With Computex just a week or so away, it was just a matter of time before leaks started to come out in force, and it looks like a certain high-end ASUS motherboard is the star of the latest one.
ASUS has been focusing most of its wave making on the tablet market recently, to some extent, but this doesn't mean it has forgotten about its other outlets.
In fact, the company has been quite diligent in its development of new high-end motherboards if the latest leak is anything to go by.
Apparently, a photo made its way to the web, depicting the Crosshair V Formula that ASUS will be delivering soon, at Computex most likely.
Those familiar with the name will be able to identify it as part of the outfit's gaming and overclocking line of desktop platforms.
Sure enough, it is powered by AMD's 990FX chipset and has a total of six slots, four of them PCI Express x16.
The main PCI Express slot always works in x16 mode, while the second and third share bandwidth and the fourth operates in x4.
This means that the final full-size PCI Express slot is of the x1 variety, while the legacy PCI slot and the mini one complete the ensemble. Additionally, four DDR3 memory slots are present.
The way the PCI slots are arranged, it won't exactly be possible to use the x1 slot and the regular PCI one if dual-slot video controllers are used, although there will still be enough room to put in a PCI Express SSD in the x4 one, if users have such a thing in mind of course.
Unfortunately, there was no specification sheet accompanying the photo, so it is not clear what the exact I/O and connectivity options are, although one can assume USB 3.0, Gigabit LAN, WiFi and the like are all present.
Finally, there are several heatsinks lining the mainboard, apparently of a new design compared to the angular ones on the Crosshair IV formula.
