ASUS Crosshair IV Formula - 890FX/SB850 Motherboard

Product Summary & Final Conclusions:

ASUS really hit a home run with the Crosshair IV Formula. I feel like I've only scratched the surface talking about the features this board has. For a gamer or overclocker that wants the most control and flexibility over their system, this is the board for you. Currently costing about $220 USD, it is definitely on the high-end for AMD motherboard prices, but for the features it offers and the chipset, that cost is well justified. With SATA 6Gb/s support and a pair of USB 3.0 ports, this board is ready for the next generation of devices that we are starting to see trickle out on the market.

With the ROG (Republic of Gamers) series of ASUS motherboards we are starting to see some extremely creative mainstream features. As an overclocker, even the simplest thing such as having a power & reset button on the motherboard is so much nicer than having to short pins with a screwdriver. More importantly the actual CPU overclocking features, and flexibility on how to apply them, lets end-users get the most out of their system in a way that they are comfortable and familiar with. Like I said before, some people like manual control in the BIOS, others like to use software programs, while even others just want to push a button or click their mouse and have the system automatically overclock for them. ASUS provides the ability for all these methods.

General system performance hasn't changed from the 7-Series chipset, as mentioned before this is mostly just a refresh to add a few new features and refinements. AMD also seems to have consolidated the variations from nine models in the 7-Series, to only four model in the 8-Series. Most people probably aren't going to rush out the door to upgrade between these two series, however for a new build the 8-Series boards are definitely the way to go.