ASUS today announced the TUF Series SABERTOOTH 990FX/GEN3 R2.0, the first AMD-based motherboard to feature PCI Express 3.0. Through PCI Express 3.0, up to three DirectX 11 graphics cards can be used via NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX to create desktop PCs with formidable graphics performance.

SABERTOOTH 990FX/GEN3 R2.0 also features ASUS TUF Series thermal design, TUF-certified alloy chokes, solid state capacitors and MOSFETs. Both the Northbridge and Southbridge use dual-heatpipe heatsinks with CeraM!X micro-ridged coating that increases the effective heat dissipation surface area by around 50%, according to Asus. In addition, four DIMM slots support up to 32GB DDR3 memory at frequencies up to 2400 MHz, aided by an eight-layered PCB that promotes faster memory performance.



SABERTOOTH 990FX/GEN3 R2.0 also features TUF Thermal Radar, which uses multiple heat sensors across the motherboard for real time temperature monitoring. Independent and automatic fan speed control then allows components to be cooled individually.

The ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX/GEN3 R2.0 motherboard will be available in the middle of March and it is backed by a five-year warranty.

Specifications

CPU	AMD AM3+ FX/Phenom II/Athlon II/Sempron 100 Series Processors Supports AM3+ 32 nm CPU Supports CPU up to 8 cores Supports CPU up to 140 W AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
Chipset	AMD 990FX/SB950
Memory	4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Expansion Slots	3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (Dual at x16/x16, triple at x16/x8/x8 mode) 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (Black at x16) 1 x PCI slot
Multi-GPU support	Supports NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI Technology Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX Technology
Storage	AMD SB950 controller : 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), brown Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 ASMedia® PCIe SATA controller : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
LAN	Realtek® 8111F , 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Audio	Realtek® ALC 892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : - Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound - Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection - ASUS Noise Filter - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
USB	ASMedia USB 3.0 controller : 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (2 at mid-board) ASMedia USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue) AMD SB950 controller : 12 x USB 2.0/1.1 port(s) (8 at back panel, 4 at mid-board)
Special Features	TUF ENGINE! Power Design : - 8 + 2 Digital Phase Power Design - TUF Components (Alloy choke, Cap. & MOSFET; Certified by Military-standard) - ASUS DIGI+ Power Control Utility Ultimate COOL! Thermal Solution : - TUF CeraM!X Heatsink Coating Tech. - TUF Thermal Radar Safe & Stable! Guardian Angel: - Anti-Surge - ESD - E.S.P: Efficient Switching Power Design ASUS Exclusive Features : - DirectKey - Remote GO! - USB BIOS Flashback - MemOK! - AI Suite II - Ai Charger+ - Front Panel USB 3.0 Support - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface - Network iControl - USB 3.0 Boost