Official ASUS AMD 900 Series Overview

[Masonw@ASUS]

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the new AMD 900 series chipsets and motherboards, this post will give you an idea of some of the performance numbers as well as list some of the features of ASUS’ new 900 series AMD motherboards. As well as features and functionality of the chipset, I’ll also go over the ASUS specific additions on our new AMD 900 series motherboards. These chipsets and motherboards are optimized for current generation CPUs, e.g. hexa-core Thubans, as well as AMD’s upcoming Zambezi “Bulldozer” octa-core CPUs. The socket will be AM3+ but will be backwards compatible with socket AM3 CPUs.

The 900 series chipset is the replacement to AMD’s 800 series so our new boards will be replacing boards like the Crosshair IV Formula, Crosshair IV Extreme, and M4A89GTD PRO to name a few. Three of our main 900 series boards are the M5A99X EVO, Sabertooth 990FX, and Crosshair V Formula. Both the Sabertooth 990FX and the Crosshair V Formula will be available at launch and the M5A99X EVO and Thunderbolt version of Crosshair V Formula will be available later.

Some of the advantages of 900 series over the 800 series as well as some ASUS specific features on our new AMD 900 series boards are USB 3.0 on the new and speedy ASMedia USB3 controller, SLI, UEFI BIOS, our DIGI+ VRM, native SATA 6G with RAID support, AI Suite II with EPU and TPU switches, Auto Tuning, optimized layout with dual slot spacing of PCI-e slots, advanced fan controls with all have at least two 4-pin fan headers that allow for fan control

These new boards are the first AMD board to have UEFI BIOS and fully support 2.2+ TB hard drives and they are the first AMD boards to feature our DIGI+ VRM for enhanced stability and overclockability. Also, these will be the first AMD chipset boards to support SLI.

The Sabertooth 990FX and the Crosshair V Formula both support 3-way SLI. The Crosshair V Formula also supports 4-way SLI using ASUS’ ROG Xpander.
To give you an idea of the performance on our 990FX boards, here are some results of various benchmarks comparisons between the Sabertooth 990FX and our 890FX ROG board, Crosshair IV Formula. The tests on both motherboards were done using an X6 1055T Thuban, 4GB of 1600MHz CAS 9 memory, and an ASUS GTX570. These tests were done with no overclocking.

The following hard drive performance tests were done using SATA III SSDs connected to SATA III ports.

Sabertooth 990FX HD Performance with C300 128GB

Crosshair IV Formula HD Performance with C300 128GB

Sabertooth 990FX HD Performance with Vertex 3

MaxxMem^2 1.95 Single – Sabertooth 990FX

MaxxMem^2 1.95 Multiple – Sabertooth 990FX1.8

MaxxMem^2 1.95 Single – Crosshair IV Formula

MaxxMem^2 1.95 Multiple – Crosshair IV Formula

USB3 Performance Vertex3 ASMedia Adapter – Sabertooth 990FX

If you would like detailed information on these boards, features, and performance, check out these next 4 videos containing unboxings, overviews, Q&A, etc. The first video features a Q&A session regarding our new AMD 900 series motherboards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh76eBqHaKY&feature=related

The video below features an unboxing of our Sabertooth 990FX.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JsTKlOvABM&feature=related

The next video contains an overview of the Sabertooth 990FX.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cubX8HndS0&feature=related

And lastly, check out the Crosshair V Formula unboxing below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3FmXDbUxBo&feature=related

 

[Ertaz]

Cool. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Masonw@ASUS]

Welcome. Let me know if anyone has any questions or would like to see a certain configuration, etc. in our upcoming videos.

 

[drizek]

Your website says that the Sabertooth supports 4-way SLI/CF whereas the Crosshair V only supports 3-way.

What kind of performance does the ASMedia SATA III provide in the Crosshair V? Is it faster or slower than SB950?

Are there any plans for AMD motherboards like the P8P67 Deluxe? I want features like Bluetooth, Front USB3 box, dual NICs.

Also, what kind of amperage do the USB 2.0 ports provide on the Sabertooth? Do they allow for iPad charging? What about USB 3.0?

 

[JimKiler]

any word on pricing?

 

[Masonw@ASUS]

Both boards are available now. Sabertooth 990FX ~$200 and Crosshair V Formula ~$240.

drizek,
The website should say quad SLI/CF which doesn't mean 4-way because you can have 2 cards that each have 2 GPUs.

SB950 is a little faster than the ASMedia but they are comparable. A C300 would saturate the ASMedia SATA III whereas a Vertex3 would not fully saturate the ASMedia bus.

Thanks for your feedback about wanting the P8P67 Deluxe type of features on an AMD board. Due to price banding, we probably won't see all of those features. Mainly the dual NICs is something I don't think we'll see but I'll collect all the feedback I get and will see what kind of if we can get another AMD board out there hopefully with Bluetooth 3.0.

You can charge any of the Mac devices: iPad, iPhone, iPod, on the USB 2.0 ports and the USB 3.0 ports. Charging on the USB 3.0 ports will be faster.

 

[SilthDraeth]

I sent you a PM, but might as well ask here. Is there any word on the Asus f1a75-i deluxe?

 

[bleucharm28]

I sent you a PM, but might as well ask here. Is there any word on the Asus f1a75-i deluxe?

Those itx mobo looks pretty nice. Dammit, should i hold on to my 2600k? or Get rid of it. My plan this summer is to build a Z68 mini itx, but I haven't seen any mini itx z68 from Asus.

 

[SilthDraeth]

Those itx mobo looks pretty nice. Dammit, should i hold on to my 2600k? or Get rid of it. My plan this summer is to build a Z68 mini itx, but I haven't seen any mini itx z68 from Asus.

Yes, I was planning buying 2x Brazos Asus boards in about a week or so. But if those come out soon, I may get them. Though, I really like the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131698
Asus E35M1-I Deluxe

I love the overall design, Bluetooth 3.0 built in, and wifi built in. Comes with two external Antennae for the wireless.

If the Llano is a long time in coming (like another 6 months), I will just get the E35m1-I as my kids mostly just play minecraft, though he likes portal 2, I think on lower settings the Brazos should be able to handle Portal 2 alright.

 

[Masonw@ASUS]

I sent you a PM, but might as well ask here. Is there any word on the Asus f1a75-i deluxe?

I can't comment on when/if this board will be released.

 

[Masonw@ASUS]

Those itx mobo looks pretty nice. Dammit, should i hold on to my 2600k? or Get rid of it. My plan this summer is to build a Z68 mini itx, but I haven't seen any mini itx z68 from Asus.

I haven't heard of any plans for a Z68 mini ITX from us but if/when I do, I will let you know.

 

[bart1975]

I am also interested in a Z68 mini ITX.