ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z review

It’s hard to launch a premium AMD motherboard at the moment, but it seems ASUS is confident the market is there, and for this reason has re-launched a second revision of the Crosshair V Formula, adding a nifty ‘Z’ to the end of the name. Not a whole lot has changed however, with most of the notable improvements being focussed around gaming (as they should, on a ROG motherboard).

To kick things off, let’s take a look at the ‘Game First’ technology now included on the motherboard. This uses the Intel LAN controller to artificially restrict bandwidth to certain applications and optimise the bandwidth allocation for others (such as games). Ideally this would allow you to play some games while downloading, and the software should limit the download to a speed that won’t impede on your gaming experience. In Australia, however, it’s a little difficult to justify, as we often need all the speed we can manage. Instead, the software works better for us in that we can restrict ALL other application bandwidth while we game, ensuring nothing receives any priority over gaming.

This technology is the same as currently present in many ASUS routers and modems. And to be honest the modem/router solution makes far more sense, as you can restrict certain IPs and also network activity before reaching anyone’s computers. With the Game First software on this motherboard, you’re only controlling your own PC, and there’s nothing stopping your Med-Student roommate from torrenting nine seasons of Top Chef while you’re trying to settle in for an evening of games.*

Moving on to sound upgrades, the new Supreme FX III chip included sits just behind the PCI lanes, separated by a semiconductor line, in an attempt to reduce any noise generated by the motherboard. As for overall sound quality, it’s pretty decent, as you’d expect, and should be enough for any gamer and even self-proclaimed audio enthusiasts. Though, as always, you’re going to notice a bigger difference depending on what you’re actually using to generate the sound (speakers) and also the quality of the sound file (mp3 isn’t the best way to test a sound card). If you swear by dedicated sound cards, we’d say only a card like the ASUS Xonar Essence STX would come close to being an upgrade, and at ~$190 it’s not worth moving away from the more than capable on-board solution included here.

Other features included are the Fast Boot and Direct Key, located at the bottom of the board near the USB and Front Panel connections. Essentially Fast Boot removes any unnecessary hardware scans from your usual POST, allowing you to quickly enter the OS. Unfortunately the Fast Boot only works on Windows 8 currently, so it’s not operational unless you’re using a pre-release OS. What the Direct Key does is allow you to enter the IOS while Quick Boot is active. Due to the fact Quick Boot skips the “press x to enter BIOS” stage of POST, you otherwise wouldn’t be able to enter the BIOS. It’s a handy feature for anyone who likes to get into their OS fast, and in our testing (with a single SSD only) we went from cold-boot to iOS in about four seconds. Though remember, this only works with Windows 8 so far.

Other changes are fairly subtle or non-existent, so unless you’re actually chasing the new revision of sound card, Game First software on the Intel LAN chip or fast boot for Windows 8, there really isn’t a whole heap of difference between the vanilla Corsshair V Formula and the ‘Z’ revision.

*this story may or may not be based on actual events.