ASRock is also one of the brands that already have Z77 based motherboards in their product portfolio. First of all we take a closer look on of their high-end boards, the Extreme 6. This motherboard waits with a many features and a very nice design. 
As always we're very curious what this thing is capable of from a layout and design perspective.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Specifications / Delivery
| CPU | Intel Socket 1155 for 3rd/2nd Generation Processors |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 |
| Multi-GPU | Supports NVIDIA 3-Way-SLI Technology Supports AMD 3-Way-CrossFireX Technology Supports Lucid Virtu MVP |
| Slots | 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x mini-PCI Express slot 2 x PCI Slots |
| Audio | Realtek ALC898, 7.1 Channel |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s port (Intel RAID 0, 1, 5, 10) 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s port (Intel RAID 0, 1, 5, 10) 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s port (ASMedia 1061) 1 x eSATA 6 Gb/s port (ASMedia 1061) |
| LAN | 1 x Broadcom BCM57781 |
| I/O internal / Connectors | |
| I/O external | |
| Formfactor | ATX (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) |
| BIOS | 64Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS GUI |
Accessories
Features
| PCI-Express 3.0 | The ASRock Extreme7 Gen3 already has PCI-Express 3.0 Support onboard. Therefore from this point of view the board is ready for Intels upcoming Ivy Bridge. Sandy Bridge doesn't support PCI-e 3.0. You'll have to use PCI-Express 2.0 in this case. |
| Digital Power Design | The ASRock Extreme 7 comes with a digital power design onboard. This enables a more efficient current supply as well as a minimum of electromagnetic radiation. |
| Lucid Virtu | Lucids Virtu software allows a dynamic load balancing between the integrated graphics and a discrete graphics card possible. The software in this case can for example deactivate the discrete graphics card and only use the integrated graphics from the CPU. This makes sense when applications only need 2D compute power. Another example would be a 3D application where Virtu dynamically assigns load to either both the integrated as well as discrete graphics in order to maximize performance. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
The Extreme 6 comes with a black PCB as well as black expansion slots. Southbridge cooler as well as the coolers on the current converters got a cover which is kept in grey and gold. Altogether the design looks calm and nice. Furthermore the components are well placed and the PCB doens't look too crowded.
ASRock equipped their latest Extreme 6 motherboard with an 8+4 phase VRM design. Eight phases are there to provide stable and clean power to the CPU. The four additional phases are there to deliver power to the memory as well as other components on the board. This really is enough even for overclocking.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the ASRock Extreme 6. The official clock speeds that are still under NDA. Therefore we'll release them whit the launch of Intels upcoming CPUs.
The current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. There are two separate cooling blocks covering the area which are connected via a heatpipe. The southbridge got a cooling block too, which has not been integrated into the heatpipe loop of the VRM. The fact that the cooling blocks around the CPU socket aren't too big makes it comfortable to install a big aircooler. We also noticed the very high manufacturing quality of the cooling blocks.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Anschlüsse und I/O
Totally ASRock equipped the Extreme 6 with eight angled SATA ports which should be enough for any office PC or gaming system. There are also practical onboard power- and reset-buttons. ASRock also equipped the Extreme 6 with a debug display which is very useful if you should once have issues with one of the components in your system. It is quite common that the last PCI-Express x16 slot is also the expansion slot is the closest to the bottom edge of the board. That has the consequence that the connectors at this place aren't accessible anymore. The Extreme 6 is no exception in this case. On the other hand there is two slots of space between the first and the second full size PCI Express port. This means that an SLI setup will be very well ventilated.
Totally you'll find six fan headers on the ASRock Extreme 6 which is more than enough even if you want to provide fresh air to a high-end setup. ASRock has chosen to place connectors next to the CPU socket, at the bottom edge of the board as well as right above the first PCI Express slot.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASRock equipped the Extreme 6 with four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, two USB 2.0 port, one eSATA 6 Gbps ports, one gigabit ethernet port, an analogue audio panel with an optical out, an HDMI port, a VGA connector, a DVI connector and a DisplayPort connector. Furthermore there also is a PS/2 mouse/keyboard port and a CLR CMOS button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| The Extreme 6 generally is a well equipped and interesting board. You'll find everything needed in order to build a powerful and reliable system. Meanwhile ASRock is one of the manufacturers which have their own and unique design, that is really nice and differs substantially from their competitors. | - Design | ||
| Layout | + | - | |
|
Generally the ASRock Extreme 6s layout is very well thought. Once more very practical are the angled SATA connectors. There are also practical power/reset buttons onboard as well as a debug LED. Unfortunately the last expansion slots is a full size PCI Express port, which means that if you choose to install a dual slots graphics card at this place you're going to cover the connectors at the bottom edge of the board. On the other hand there are two slots between the PCIe-x16 slots which means that an SLI or CrossFire setup will get a perfect environment when it comes to cooling. We also liked that ASRock chose to equip this motherboard with no less then six fan headers. Like this every setup can be cooled adequately and the fan headers are furthermore well positioned and therefore easy accessible. |
- Angled SATA connectors - Two slots between first two PCIe-x16 slots - Power/Reset/Clr-CMOS Button - 6 fan headers |
- Full-Size PCI-Express as last slot | |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch