Wednesday, May 15th 2013

ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac World's First Thunderbolt-certified Motherboard

Press Release by
btarunr
 Discuss (25 Comments)
If you've been following news of computing technologies, you've probably already noticed the presence of Thunderbolt technology. Now the maestros of motherboard manufacturing, ASRock is the world's first to add more of these wonderful Thunderbolt ports to the upcoming Intel 8 Series motherboards! What's more, the company's top-of-the-line Z87 Extreme9/ac motherboard is the world's first Intel 8 Series motherboard to pass the Intel Thunderbolt certification.

These Thunderbolt ports will come on ASRock's Z87 Extreme9/ac, which are allegedly arriving to the market very soon, along with dozens of other exciting new features, such as ASRock's A-Style. So, if you're looking forward to build a solid next gen desktop rig with insanely fast data transfer abilities and innovative new software or hardware features, keep your eyes open for this bad boy.

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25 Comments on ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac World's First Thunderbolt-certified Motherboard

#1
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
I swear that is the sexiest board I have ever seen. It would go so well with Corsair Dominator Platinums with the black and clean aluminum.
Posted on Reply
#2
Nordic
I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general.
Posted on Reply
#3
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
james888I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general.
Im not expecting much from Haswell. as long as its on par with Ivy Bridge ill still upgrade to it.

Id like to be on the new socket even if performance isn't that much of an improvement.
Posted on Reply
#4
Jorge
Asrock has improved their mobo products in recent years and they now can be considered on par with Asus and Gigabyte as far as mobo performance is concerned, with the nod definitely going to Asrock tech support over both Asus (sic) and Gigabyte, (poor IME).

That being said, Thunderbolt is a technology looking for something to use it. It really is a solution for few people/devices so unless you have some real need for it, it's just marketing hype.
Posted on Reply
#5
Nordic
MxPhenom 216Im not expecting much from Haswell. as long as its on par with Ivy Bridge ill still upgrade to it.

Id like to be on the new socket even if performance isn't that much of an improvement.
If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself.
Posted on Reply
#6
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
james888If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself.
I really would like to get a chip with hyper threading for video editing rendering. That's why I am looking at Haswell to get the 4770k.
Posted on Reply
#7
drdeathx
MxPhenom 216I really would like to get a chip with hyper threading for video editing rendering. That's why I am looking at Haswell to get the 4770k.
Buy my 3930K LOL
Posted on Reply
#8
dj-electric
drdeathxBuy my 3930K LOL
+1 this

Expecting performance plus overclocking from 4770K is like expecting a violent vomit from a drunk friend right in your face. I know...
Posted on Reply
#9
RCoon
james888I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general.
Could be pretty soon, but along with the wonderful review I'm sure we'll see the ugly sides of Z87.
Loving the board, still waiting on a board to go with my block white with black highlight theme.
Posted on Reply
#10
radrok
james888If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself.
Well, Sandy already does 5Ghz so it's not like it would be a feat
Posted on Reply
#11
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
Am I the only person who thinks that it is interesting that the picture of that board has 10 SATA ports on it and that they're all the same color? Thunderbolt is cool, but if those are all SATA3 ports, that's pretty nifty and it's about time. :p Makes me wonder how many of them are off the PCH and what controller they're using for the rest.
Posted on Reply
#12
radrok
AquinusAm I the only person who thinks that it is interesting that the picture of that board has 10 SATA ports on it and that they're all the same color? Thunderbolt is cool, but if those are all SATA3 ports, that's pretty nifty and it's about time. :p Makes me wonder how many of them are off the PCH and what controller they're using for the rest.
And this is not the Extreme11 which will probably have an LSI controller onboard.

Let's hope they get the memo and make Raid5 possible, the only reason I didn't pick up an X79 E11 is the lack of Raid5.

Oh and also retarded latency given by PLX chips.
Posted on Reply
#13
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
radrokLet's hope they get the memo and make Raid5 possible, the only reason I didn't pick up an X79 E11 is the lack of Raid5.

Oh and also retarded latency given by PLX chips.
+1: There is no reason to have a PLX chip on a X79 board IMHO. Also the lack of RAID-5 was the biggest turn off with the board. I already had my board when it came out so I wouldn't have swapped, but it definitely was a turn off.
Posted on Reply
#14
radrok
I think that the X79 E11 had some nifty engineering choices but those were eclipsed by some other poor choices.

They probably implemented that half assed LSI controller just to have all those ports and the PLX chips just to cram everything they could on the platform.

The idea was nice but the implementation just came as a mix of too many things which made the strong points much more weaker.

Let's hope they will understand the message and show that on upcoming E11s because ASRock has gained my interest lately and this is tough to say by an ASUS fanboy.
Posted on Reply
#15
Nordic
radrokWell, Sandy already does 5Ghz so it's not like it would be a feat
5ghz is not something every sandy can do. 4.5ghz is something nearly every sandy can do with ease. I can at max get 4.6ghz but no higher. 5ghz or maybe more with a small bit of an ipc improvement combined is what might make me upgrade, but not till I read many many reviews. I desire more single threaded performance. In the end I may not upgrade and live happy with sandy.
Posted on Reply
#16
drdeathx
james8885ghz is not something every sandy can do. 4.5ghz is something nearly every sandy can do with ease. I can at max get 4.6ghz but no higher. 5ghz or maybe more with a small bit of an ipc improvement combined is what might make me upgrade, but not till I read many many reviews. I desire more single threaded performance. In the end I may not upgrade and live happy with sandy.
James, Sandy can do 5GHz FYI
Posted on Reply
#17
ensabrenoir
......ouch!!!!!!.......... tech woodie....... credit card on stand by......
Posted on Reply
#18
Eric_Cartman
drdeathxJames, Sandy can do 5GHz FYI
Can do, and does consistently are two very different things. That is his point.
Posted on Reply
#19
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
Eric_CartmanCan do, and does consistently are two very different things. That is his point.
That depends on the board and the CPU. Where my 3820 might not go above 4.94Ghz at the highest, there are a lot of boards (in particular, ROG boards,) that will let it get much closer to 5.4Ghz, so with a good board a 5Ghz overclock with a 2600k shouldn't be unreasonable. 5Ghz for a 2700k should be a walk in the park though, assuming your motherboard can handle it.
Posted on Reply
#20
radrok
AquinusThat depends on the board and the CPU. Where my 3820 might not go above 4.94Ghz at the highest, there are a lot of boards (in particular, ROG boards,) that will let it get much closer to 5.4Ghz, so with a good board a 5Ghz overclock with a 2600k shouldn't be unreasonable. 5Ghz for a 2700k should be a walk in the park though, assuming your motherboard can handle it.
Yes many 2700k can hit 5,0 Ghz easily ;)
Posted on Reply
#21
Fourstaff
Which one should come first, lots of Thunderbolt devices and then motherboards to take advantage of them, or lots of Thunderbolt equipped motherboards, and then the devices?
Posted on Reply
#23
Eric_Cartman
radrokYes many 2700k can hit 5,0 Ghz easily ;)
Many, but not all, again that is his point.
Posted on Reply
#24
progste
I have low expectations for haswell but this motherboard looks SO GOOD! :respect:
Posted on Reply
#25
de.das.dude
Pro Indian Modder
ASRock is really stepping up their game.
Posted on Reply
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