The Asus Republic of Gamers series of enthusiast-class hardware needs no introduction. The fourth generation Crosshair motherboard for the AMD platform is built around the latest and the most powerful AMD 890FX chipset. The chipset features support for up to 16 GB DDR3 memory and 32 PCle lanes dedicated to discrete graphics cards. So two graphics cards configured in CrossFire will run at x16 each and three graphics cards will run at x16+x8+x8.

Out of the four bright red PCle slots, the first and third run at x16, the second one runs at x8 and the fourth one runs at x4. The second one can also take a PCle xl or x2 add-on card. You also get two PCI slots which won't be of any use with dual-slots graphics cards occupying the PCle slots The six SATA 6 Gb/s ports along the right edge of the board are supported by the SB850 southbrige. Asus has used a JMicron controller

which adds a SATA 3 Gb/s port and aneSATA port on the rear panel. A USB 3.0 controller is also present which adds a pair of blue ports. Other components on the rear panel include a PS/2 port for keyboard, seven USB 2.0 ports, FireWire and gigabit Ethernet ports, CMOS reset button and the ROG connect button. ROG connect allows you to monitor and tweak the clocks and voltages from another PC or laptop. The package includes a USB cable for ROG connect and an application called RC TweaklT for use on the connected PC or laptop.

The Crosshair IV Formula is equipped with an OC processor called TurboVEvo for maintaining stability while overclocking and an automatic OC switch for an instant boost at the press of a button. Check points for measuring the voltages using a multi meter are also present. The package includes six high-quality SATA cables with retention clips, a USB and eSATA bracket, some cable ties, a CrossFire bridge and a one-year license of Kaspersky Anti-virus.