ASRock Z87M OC Formula Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

Manufacturer ASRock
Name Z87M OC Formula
Type / Chipset Intel LGA1150 CPU / Intel Z87 Chipset
Dimensions +++ 16 mm (39 mm radius) around the socket to the next capacitor or other mainboard parts – for further information see Fit for Fan. The space to the next bigger heatsink is approx. 24 mm (50 mm radius). The overall size of this Micro ATX mainboard is 244 x 244 mm.
Slots ++++ PCIe 3.0: 2×16 (2×8 SLI), PCIe 2.0: 1×4, 1×1, 1x mini PCIe (SATA shared), 1x half mini PCIe, 4x DDR3-1066 – DDR3-1600, DDR3-4000+ OC max 32GB RAM
Connectors

++++ 6x SATA3, 1x eSATA3 (SATA shared), 1x serial (optional), 1x PS/2, 1x IR (optional), 1x 10/100/1000 Mbps base-T Ethernet (Intel I217V Giga PHY), 8x USB 3.0 (2x of them internal, slot bracket for additional ports is not included), 7x USB 2.0 (1+4x of them internal, slot bracket for additional ports is not included), 8-Channel ALC 1150 onboard 7.1 sound with 5x 3.5 mm connectors (1x optical S/PDIF out, 1x int. Aux, ext. Line in, ext. Mic, ext. Front out, ext. Rear out, ext. Center/Subwoofer), 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI Out, 1x HDMI In and 6x fan connectors (2x 4-pin and 4x 3-pin).

Vcore ++++ BIOS Vcore between 0.800 Volt and 2.000 Volt and Offset between +0.001 and +1.000V
Multiplier ++++ BIOS from 8x up to 255x and 8x to 120x Turbo (max multi depending on the CPU)
Host Frequency ++++ BIOS BCLK setting from 90 to 300 MHz
VIO/VDD +++++ DRAM Voltage (DDR3 Spannung) 1.045 – 2.4035V, CPU Cache Voltage from 0.800 Volt to 2.000 Volt, +0.001 up to +1.000 Offset, CPU Input Voltage 1.200-2.300V, CPU Analog IO Voltage Offset -1.000 bis +1.000, CPU Digital IO Voltage Offset -1.000 to +1.000, GT Adaptive Voltage Fixed 0.800 – 2.000 Volt, GT Voltage Offset +0.001 – +1.000 Volt, PCH 1.05V Voltage (Chipset) 0.778 – 1.656 Volt, PCH 1.5V Voltage (I/O) 1.106 – 1.835 Volt, PCH IREF 1.5 Voltage 1.106 – 1.835 Volt, VCOMP Voltage 0.773 – 1.657 Volt, VCCSA (System Agent Voltage) Offset +0.001 – +1.000 Volt, Primary Plane Current Limit, Short Duration Power Limit, Long Duration Power Limit, Internal PLL Overvoltage, SVID Support, PCIE PLL Selection, Extreme Voltage, CPU Switching Frequency, DRAM Switching Frequency, CPU Load Line Calibration 1 to 5.
Performance* ++++ Benchmark ratings with some video cards and benchmark tools.

SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Arithmetik Processorperformance in Windows 7 RC: 89,09 GOPS SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Multimedia Processorperformance in Windows 7 RC: 285,09 MPixel/s

3DMark Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 2885, Cloud Gate 14107, Ice Storm 129602 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 800, Cloud Gate 6650, Ice Storm 48116

3DMark11 Entry Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark11 Entry Test in Windows 7: E6679 (GPU: 6811 / Physics: 7334 / Combined Score: 5085) 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: E2565 (GPU: 2275 / Physics: 6842 / Combined Score: 1894)

3DMark Vantage Entry Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark Vantage Entry Test in Windows 7: E42652 (GPU: 66219 / CPU: 20627) 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Vantage Entry Test in Windows 7: E21769 (GPU: 22296 / CPU: 20328)

3DMark06 Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 25824 3DMarks 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 7864 3DMarks

Manual and Labeling

+++ Complete and for a Micro ATX board well placed motherboard description and good manual with a lot of tips about topics like CPU installation, memory installation, etc. This mainboard comes with a detailed manual in different languages. ASRock offers a seperated Software Setup Guide with the UEFI BIOS Setup section and help about the ASRock Formula Drive Setup Utility.