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Asus Blitz Formula Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionWhen ASUS created the Republic of Gamers (R.O.G.) series of motherboards, it was an avenue to enable ASUS to experiment with products outside of the norm. Besides creating a niche f...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Introduction
When ASUS created the Republic of Gamers (R.O.G.) series of motherboards, it was an avenue to enable ASUS to experiment with products outside of the norm. Besides creating a niche for hardcore gamers and enthusiasts, the R.O.G. boards showcase some of the innovative ideas behind the creative team there at ASUS. The first R.O.G. motherboards were based on NVIDIA nForce chipsets, which focused more on supplementing their already huge feature list with more. The ASUS Crosshair and Striker Extreme boards are examples. Then came Intel's P965 chipset and the ASUS Commando, which took overclocking potential to uncharted territories.
While some of the more extreme ideas like a motherboard with onboard memory have leaked beyond the R.O.G. series (ASUS P5K3 Premium Black Pearl Edition), ASUS has more tricks up their sleeves than you can shake a stick at. And their latest Republic of Gamers offerings are a testament to that. The ASUS Blitz Extreme and Blitz Formula Special Edition attempts to bring not one, but two very unique features to the table that one would usually only see from the hardcore modding community. These include hybrid cooling and a custom 'hacked' PCIe controller to force dual x8 PCIe operation from the Intel P35 chipset. In this review, we check out the Blitz Formula Special Edition motherboard.
The ASUS Blitz Formula Special Edition motherboard. |
Packaging and Specifications
The Blitz Formula comes with The most elaborate accessory bundle we've come across, even among ASUS boards. Besides the throng of cables and regular ASUS extras like the Q-connector kit and optional fan cooler, you get an accessory kit for the Fusion Block System, an external LCD Poster display, a sound card and the most unusual item in the package comes in the form of a set of self adhesive rubber tabs, which ASUS is passing off as DIY Pedestal stands. Basically, you can peel of each tab and arrange it so you can place the board on top to help with heat dissipation; that is of course, if you're used to setting up your system out in the open.
water-cooling accessories to cater to different pipe sizes. |
Bundled fans for optional active cooling. Even comes with a converter to fit into the smaller heatsinks. |
Rubber stands which you can use to elevate the board. Strictly for the hardcore users who place their boards in the open without a chassis. |
Here's the full list of accessories accompanying the board:-
- 6 x SATA cables
- 2 x SATA power cables (dual plug)
- UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
- Floppy disk drive cable
- SupremeFX II Audio Card
- Fusion Block System Accessories
- 2-port USB2.0 and IEEE 1394a bracket
- LCD Poster
- DIY Pedestal
- ASUS Optional Fan
- 3 in 1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit
- I/O Shield
- Cable Ties
- Driver DVD and user's manual
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl full game
ASUS Blitz Formula Special Edition Technical Specifications
| CPUSupport | - Supportsall 90nm/65nm Intel LGA775processors
- 45nm ready (Wolfdale & Yorkfield)
- Quad-CoreOptimized
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| Chipset | - Northbridge:Intel P35
- 533 / 800 /1066 / 1333MHz front side bus
- PCI Express x16 forgraphics
- Southbridge:IntelICH9R
- Intel HighDefinition Audio
- Supports six PCIExpress x1 lanes
- Supports up to twelve USB 2.0ports
- Supports six SATA 3.0Gbps ports (with Matrix StorageTechnology)
- Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps MAC
| | Memory | - Supports fourunbuffered DIMM of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM
- Supports1066/800/677/533dual channel DDR2 memoryarchitecture
- 2-phase DDR2 power supply
| | Storage | - Intel ICH9RSouthbridge
- 6 x SATA 3.0Gbpsinterface
- Intel MatrixStorage Technology
- Supports RAID 0,RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5, RAID 10
- JMicronJMB368
- 1 x UltraATA33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to133MB/sec.)
| | Audio | - ASUS SupremeFX II PCI Express Audio Card
- ADIAD1988B HD Audio chipset
- Optical andcoaxial S/PDIF
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| Networking | - Marvell 88E8056 PCI ExpressGigabit Ethernet
- Marvell 88E8001PCI Gigabit Ethernet
| | IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | - VIA VT6308P FireWire-400 controller
- 2 x 1394aports @ 400Mbps speed
| | I/O Interface | - 1x Floppy connector
- 1 x Ultra ATAIDE connectors
- 6 x SATAconnectors
- 12 x USB 2.0ports (6 x rear, 6 x header)
- 2 xIEEE1394a ports (1 x rear, 1 x header)
- 2 xRJ45 LANport
- 1 x Optical S/PDIFOutput
- 1 x Coaxial S/PDIFOutput
- 1 x COM port (header)
- 1xmini-DIN-6 PS/2keyboard port
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| Expansion Slots | - 2 xPCIe x16slots,PCI Express Bus specification v1.1compliant
- 3 x PCIe x1slots, PCIExpress Bus specification v1.1compliant
- 2 x 32-bitPCI slots,PCI 2.3 compliant
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| Special Features | - ASUSFusion Thermal System
- ASUS Crosslinx Technology
- 2-PhaseDDR2
- Voltiminder LED
- LoadlineCalibration
- External LCD Poster
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| PCB | - ATX Form Factor, 12"x9.6"(30.5cm x 24.4cm)
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The rear I/O panel looks strangely empty due to the fact that the Blitz Extreme features a proper sound card. ASUS also does away with all legacy connectors except the one PS/2 keyboard. Here, there are six USB 2.0 ports, optical and coaxial S/PDIF, one FireWire, two LAN ports and the CMOS reset button. |
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