Asus Crosshair IV Extreme AMD 890FX Motherboard

Asus Crosshair IV Extreme American Megatrends

The Crosshair IV Extreme's BIOS offers control over nearly every feature there's a name for. As always, we recommend only adjusting those settings you understand (or look up first).


The CIV-E is loaded with BIOS options and configurable functions as befits an enthusiast board at this price point. End-users can save specific profiles, monitor thermal probe temperatures, or even opt to disable all integrated peripherals save for the Ethernet adapter (Asus claims this may improve overclocking stability.)

A variety of system voltages and settings are available for tweaking; enthusiasts who want to individually tune each core for maximum performance can do so via Asus' Core Unlocker technology. The lower-right-hand corner shows the standard set of temperatures as well as the three optional thermal connectors (two of which are not hooked up in this image).

LEDs on the motherboard will change color to match the BIOS display--push CPU voltage into the red zone, for example, and you'll see a warning light both in the BIOS and on the board itself. End users have control over a wide range of features and settings; overclockers are free to optimize to their heart's content.