ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Motherboard

Conclusions

The ASRock Z87 Extreme4 is a motherboard targeted to the savvy user who is building a mid-range computer using one of the new “Haswell” CPUs (fourth-generation Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processors) and wants above-average features.

This motherboard has very strong features not present on competing products. This includes the best audio codec available today, which is physically separated from the rest of the motherboard, so its theoretical signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved; the third PCI Express x16 slot is controlled by the CPU and therefore follows the 3.0 specification and can be used to build CrossFireX arrays; a 12-phase voltage regulator circuit; and an HDMI input – this is the first motherboard we’ve seen with this feature.

Other highlights include the presence of nine USB 3.0 ports, eight SATA-600 ports, one eSATA-600 port (but shared with one of the SATA-600 ports), two BIOS chips, and a two-channel amplifier for analog headphones.

The only drawback we see with this motherboard is the way the internal USB 3.0 ports are configured. The Z87 chipset supports six USB 3.0 ports, but the manufacturer wanted this motherboard to have nine USB 3.0 ports. While the four USB 3.0 ports located on the motherboard’s rear panel and the USB 3.0 port located near the memory sockets are connected independently to the chipset, the other four, which are available through two headers, are connected to a single USB 3.0 port of the chipset, by way of a hub chip. If you use two or more of these ports at the same time, the performance will drop.