ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

Manufacturer ASRock
Name Z87 Extreme4
Type / Chipset Intel LGA1150 CPU / Intel Z87 Chipset
Dimensions ++ 11 mm (32 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. 37 mm (59 mm radius). The overall size of this ATX mainboard is 305 x 244 mm.
Slots ++++ PCIe 3.0: 3×16 (1×8/1×4/1×4, 2×8 SLI), PCIe 2.0: 2×1, 4x DDR3-1066 – DDR3-1600, DDR3-4000+ OC max 32GB RAM
Connectors

++++ 6x SATA3, 2x SATA3 (ASMedia ASM1061), 1x eSATA3 (shared), 1x serial (optional), 1x PS/2, 1x IR (optional), 1x 10/100/1000 Mbps base-T Ethernet (Intel I217V Giga PHY), 9x USB 3.0 (1+4x of them internal, slot bracket for additional ports is not included), 8x USB 2.0 (6x of them internal, slot bracket for additional ports is not included), 8-Channel Realtek 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, 15-pol Sub-D, DVI-D, 1x HDMI Out, 1x HDMI In and 6x fan (2x 4-pin, 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 120x (max multi depending on the CPU)
Host Frequency ++++ BIOS BCLK setting from 90 to 300 MHz
VIO/VDD ++++ DRAM Voltage (DDR3 Spannung) 1.165 – 1.800V, 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 bis +1.000, GT Adaptive Voltage Fixed 0.800 – 2.000 Volt, GT Voltage Offset +0.001 – +1.000 Volt, PCH 1.05V Voltage (Chipsatz) 0.977 – 1.322 Volt, PCH 1.5V Voltage (I/O) 1.369 – 1.699 Volt, VCCSA (System Agent Spannung) Offset +0.001 – +1.000 Volt, Primary Plane Current Limit, Short Duration Power Limit, Long Duration Power Limit, Internal PLL Overvoltage, PCIE PLL Selection and CPU Load Line Calibration 1-5.
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: 91,4 GOPS SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Multimedia Processorperformance in Windows 7: 287,9 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 2906, Cloud Gate 14232, Ice Storm 129579 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 806, Cloud Gate 6671, Ice Storm 48084

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: E6692 (GPU: 6831 / Physics: 7334 / Combined Score: 5081) 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: E2569 (GPU: 2272 / Physics: 6876 / Combined Score: 1921)

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: E42744 (GPU: 66565 / CPU: 20613) 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Vantage Entry Test in Windows 7: E21846 (GPU: 22243 / CPU: 20735)

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: 25765 3DMarks 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 7892 3DMarks

Manual and Labeling

+++ Complete and 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.