This approach to power design allows users to tune the system for optimal levels of performance and efficiency.įX™/Phenom™ II/Athlon™ II/ Sempron™ 100 Series Processors (AM3+ CPU) In addition, the adoption of a modular topology has allowed ASUS' power R&D team to enhance power delivery further by using higher grade power components - bolstering system stability and long-term durability. Moreover, these older solutions also limit the ability to change components to ones with better characteristics for power delivery restricting performance to the specifications of the digital VRM controller.Įxtreme Engine Digi+ as adopted by the Crosshair V Formula utilizes a parallel connection topology as used by traditional multi-phase analogue VRM solutions for fast delivery of power this means it is able to offer a fast transient response at relatively low switching frequency.
This, though having the advantage of consuming a smaller physical footprint, has the drawback of high temperature and a slow response due to the adoption of serial connection architecture - which fuels the need to operate at high switching frequency to compensate for the slow response. And now, ASUS has kick started the new digital revolution to bring users an ultimate power solution that delivers the advantages of both the analogue and digital at the same time.Ĭonventional digital VRM solutions have all components sealed in a single chip package for ease of implementation together with the advantage of less power loss. The power solution has evolved a long way, from the standard multi-phase analogue switching power solution with fast response to the digital, which has the dramatically higher precision control with the drawback of a relatively lower response. The story behind Extreme Engine Digi+, the ultimate power solution: High permeability cores provide lower power losses, resulting in less heat and better efficiency in a given package size thus improving overall system stability within a set footprint. Not only does it offer finer spacing of PWM power frequency intervals, ASUS also use high permeability, low DCR chokes capable of handling 40 amps of current each. Unlike ordinary digital VRM designs, Extreme Engine Digi+ combines the advantage of both digital and analog VRM design, delivering less switching delay while offering better accuracy at the same time. We are going to list the “Key Features” here and then put them in the Crosshairs as we put the board through our tests. I just spent several hours reading the features of the Crosshair V Formula. With their Crosshair V Formula ASUS hopes to deliver a board which exceeds anything else on the market and we will be testing it in several synthetic and real world tests to see if this board lives up to the lofty goals that ASUS always sets for themselves. Better still, high-performance Intel Ethernet with GameFirst technology creates a LAN connection that is fast enough to keep up with the pace of modern multiplayer gaming over an internet connection that is also used being used for other online tasks.
The Crosshair V Formula is not only the first ROG motherboard with AM3+ CPU support, but it is also the first AMD motherboard to support both 3-Way NVDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX as well as offering an advanced UEFI and DIGI+ VRM design not available on competing solutions.Ī wide array of advanced ROG overclocking tools are on hand too, while onboard SupremeFX X-Fi 2 delivers the most intense and immersive gaming audio experience.
Today we have one of the first high end AMD 990FX chipset-based boards the ASUS Crosshair V Formula on my test bench.