Monday, May 6th 2013

ASRock Z87 Motherboard Series Detailed

ASRock is serious about breaking the 1 million motherboards-shipped mark for this year. The company is going into the emerging Intel Z87 chipset-based socket LGA1150 motherboard market with an extremely strong lineup covering a wide range of price-points. The company is preparing as many as three OC series models, two Fatal1ty series ones, and six Extreme series models. A defining feature of ASRock's lineup is the introduction of onboard 802.11 ac WLAN controllers on select models. The "/ac" brand extension denotes this feature.

Three of the company's top models based on the Z87 Express chipset include the Z87 Extreme11, Z87 Fatal1ty Professional, and Z87 OC Formula. The Z87 Extreme11, available with the /ac option, is the company's flagship socket LGA1150 motherboard, maxing out the platform's feature-set, and augmenting it with an additional PCI-Express lane budget, Thunderbolt, 802.11 ac, and a plethora of connectivity options. The Extreme series targets consumers who want the most connectivity. Other models in the series include the Z87 Extreme 9(/ac), Z87 Extreme6(/ac), Z87 Extreme 4, and the micro-ATX Z87M Extreme4.
ASRock's OC series targets overclockers, and features stronger VRM circuitry and features that help overclock CPUs and graphics cards, at the expense of connectivity. The company's Z87 OC Formula does just that, in featuring a strong CPU VRM, the ability to wire out up to three graphics cards, and additional voltage domains to stabilize them. The board features connectivity options similar to the Z87 Extreme 6, and an /ac variant is available. With this series, ASRock is introducing a micro-ATX model that's fit for serious overclocking, the Z87M OC Formula.
Brand Fatal1ty's association with ASRock lasted longer than with any other motherboard maker, with the company unveiling two of its first LGA1150 motherboards bearing the badge, the premium Z87 Fatal1ty Professional, and the value-conscious H87 Fatal1ty Performance. The Fatal1ty Professional features a unique design, which targets high-end gaming PC builds. It supports 3-way multi-GPU, connectivity gamers use, Creative Sound Core3D audio, and probably Killer or Intel wired networking. The H87 Fatal1ty Performance appears to be based on H87 Extreme4 board design, with the addition of A-Style Purity audio, and probably Intel wired networking. The entire Z87-based lineup model names are tabled below.
Source: VR-Zone Chinese
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37 Comments on ASRock Z87 Motherboard Series Detailed

#1
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
That Extreme9/ac is an epic looking board. If Haswell turns out to be good, and clock well, I will get that board for a 4770k I think.
Posted on Reply
#3
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
Dj-ElectriCDon't get your hopes high, son :)
They aren't.. ;)
Posted on Reply
#4
erocker
*
The OC Formula looks awesome and packed with features... Except they used yellow. :ohwell:
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#5
SIGSEGV
erockerThe OC Formula looks awesome and packed with features... Except they used yellow. :ohwell:
+1

indeed awesome board
if only they had red in color :ohwell:
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#6
McSteel
ASRock is becoming what ASUS used to be. The student surpasses the master?

And what's so inherently wrong with yellow? The mods section is full of good yellow-themed rigs...
Posted on Reply
#7
bim27142
Deym, Z87M OC Formula is soooooo sexy... and I just built my Micro ATX rig around 4 weeks ago... I could have just waited for this... :banghead:
Posted on Reply
#8
Covert_Death
I like yellow, i think its a nice change from red,

and if color is that big a deal they still offer a red/black board and lets be real if color is that important to you i don't think price makes a difference
Posted on Reply
#9
RejZoR
AsRock looks really good lately. I mean REALLY good. I might seriously consider them as an option on next upgrade. In the past they were budget only, but now they make really nice looking boards packed with features. It's always nice to have decent options.
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#10
dj-electric
McSteelASRock is becoming what ASUS used to be. The student surpasses the master?
When it comes to memory competability and overclocking? still far far behind.
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#11
bim27142
Dj-ElectriCWhen it comes to memory competability and overclocking? still far far behind.
How about BIOS? Asus makes crappy one nowadays... not quite sure with ASRock though...
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#13
DOM
I want a OCF my z77 OCF oc the mem a lot better then MVG :)
Posted on Reply
#15
SeventhReign
If only Asrock would make a motherboard that lasts longer than 32 days...
Posted on Reply
#16
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
SeventhReignIf only Asrock would make a motherboard that lasts longer than 32 days...
I've Had My AsRock Board Last Few Years Now. Best Board I've Ever Had too
Posted on Reply
#17
Jstn7477
SeventhReignIf only Asrock would make a motherboard that lasts longer than 32 days...
I own 8 ASRock boards from 2007 to early 2013 with zero problems. Every manufacturer has the possibility of a board or component failing rather quickly. Would be nice to see the system specs of the rig your board failed in.
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#18
Hilux SSRG
Never been a fan of ASUS/ASRock mobos due to bios issues in the past. But these boards do look feature-packed for better or worse.
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#19
erocker
*
Dj-ElectriCWhen it comes to memory competability and overclocking? still far far behind.
Dj-ElectriCI don't know how asus's BIOS is crappy, maybe you know something about it that i don't :).
BIOS bugs happen all the time and so does fixes. ASRock is clearly not the best in supporting their products via BIOS updates, take this board for example
www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=Fatal1ty%20P67%20Professional
After owning both brands as my current boards, I agree.
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#20
Jstn7477
I'm rather excited for these, especially with the new onboard audio solution. I'm not exactly an audiophile, but I did notice the difference between the Realtek ALC 892 and 898, so hopefully the ALC 1150 offers even more improvements.
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#21
erocker
*
Jstn7477I'm rather excited for these, especially with the new onboard audio solution. I'm not exactly an audiophile, but I did notice the difference between the Realtek ALC 892 and 898, so hopefully the ALC 1150 offers even more improvements.
That's what caught my eye as well, along with the nifty CPU load/temp readout.
Posted on Reply
#23
EarthDog
DOMI want a OCF my z77 OCF oc the mem a lot better then MVG :)
Was just going to say, for memory overclocking, my OCF did better than any Asus board I used (MVG only, LOL!) on the same sticks. Perhaps it was the sticks, but... that was my experience as well. Perhaps though, we are in a different class of overclocking. I dont know how 'mere mortal' overclocking goes on any board really, but do know that I crapped out around 2700ish on the MVG I had versus the OCF I took the same sticks over 2800...I cant imagine that to be any different down around the 1600-2133 area...
Dj-ElectriCASRock is clearly not the best in supporting their products via BIOS updates, take this board for example
www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=Fatal1ty%20P67%20Professional
ANd on the flip side... a modern board...: www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77%20OC%20Formula/?cat=Download&os=BIOS

or a more mainstream board (Ex6): www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77%20Extreme6/?cat=Download&os=BIOS
Posted on Reply
#24
Jstn7477
Dj-ElectriCI don't know how asus's BIOS is crappy, maybe you know something about it that i don't :).
BIOS bugs happen all the time and so does fixes. ASRock is clearly not the best in supporting their products via BIOS updates, take this board for example
www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=Fatal1ty%20P67%20Professional
To be fair, there are two Beta BIOSes available for that board, the latest one is from late January 2013. My oldest LGA 1155 board (2011 Z68 Extreme4 Gen3) is pretty much in the same boat though it's not like it really needs BIOS updates anyway as it is stable.
Posted on Reply
#25
Baum
but i think some people here are right...

i buy asrock but their bios support, update rate, and memory support is not on par with my gigabyte boards

i can only hope they keep support for their boards and not just eol for fun to sell more

if they do they lose :nutkick:
Posted on Reply
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