Asus Crosshair IV Extreme

Plus

• Lots of features
• Flexible
• Excellent overall package

Minus

• Expensive

Conclusion
There's lots to like here, except the price"

Silver Award

Price: 7
Performance: 8
Presentation: 9

Hot:
• Good performance
• Excellent features
• USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s
• Great audio

Not:
• LucidLogix support a work in progress
• Certain features may appeal only to niche audience

Conclusion
When we first reviewed the ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme, we had our reservations about the Hydra CrossLinX 3 due to the fact that we did not have the right cards to fully test its capability. Now, armed with two GTX 470s, we can test the SLI performance on the ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme via the Hydra chip. While we do not see performance increases across the board (even when the game does support multi-GPU setups), for the most part, the supported games do show 30-100% performance gain with the second card. In our testing, the games do run without much issue, even at very high settings. We did encounter a couple of instances where the game shut down, but re-launching the game worked. Overall, there is no major issue. Multi-GPU setup is a complex business, and it took both AMD and Nvidia quite some time to really work out the kinks and produce a stable, and high-performance driver. The current Hydra driver seems to be stable enough, and offers a decent amount of performance gain for those who wish to run SLI. If Hydra can continue updating their drivers and add support for newer generations of cards and games, this could be a very valuable option. The lack of native SLI support is certainly a major blow for AMD. While having the Lucid Hydra chip may not be the best solution, it is nonetheless the best option available for AMD users who want a board with the latest technology such as SATA 6 Gbps and USB 3.0 in addition to SLI. It is also a much better option than the SLI hack that is floating around the web. The ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme is currently the only AMD motherboard on the market with native CrossFireX support and ability to run SLI with the CrossLinX 3 Hydra chip. We want to emphasize a couple things for those looking to run a multi-GPU setup with the Hydra chip. The most essential part is probably picking the right combination of cards. Also, users should not expect that the latest and greatest cards will be supported at launch, because the Hydra driver often needs to be updated in order to support them. In addition, users should stick with Hydra’s recommended drivers for their graphics cards, and keep their Hydra driver up to date. With this in mind, AMD users may also be able to enjoy the power of SLI with their six-core Phenom II processor. No related posts.

Plus

• Very sexy looking board
• Excellent overclocking option
• Five PCI-E slots
• Having the ability to mix and match GPUs
• Low power consumption
• USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s
• Status LED
• Good build quality
• Switchable PCI-E

Minus

• EATX form factor
• Realtek Audio chip (we kind of expect a little better audio)
• Fan is a bit noisy
• Hydralogix performance still needs work
• Pricing

Score Details

• Performance: 8
• Value: 7
• Quality: 10
• Features: 10
• Innovation: 9

Conclusion
While we like the ability to use any graphics card in a motherboard without having to worry about compatibility, we are not too certain yet as to the benefit of the Lucid chip. For one, our tests show that the performance gain is not always consistent. Furthermore, since Lucid relies on profiles, it may not recognize newer cards, like our HD6850, until an updated profile is provided. We think Lucid has potential if it can really get the driver/software working well, and offers support for latest generation of graphic cards. There are a few benefits to this chip, however: it allows a total of 5 PCI-E slots, more than most AMD based boards on the market. Also, while it may not be perfect, it does at least let AMD platforms run SLI with 2 or more Nvidia cards if they so choose. At the moment, we are not going to completely disregard the technology, but we are not yet ready to pronounce it as a winner. We will have to wait and see. Let’s forget about the Lucid chip and consider just the board. While the Asus Crosshair IV Extreme is a good performer, its performance is not always consistent. We appreciate the extra features such as the ROG Connect and RC Bluetooth, but we think the biggest selling point on the Crosshair IV Extreme is actually the extensive and intuitive overclocking opportunity the board provides. The switchable PCI-E and voltage contact points are also something that tweakers would love. Ultimately, the board is designed for hardcore tweakers out there who like to push their systems. One of the real downers with the Crosshair IV Extreme is its price. Currently the board is selling at $299, which is $100 more expensive than a similar board without the Lucid chip. Boards such as the ASUS M4A89TD Pro, Crosshair IV Formula, or Gigabyte GA-890FA-UD4 are virtually identical to this board with the 890FX and SB850 chipsets, and perform equally well and overclock well without the additional cost. For users who do not require 5 PCI-E slots, we would suggest buying the other boards and running CrossFire rather than buying this one.

Verdict
The Crosshair IV Extreme is a worthy addition to the RoG family of boards and although its price tag limits it to a niche market, it's worth taking a peek at if only to see what's possible in current motherboard design. Lucid's HydraLogix 200 chip certainly works better the second time around, allowing for a mix and match of graphics cards, and at the very least it offers SLI support on an AMD platform.