into the ASUS blood line, the effort from ASUS to have seamless integration and complete functionality is paramount. Needless to say, on the whole we are not disappointed. We have full control over the fans in the case through the Fan Xpert utility:
Overclocking through this utility is also part of the package. For users wanting a quick, permanent overclock, the Auto Tuning offers two modes labeled Fast and Extreme (see the overclocking section on the previous page to see the results of this on both Thuban and Bulldozer). For in operating system overclocking, users can proceed to the TurboV Evo section to select voltages, CPU ratios and base frequencies on the fly. These unfortunately are not permanent; however they do help overclockers find the limits of the system inside the OS so that when it comes to setting something stable in the BIOS, it is very easy to just plug in the correct values. I would like to see some options in TurboV Evo for ‘automatic’ voltages when applying overclocks (for those not wanting to touch voltage), and this idea has been planted into the ASUS hive mind as an option.
Stalwarts of the AI Suite are still available, such as DIGI+ VRM (primarily to give overclockers more headroom), EPU (energy saving), AI Charger+ (quick charging of Apple devices from specific USB ports), and ASUS update, which should make BIOS updating easier and simpler for a lot of users.
ROG CPU-Z: As mentioned, ASUS has collaborated with the makers of CPU-Z to get a ROG themed version, which allows users to verify their overclocks online, or check that the CPU or the memory is running as stated.
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geforce912 - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
Just so you know, the supremefx x-fi 2 on the crosshair v is still a realtek chip but with higher grade capacitors and a creative software overlay. Definitely not a creative chip. Please correct it.TerdFerguson - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
Instead of repeatedly calling $130 cheap for a motherboard, why don't you step up and breakdown the costs associated with construction?This reviewer is backwards, as usual - the other boards are horribly overpriced, following the modern trend.
I'd like to see a cost breakdown for any of the very overpriced boards. Please show us how they justify their high costs. It looks to me like Biostar simply didn't get the price-fixing memo.
It's insane how many folks are continuing to support AMD because of its former stance as a budget option and how many of those purported fans seem to turn up their nose at any components that aren't marketed (and priced) as being premium-tier.
MadAd - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
sata 3, coolusb 3, cool
good overclocking, cool
dual channel ram, itll do
four graphics slots.....groan
am fed up paying out the wazooo for these so called enthusiast boards when I only intend to run 1 graphics card ... yes im a gamer, i want the best in all other areas (esp best sata 3 perfomance) but jeez can we have some 'normal' boards reviewed along with these high end monsters pls?
gilmoreisu - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
I'm a little disappointed in not seeing the ASRock Fatal1ty board. Any reason why this was left off? Otherwise, great round-up. Thank you!waldojim42 - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
One of the things I see skimmed over far too often these days are the actual audio capabilities. In the day of digital audio connections and receivers, why do we still have enthusiast level boards with stereo digital audio!? This is something That needs pointed out in the motherboard reviews. MSI makes such ridiculous claims, like "Lossless 24bit/192kHz HD Audio" and "THX TruStudio PRO", yet in the end mean NOTHING when you are playing a game, as you are still limited to 3(or 4) analog 3.5mm to RCA cables for your audio.So which boards support DTS/Dolby Digital encoding mid game?
funguseater - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
Thank you for taking the time to review these motherboards. It is a relief to know that my old Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P still overclocks to the same levels with a thuban (1090t). It will be interesting to see if the next 1090 chipset will support the old Thubans.I only have DDR2 on my board but it doesn't seem to affect performance as much as I thought it would so I can wait for the next gen boards.
Anyway thanks for including the 1100t in the review!
ranger429 - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
It would have been nice to see how a FX-4170 or 4100 would do in this testbrahma - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
excelent job, congratulations! ,... but what a shame! do you forget the asrock 990fx fatality, the unique with a fase power 12+2 !!salutations.
Sunny129 - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
Ian,First of all, thank you for the informative review and comparison of 990FX boards. Is there any particular reason you reviewed Gigabyte's GA-990FX-UD5, and not their big dog, the UD7? would it be worth while to review the UD7, since you seem to have reviewed the top 990FX boards from ASUS and MSI? specifically, i'd like to see if the UD7 suffers from the same downsides that the UD5 does, for instance the VRM heat issues while under load, lack of decent fan control, etc.
thanks,
Eric
kukreknecmi - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
What does this mean? Doesnt video encode is Floating Point intensive task??