These days all the big motherboard manufacturer have a gaming model in their portfolio. ASRock wants to win gamers hearts with their X79 Professional Fatyl1ty boards, which has been armed with features especially for gamers as well as a very nice design, which has been improved over several generations in the meantime. 
On the following pages we're going to show you if ASRock succeeding in convincing us with their brand new Fatal1ty X79 Professional regarding layout and design.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Spezifikationen / Lieferumfang
| CPU | Intel Socket 2011 2nd Generation i7 Processors |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM max 32 GB, DDR3 2600+ / 2133 / 2000 /
1866 / 1600 / 1333 /
1066 MHz Quad Channel |
| Multi-GPU | NVIDIA 4-Way SLI AMD 4-Way CorssFireX |
| Slots | 4 x PCI-Express 3.0/2.0 x16 (quad at x16/x8/x16/x0
or x16/x8/x8/x 1 x PCI-Express x1 2 x PCI |
| Sound | Realtek ALC898, 2 / 4 / 5.1 / 7.1 Channel |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1) 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, JBOD) 4 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Marvell 88SE9172) 2 x eSATA |
| LAN | 1 x Broadcom BCM57781 |
| I/O internal | |
| I/O Back Panel | |
| Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4 cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (2 x 64 Mbit flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS) |
Features
| DigiPower | Meanwhile ASRock also makes use of digital power designs on their motherboards. What it does is that it controls the flow of power to both CPU and memory. ASRock in this case promises maximum stability. |
| Fatal1ty Mouse Port | The Fatal1ty Mouse Port allows gamer to set the polling rate directly at the USB port. Therefore it is possible to choose a polling rate which is between 125 to 1'000 Hz. |
| PCI Epxress 3.0 | The Fatal1ty X79 Professional already has PCI-Express 3.0 Support onboard. Therefore this board is ready for upcoming GPU generations that need even more bandwidth. |
| Fatal1ty F-Stream | Using this software one can monitor and overclock its new system. It is possible to check voltages and fan speeds. The fan speeds can also be manipulated as well as the voltages. Also the CPU frequency can be change by adjusting the multiplyer and base clock. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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[pagebreak]
Layout
The ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professional comes on a black PCB and red expansion slots. Furthermore there are golden capacitors which makes the design very unique. Altogether the Fatylity X79 Professional is a really good looking board. Furthermore the southbridge cooler as well as the power design cooler have both been shaped with a lot of attention to detail. The layout itself has been well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers. The fact that there are SATA connectors which have been angled by 90 degrees, allow an easy installation of oversized graphics cards like for example a Radeon HD 6990.
ASRock equipped the ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professional with a 16+2 phase power design. In this case the CPU gets 16 phases and the memory gets the additional two phases. Each of the 18 pahses comes with premium gold caps.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professional. Officially supported are the following clock speeds: 2600 / 2133 / 2000 / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz. There is also engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders.
Southbridge as well as current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive cooling blocks, whereas the the current converter coolers are connected to eachother via a heatpipe. The cooling blocks have been positioned well, which means that they don't collide with memory or CPU coolers. Fortunately ASRock decided to not install an active southbridge cooler. Like this the board can be used noiseless right out of the box.
| 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 Fatal1ty X79 Professional with ten angled SATA ports, which is enough for every office PC, gaming rig or overclocking setup. This board could even be used for a home file server. Furthermore there are practical onboard power- and reset-buttons. There is also a practical debug LED, which is especially helpful if you should have hardware issues. The last of the four expansion slots is also a full size slot. This means that if you chose to install a dual slot GPU in this place the connectors at the bottom edge will be covered by the card. Nevertheless, putting four full size slots on a board doesn't leave a lot of alternative concerning their placement.
Totally you'll find six fan headers on the ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professional which is more than enough, to provide even an overclocking rig or even a high-end gaming machine with plenty of fresh air. The fan headers are located around the CPU and their also spread over the entire board which makes them easily to access from any position in an enclosure.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASRock equipped the Fatal1ty X79 Professional with one PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, five USB 2.0/1.1 ports, a Fatal1ty Mouse Port (USB 2.0), one gigabit ethernet port, an optical and coaxial out as well as an analogue audio panel. Furhtermore there is a CLR CMOS button and a firewire port.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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[pagebreak]
Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| The Fatal1ty X79 Professional is ASRocks interpretation of an Intel X79 based gaming motherboard. This board scores with a very nice design, whereas the black PCB, the red expansion slots and the golden caps create stunning looks. Furhtermore there are no less then four PCI Express x16 slots and on the back panel you'll find four USB 3.0 ports as well as five USB 2.0 ports an one Fatal1ty Mouse Port with an increased polling rate. Even the delivery is convincing, which means you get absolutely everything you could possibly need to setup your new board appropriately. | - Layout - Design |
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| Layout | + | - | |
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Generally the ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professionals Layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors. There are also practical power- and reset-buttons. Furhtermore there even is a debug display which is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. Totally you find four PCI Express x16 slots, which have been very well positioned. Between each of the GPU slots there is another slot. This makes 4-way GPU systems possible. On the other hand the last expansion slot at the bottom edge of the board is also a PCI Express x16 port. This means that if you choose to install a dual slot graphics card here you'll block the connector in this area. |
- Angled SATA connectors - Space around the CPU socket - Four PCI Express x16 Slots - Six fan headers |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch