BLiSTERING BLITZ- Belonging to Asus' Republic of Gamers line of motherboards, the BLITZ Formula offers mind-blowing performance that is certain to woo overclocking enthusiasts. While it features one of Intel's latest chipsets, it is targeted towards hardcore gamers. FEATURES: The Blitz is based on the Intel P35 chipset and is packed with some serious hardware. It supports up to 8 GB of DDR2-800 MHz RAM and has six SATA ports and ten USB ports. It has two x16 PCle slots to support Crossfire at 8x speed. Based on the ADI1988B codec, the SupremeFX daughter card delivers eight channels of high-definition audio. Between the PCle slots you'll find what Asus calls a 'Crosslinx chip' comprising of a special graphics controller which optimizes PC Ie allocation.

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The BIOS is a treat for overclockers with support for tweaking FSB, multiplier and voltages, memory timing and so on. Moreover the board ships with goodies such as Q-connectors (for easy front panel connectivity). angled SATA cables, FireWire & USB brackets, water-cooling pipes and an externally visible LCD screen on the back panel. Performance and gaming enthusiasts can enjoy the bundled full version of 3DMark 06 Advanced edition, the full version of STALKER and the antivirus software Kaspersky.


LAYOUT: The board features an excellent layout, with the components well spread out. Similar to the Asus Commando, there's sufficient space around the CPU enabling you to install larger cooling devices for the CPU. While overclocking, you can install a water-cooling kit for the CPU. Fans are bundled to cool the voltage regulators. The all-solid capacitors ensure a longer life span. SATA ports are well placed at the bottom-right corner of the board, enabling easy cable routing. Keeping the convenience of enthusiasts in mind, power and reset buttons are placed next to the USB headers at the bottom, and the clear CMOS button is placed amongst the rear panel connectors. PERFORMANCE: We used an Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66 G Hz in our tests and the results were astounding. The BLITZ supports FSB speeds upto 1333 MHz. Intel's upcoming 45 nm processors works at 1333 MHz FSB, imagine that!

To check the graphics, we pushed the game benchmarks to 1600x1200 with 4x AA activated and the results were great. VERDICT: If you're looking at a long term investment in a board that overclocks well and supports the next generation of Intel processors, go for the BLITZ.
FOR: Stupendous performance, brilliant feature set, great for overclocking AGAINST: Heavy on the pocket compared to other boards in its class.

Specifications
CPU socket: Intel LGA775; Chipset: Intel P35/ ICH9R; FSB: 1333 MHz; Memory: DDR2 800 MHz (max 8 GB); SATA/PATA: 6/1; Expansion slots: 2 PCle x16, 2 PCI, 3 PCle xl; LAN: Dual Gigabit; Audio: 8-channel HD; USB/IEEE 1394: 12 (6 via headers)/2 (1 via header).