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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mmstick - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
The primary problem with AMD FX is that in order to use the full power of the FPU the program needs to be compiled with FMA4 support, else it is only using half of the FPUs, thus making it a quad core. Secondly, many Windows-based programs are compiled with the Intel C+ compiler, so although the FX may support AVX and many other instructions, the compiled program sees it as a non-Intel CPU so it disables those instruction sets, allowing Intel CPUs to be optimized, and AMD CPUs to remain deoptimized. This is what happens when you are up against someone with the most market share, whom has the ability to dictate what instruction sets they want programmers to use. As well, when people say they are going to buy Intel CPUs instead because they claim AMD didn't make a good processor, why do you think they can't be on top of performance? Without R&D budget there isn't much that can be done, and when you face someone who practically owns a monopoly, that makes it even moreso harder to compete.Omoronovo - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
The IC++ compiler has not done that since 2010 when they were forced to settle their antitrust dispute with AMD.DigitalFreak - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
" This is what happens when you are up against someone with the most market share, whom has the ability to dictate what instruction sets they want programmers to use. As well, when people say they are going to buy Intel CPUs instead because they claim AMD didn't make a good processor, why do you think they can't be on top of performance? Without R&D budget there isn't much that can be done, and when you face someone who practically owns a monopoly, that makes it even moreso harder to compete."Waaaaah. It's always someone else's fault.
anubis44 - Friday, November 9, 2012 - link
"Waaaaah. It's always someone else's fault."Well, sometimes it really IS someone else's fault. If the mafia had it in for you, and cut your brake cables and burnt your house down when you weren't looking, you'd say it's 'someone else's fault' too. Intel's blackmail and threats to suppliers who used AMD processors kinda screwed AMD over just a tad.
That said, I think now that Jim Keller is back at AMD and head of AMD's CPU division, it won't be too long before AMD is seriously back in the game.
Monkeysweat - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
I saw them on some of the benchmarks, why didn't you post them along side the AMD benchies for gaming?If we are looking at a roundup of the best of what AMD and it's partners have to offer, I'd like to see what the competing team brings to the table,, just leave em stock and even let the AMD ones get overclocked.
I wouldn't even worry about cherry picking the Intel combos,, just something random.
Beenthere - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
AMD has not abandoned the highend CPU market. Their focus may be broadening but that does not mean they will discontinue discrete highend desktop CPUs for at least several years. Eventually everyone except a small group will use APUs as they will deliver the best performance/value proposition. Only extremists will bother with a discrete CPU/GPU with higher power consumption, increased heat and little practical benefit for mainstream users.Articuno - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
It's a pretty nice chipset and the lower tier boards are quite cost-effective. Just wish Bulldozer was competitive with Intel, let alone their last gen chips.Mathieu Bourgie - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
Thank you for this article Ian.Are there any chance that we'll see a review of the newer FX-6200 CPU or at least have data for it in the CPU bench? Considering that it's 500MHz faster than the model that it's replacing and no major site (or any that I can see) did a review of it, it'd be interesting to see how it performs.
I'm curious to see if it's a valid alternative, in any way, for $170, vs the Intel Core i5-2300 ($180).
I don't expect any miracle for gaming performance, but for workstation workloads (Photoshop, video editing and the like), who knows?
Thanks,
Mathieu
cosminmcm - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
There is a review at pcper, a good one. The processor is pretty weak, nothing exciting there. Thuban walks all over it.Mathieu Bourgie - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
Thanks, I didn't see that.Quite disappointing indeed.
Here's about that Piledriver or Trinity are more competitive.