Introduction

You have not been paying a lot of attention if you by now do not know who ASRock is and what they have to offer. Having been around for quite some time as an enthusiast-focused board manufacturer, ASRock has definitely made a name for itself by providing a host of affordable and functional daily-driver boards and everything up to crazy LSI RAID-equipped storage monsters for every platform, aside from a bunch of other products. From the Fatal1ty line some love, but many hate and to the OC Formula line of boards purely focused on pushing the limits of attainable frequencies, no matter what sort of user you are, an ASRock product should have crossed your path at some point. I have covered many myself and still have quite a few sitting here that I have yet to cover. ASRock is serious about giving you what you want, no matter the twist you desire, and with that in mind, I asked them for some mITX products to review.

I have had many requests for mITX product reviews, so much so that it has almost been overwhelming. With current technology offering pretty respectable performance while using very little power, many users want smaller systems that simply take up less space under the desk, or are small enough to dissolve from view in a home theater. With Intel's Haswell offering nearly perfect levels of performance for high-end home theater builds, great for ripping and encoding movies or playing a lightweight game or two, and nearly anything that might be internet-based, the ability to make computing that much less intrusive on daily living is something many cannot ignore. Valve's Big Picture and STEAM OS show that the entire industry recognizes this movement, nevermind that many enthusiast case makers have supporting products for mITX builds. ASRock does recognize this as well, having sent me a mITX Haswell-based board nearly immediately after I asked for one so many months ago, and since then, it and several other mITX boards have been poked, prodded, and abused for 6 months, and over the next several weeks, I'll be reporting my findings to you.

The ASRock Z87E-ITX is a small base for high-performance computing platforms that even those interested in smaller-sized gaming boxes might want to pay attention to, nevermind everyone else. Built-in WiFi and a decent set of overclocking-focused features make the ASRock Z87E-ITX an interesting option for those looking to get everything Intel's Haswell has to offer into a smaller form factor.

Specifications

Intel Z87 Chipset

New and fresh on the scene for June of 2013 is Intel's latest Socket 1150 platform, with Intel's Z87 chipset taking the top-tier spot in chipset functionality and for performance options on this platform.


Most of the basic functionality offered by Intel's new Z87 chipset is quite similar to what was offered with Intel's Z77 Express, but there are more USB 3.0 ports, and they are faster too. All of the SATA ports provided offer SATA 6 Gb/s functionality. Intel's Z77 Express only had two ports at those speeds. There are also new power-saving features to keep power consumption at a bare minimum, and Z87 also includes all the features of the Intel Z77 Express. The chipset offers PCIe speeds of up to 5 GT/s for fast access to peripheral devices and networking with up to eight PCI Express 2.0 x1 ports that can be configured to act as x2-, x4-, or x8 ports. Intel's functionality diagram for the Z87 chipset is shown above.


The new 4th Gen Intel Core CPUs are 64-bit, multi-core chips built on a 22nm process; pairing with the Intel Z87 chipset enables the performance-tuning features of "K"-SKU CPUs, allowing independent changes to core-, graphics-, "ring"-, and memory frequencies. This allows you to clock up one part of the chip while running any other part of the chip at stock speeds, which is extremely useful for enthusiasts that like to overclock, as each part can be clocked and tested independently for the absolute most out of your chip if the time is taken to test everything fully. Users who prefer the simpler approach of past platforms can use it instead, ensuring everyone's needs are met. For PCIe connectivity, Intel Z87-based platforms allow the processor's PCI Express 3.0 port to be configured into three different configurations: 1x16, 2x8, or 1x8 and 2x4. The third x8 and 2x4 configuration is primarily meant for use with Intel Thunderbolt Technology but can be used to support other devices as well.

Other TPU reviews cover the CPUs themselves in more detail. We will now also separate those reviews. One will cover iGPU performance and the other will cover CPU performance.

Packaging

The ASRock Z87E-ITX was actually the very first SKT 1150 board to arrive at my house so many months ago, before Intel's Haswell/Z87 platform launched. I didn't know what it was at first since the box is nearly big enough to fit a mATX rather than a mITX board. Both the front and back of the box are simple in design, although the rear is definitely more business than pleasure.


With the lid of the box propped open, the board itself is not to be found, but all the board's accessories are. The board is under a cardboard divider, wrapped into an anti-static bag and nestled securely inside a closed-cell foam surround I have found on many ASRock products lately. I removed the board from the static bag to give you a picture of the foam protecting the board. I like ASRock's use of foam and wish many other brands would do the same.

Contents

The included accessories do not include anything interesting except for the antenna, which you see pictured above. A full list of all the goodies is below:

• 1 x Quick Installation Guide
• 1 x User Manual
• 1 x DVI-to-VGA adapter
• 1 x Support CD
• 1 x I/O shield
• 4 x SATA data cables
• 1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5GHz antenna