14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes to ROG (Republic of Gamers), one expects the ultimate experience to be lived by the user. And Asus indeed gave users the most innovative solution and the highest performance. But sometimes the ultimate may just be in line with the previous ultimate experience. And if you expect a much higher level of performance and tweaking than before, than you may get even disappointed. And especially when this is about overclocking.
When the 780i motherboard series was launched, it was expected to stand higher than other series and it did overcome 680i in performance. Nvidia managed to create a platform that made a little bit of a difference. Manufacturers got accustomed with the new model and, after a few not quite impressive models, launched those that stand under "ultimate" mark.
ASUS Striker II Formula is a motherboard that fits into the second series of 780i motherboards. Being a ROG motherboard, it provides all the features a gamer wants: 3-way SLI, PCI Express 2.0 and Nvidia ESA, not to mention the additional overclocking tools, protection and LEDs specific for a gaming motherboard. Let's see in detail what is this motherboard up to and where its performance reaches the highest level.
The numbers on the specifications chart are impressive. ASUS Striker II Formula supports Intel Socket 775 Core2 Duo, Quad and Extreme processors, as well as Pentium Extreme, 4 and D processors. It is also compatible with the next generation 45nm CPUs. Its front side bus rises up to 1333MHz and supports up to 8Gb of DDR2 1066MHz memory. The board is also rich in expansion slots: 2 PCI 2.0 x16 and one PCI x16 slots supporting Nvidia SLI technology, 2 PCI x1 and 2 PCI 2.2 slots.
The motherboard also features dual Gigabit LAN, 10 USB 2.0 ports, two IEEE1394 ports and six SATA slots. All the cables and connectors that you need to install the motherboard are to be found inside the shipping box and even more. The drivers and utilities come on a disk that also includes full versions of 3DMark06 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus. The package also contains a LCD Poster, two optional fans, the 3-way SLI connector and a SupremeFX II Audio card.
The board layout is somehow striking as well. The black board used as a backdrop is lightened by the copper heatpipes and the white and blue expansion slots. As the motherboard supports 3-way SLI, the manufacturer placed the other slots along the edge of the board, so that not to be covered by the GPUs (the graphic cards featuring dual-slot coolers would definitely cover everything around them). The SATA slots are placed in an unusual way, being stacked like a pile of bricks.
The I/O back panel is a little different too, as it leaves more room for the USB ports by cutting off the PS/2 mouse port. There are the Gigabit ports, a Firewire port, optical and digital audio outputs and the two extra USB ports, besides the usual four ones. Yet, there is no room for an eSATA port, which would come handy for some. An illuminated Clear CMOS button existing on the back panel may also come handy for some users.
Overclocking is available both via BIOS and tweaking utilities. The well-known ASUS CPU Level Up, AI Gear 3, AI Overclocking or AI Booster Utility are just some of the software one can use to boost the performance of the motherboard. And if one goes too high with the tweaking, the overclocking protection that this motherboard features will alert and advice to lower the parameters.
And here appears the problem with the motherboard. All those tweaking utilities will work only up to a point which is not as high as one expected it to be. The core speed of the CPU is easily risen using AI Booster with only a few mouse clicks. CPU Level Up will work only on few CPUs, (so it's useless if your processor is not listed by the utility) but it allows tweaking frequency, voltage and memory timing. AI Gear 3 will adjust CPU frequency and voltage depending on the system needs and it allows users to choose from four pre-established settings for the one that suits them best.
The tweaking available in BIOS is fully featured, yet it is recommended for experienced users only. All the overclocking available through utilities is available in BIOS too, and even a little extra. The FSB can get to a pretty high level, from 1333MHz to around 1700Mhz, yet the stability of the system has much to suffer. The highest stable level, according to Hot Hardware, is 1733MHz with CPU clock speed set at 3.03GHz. This level is lower than on other motherboards, as even some manufactured by ASUS with a different chipset base support higher levels of overclocking.
It is true that the other motherboard is not a nForce 780i one, but ASUS Striker II Formula remains in line with the other 780i based ASUS motherboards, which is a good thing. It rises higher than the previous 680i, but it may be doomed by the upcoming of the 790i. In these conditions, when looking at its price one would expect more from it, especially for its ROG label. Even so, this motherboard will make any power-user more than happy with all its features, LEDs and utilities and not to forget its stability and the 3-way SLI support.