ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ Motherboard Review - PAGE 3

The UEFI has the same basic functionality as the one previewed a few months ago. Since the Crosshair V Formula is specifically targeted at overclockers however, there is an extra tab in the Advanced Mode called Extreme Tweaker. Basically, everything catering to overclocking is grouped in this tab, with a few sub-menus. The color scheme also matches the Republic of Gamers theme very well.

For the next few screenshots, only the settings section is going to be shown, and where there is a scrollbar, the screenshots are going to be assembled together to show the whole menu. Beginning in the Extreme Tweaker menu, one can view the current frequencies as well as the target processor frequency. In the following screenshots, an overclocked profile is about to be applied. Below that are the wealth of overclocking options. The first one simply consists of loading a profile specifically tuned for extreme overclocking; it also resets any pre-applied overclock, so one should make sure to write down or save the currents settings. The first options are pretty standard, consisting of adjusting the various frequencies. Further down are the Spread Spectrum options which might help for overclocking, or in case of electromagnetic interference. The same EPU setting seen on the E35M1-I Deluxe can also be found. The next four entries are actually four sub-menus, which will be shown later. In the next section is the Extreme OV option, which should be enbled in order to choose higher voltage levels, as well as the most common voltage settings. Then are some more exotic voltage settings further down. The various reference voltages and switching frequencies can also be tweaked. A higher switching frequency may result in a more stable voltage, although it increases heat output from the respective voltage regulation circuitry. The Crosshair V seems to be well equipped on the cooling front though, so it will be interesting to see if it can actually handle going all out on just air cooling. There's also the DRAM over-current protection that can be disabled if needed.

Next in the DRAM Timing Control sub-menu, the various timings and rates can be set. It is not the most exhausive list ever seen, but it is already offers much more than what the majority of users, even extreme overclockers, would use.

The drive strengths also have their own sub-menu. Each channel can be adjusted individually.

Another useful feature found in the Extreme Tweaker menu is the GPU.DIMM Post. This tool recognizes the GPU vendor and the PCI-E bus width it's running at, as well as the memory frequency. Useful for diagnostics without entering the operating system!

The last sub-menu in the Extreme Tweaker tab is the most interesting. It is all about the power delivery settings allowed by the DIGI+ voltage regulation module found on the more recent ASUS motherboards. The first options consist of adjusting the Load Line Calibration of the CPU and CPU/NB parts. These directly influence the vdroop, which is the drop in voltage under load, at a steady-state. This drop occurs because there is a greater strain on the power circuitry, and cheaper components will often result in a greater drop. However it is also partially desirable for protection purposes; when the load ends, the voltage will take back its reference value but there might be an overshooting, potentially over the maximum allowed by the specifications. Decreasing the voltage when the processor needs it the most - under load - is definitely not good for overclocking however. DIGI+ allows users to adjust this vdroop for hopefully better performance. The higher the setting, the lower the vdroop. There are also some other over-current protection mechanisms which this time can not be disabled, but allow a greater range defined by a percentage. Next, there is an option to control the number of active phases in the voltage regulation circuitry. Normally, more phases means more stable voltage, whereas fewer phases means less power consumption. It also depends on the quality of components and robustness of the whole board design itself. The next option is CPU voltage switching frequency. Unlike the other options in the Extreme Tweaker menu, this one can be set from 300 to 550kHz in increments of 10kHz. Finally, the PWM mode allows for two settings. The first one, T.Probe, will try to maintain the thermal balance of the phase components, whereas the second one, Extreme, will shoot for the VRM current balance.

The UEFI of the Crosshair V Formula has a few more innovative features besides Extreme Tweaker. In the Advanced sub-menu, there is the iROG Configuration. It keeps count of how long the machine has been running for, which most people may find pointless.

The ROG Connect menu can toggle if either a string or a code is shown in the PC Poster application, demonstrated later.

In this menu, the measured voltage for the different LED gauges on the board can be set. For example the CPU LED can also be set to monitor the CPU/NB or CPU VDDA voltage. The ROG Logo option suggests there is one on the board, but from what was seen earlier there doesn't appear to be such an LED.

Last but not least, in the Tool menu one can set the configuration to load when pushing the OC button shown earlier. It's great that this profile is entirely customizable. It could even be used for underclocking and undervolting purposes!