A Closer Look:

Left: Extreme - Right: Formula

Both the Formula and Extreme have almost identical features being that both share the same P35 and ICH9R Chipsets, except for the Formula's DDR2 and the Extreme's DDR3 support. Each board is basically a copy of the other with the main difference being the supported memory. Both models also have identical bundles and accessories pretty much down to that brand new electronic scent. Each bundle includes small cooling fans for that extra cooling your main chipset components may need if you are planning to out right put these motherboards to serious work which usually means more heat inside your case.

Unless you haven't been following the news and field reports on the latest Intel P35 Chipset, then you'll be happy to know that it's been a very forgiving chipset in terms of stability and overclocking. It's still a feature packed chipset supporting all the popular RAID features, audio, and Crossfire graphics support. While Crossfire support hasn't quite taken off, it's definitely not due to sub-par production or designs from motherboard makers. The cold truth is that any aggressive ATI graphics support has come up a bit short. The cost of the newest Crossfire graphics cards haven't helped the cause either. Does this hamper the potential of either of these motherboards? Not one bit!

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Other included features that are definitely welcomed are the optional SupremeFX II Audio Card which should offer up better audio quality and function for the avid gamer or AV buff. ASUS saw fit to use the already limited motherboard PCB real estate with an external option. Onboard audio can sometimes require more processor resources where external often does not. This frees up your processor for other things like better graphics. To put this in simpler terms, the SFX II is a step up from the typical integrated RealTek 7.1 HD Codec that you would find on the latest motherboards. Past experience has shown that while playback quality is just fine for most users, audio and video enthusiasts find the integrated audio to be under powered and lacking in some necessary areas where recording quality is concerned. The SFX II may definitely improve that for most users.

Supreme FX II Audio

Some of the main items in the software bundle include all of ASUS' current software, Futuremark benchmarking software, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game which was released not too long ago. Other supporting bundle components are the DIY Pedestal and LCD Poster. The LCD Poster isn't completely new to ASUS, but it's proven to be a handle little display for keeping track of the boot sequences and failed boots. It was helpful when the system failed to post during the entire testing process. As with all failed boots, it was intentional user error due to some serious overclocking and over zealous BIOS settings.

Front

Back

Nice Bundle

Looking at the two boards, you almost can't tell the difference just by looking. Components are almost the same save for a few ICs that change in size and relocations or additions of some small solid state capacitors. The fastest way to tell the difference is the placement of the names just below the last PCI Express X16 slot.

Formula

Extreme

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