14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS has been a long time supplier of gaming-oriented hardware and, naturally, it is no surprise to find out that the company's product lineup for CeBIT 2010 includes a number of Republic of Gamers devices. Of course, CeBIT has not exactly kicked off but, given that the booths are already set up and waiting, there was nothing to stop us from getting a few exclusive previews of what would be on display over the next few days. We already got a few close-up shots of the MSI GT660 gaming laptop and Zotac's ION-based nettop. Now, ASUS' 890FX-based Republic of Gamers (RoG) motherboards are ready to be seen in their full glory.
The two models that the company will have on display at this year's Hanover show are the RoG Crosshair 4 Formula and the RoG Crosshair IV Extreme. These two devices are aimed at hardcore gamers and are powered by AMD's new 890FX+SB850 chipset. Unfortunately, ASUS seems to have been extra careful when it set up its exhibition, as the so-called spec sheets it put up have little to no real information on either of the products. Still, there is much that can be seen just from looking at them.
The RoG Crosshair IV Formula comes with four DDR3 memory slots that support dual channel setups, and no less than four PCI Express x16 slots. Seeing that the board itself is meant for gaming, there is little doubt that CorssFireX or Hybrid Crossfire modes are supported, an idea proven beyond doubt by the quad CrossFireX configuration installed on the Crosshair IV Extreme. The Formula will support AM3 central processing units and, as is already known, the chipset's southbridge has built-in support for SATA 6.0Gbps.
It is quite clear that the Formula's capabilities are top-end, which can only mean that the RoG Crosshair IV Extreme is meant for overclocking enthusiasts. This fact is confirmed by the configuration that ASUS will be using to prove the might of its board. The Extreme is combined with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition and no less than four ASUS EAH5870 graphics cards. Still, what is most impressive is the unusual ability of this mainboard to be overclocked via a Windows mobile phone through use of the ROG Connect and RC Bluetooth.
Of course, it was impossible to find out any sort of details on the pricing and availability of these two products, although there is no doubt that they are not wallet-friendly. The company itself will give official details over the following days.
Live report by Traian Teglet from CeBIT 2010 in Hanover, Germany.
