Asustek Computer Inc. designed the Asus Crosshair motherboard for the computer gaming market and introduced the product in 2006. According to PC Perspectives, the Asus Crosshair does not provide record-breaking data transmission rates but the motherboard's performance should be "more than fast enough for any user." If you own this motherboard, a familiarity with its specifications may be helpful for troubleshooting and upgrading.
Form Factor
The Asus Crosshair is built on an Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) form factor, which is a reference to the configuration of the motherboard's underlying structure. Intel developed the ATX form factor as a replacement for the bulkier AT motherboard form factor. Manufacturers measure form factor using two dimensions: width and depth. The Asus Crosshair measures 12 inches wide by 9.6 inches deep.
CPU
The Asus Crosshair motherboard features an AMD Socket for connecting the central processing unit (CPU). This socket accommodates AM2+ and AM2 microprocessors, including AMD's Phenom, Phenom FX, Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX, Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron processors. By utilizing the AMD's microprocessor architecture, the Asus Crosshair can support simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit processing. These measurements are a reference to data transfer width, or how many lanes of data traffic the motherboard can accommodate.
Chipset
A chipset is a collection of two microchips -- a northbridge and a southbridge -- which allow the CPU to communicate with other hardware components on the motherboard. The Crosshair motherboard has an Nvidia nForce 590 SLI MCP chipset, which consists of a C51XE northbridge and an MCP55XE southbridge.
Memory and Storage
The Asus Crosshair utilizes four dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) for providing a maximum system memory capacity of 8 gigabytes. The Crosshair requires double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). This memory can store data only while a computer is on and the motherboard is receiving power. Additionally, the Crosshair motherboard features an NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP controller and a Silicon Image 3132 SATA controller. Unlike RAM memory, these controllers allow for permanent data storage. The NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP features an UltraDMA port and six SATA ports, each having a maximum transfer rate of 3 gigabytes per second. The Silicon Image 3132 SATA offers two external, on-the-go SATA ports.
Expansion Slots and Ports
For connecting external devices and components to the Asus Crosshair, the motherboard provides a variety of slots and ports. Slots include one PCIe 16x slot, one PCIe 4x slot and three PCI 2.2 slots. Ports include 10 USB 2.0 ports, four USB 2.0/1.1 ports, a PS/2 keyboard port, a PS/2 mouse port, two external SATA ports, an S/PDIF out port, an IEEE 1394a port, two LAN (RJ45) ports, one onboard LED switch port and one LCD poster port.
Tags: Asus Crosshair, Crosshair motherboard, Asus Crosshair motherboard, SATA ports, 3132 SATA