ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

Manufacturer ASRock
Name Fatal1ty Z97X Killer
Type / Chipset Intel LGA 1150 CPU / Intel Z97 Chipset
Dimensions + 8 mm (29 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. 25 mm (45 mm radius). The overall size of this ATX mainboard is 305 x 244 mm.
Slots ++++ PCIe 3.0: 3×16, PCIe 2.0: 3×1, 4x DDR3-1066 – DDR3-1600, DDR3-4000+ OC max 32GB
Connectors

++++ 6x SATA3, 1x SATA Express (shared), 1x M.2 (10 Gb/s), 1x serial (optional), 1x PS/2, 1x 10/100/1000 Mbps base-T Ethernet (Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2200), 8x USB 3.0 (4x of them internal, slot bracket for additional ports is not included), 6x USB 2.0 (1+4x 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 DVI-D, 1x 15-pol Sub-D VGA, 1x HDMI and 6x fan (2x 4-pin, 4x 3-pin).

Vcore ++++ BIOS Vcore between 0.800 Volt and 2.000 Volt and Offset between -1.000 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 Voltage) 1.165 – 1.800V, CPU Cache Voltage from 0.800 Volt to 2.000 Volt, -1,000 up to +1.000 Offset, CPU Input Voltage 1.200-2.300V, -0.600 to +0.4000 Offset, CPU Analog IO Voltage Offset -1.000 to +1.000, CPU Digital IO Voltage Offset -1.000 to +1.000, GT Adaptive Voltage Fixed 0.800 – 2.000 Volt, GT Voltage Offset -1.000 – +1.000 Volt, PCH 1.05V Voltage (Chipset) 0.977 – 1.322 Volt, PCH 1.5V Voltage (I/O) 1.366 – 1.696 Volt, VCCSA (System Agent Voltage) Offset -1.000 to +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.
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: 89.28 GOPS SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Multimedia Processorperformance in Windows 7: 287.39 MPixel/s

3DMark Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x MSI Radeon R9 280 Twin Frozr Gaming 3GB PCIe 3.0 video card: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 6366, Cloud Gate 17112, Ice Storm 159116 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 2999, Cloud Gate 14147, Ice Storm 129467 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark Test in Windows 7: Fire Strike 740, Cloud Gate 6448, Ice Storm 52182

3DMark06 Benchmark ratings with Intel Core-i5 4670K processor. 1x MSI Radeon R9 280 Twin Frozr Gaming 3GB PCIe 3.0 video card: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 30012 3DMarks 1x Sapphire HD6870 1024MB AMD Radeon HD6870 PCIe 2.0 video card: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 26041 3DMarks 1x onBoard Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics chip: 3DMark06 in Windows 7: 7832 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.