ASRock MB-Z68X4G3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
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- CPU Socket Type: LGA 1155
- North Bridge: Intel Z68
- Number of Memory Slots: 4??240pin
- SATA 6Gb/s: 4 x SATA 6Gb/s (SATA3_M2 connector is shared with eSATA3 port)
- USB 3.0: 2 x USB 3.0
- Form Factor: ATX
- IEEE 1394: 1 x IEEE 1394a
- Memory Standard: DDR3 2133(OC) / 1866(OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066
- Number of Memory Slots: 4, 240pin
ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock motherboard
ASRock MB-Z68X4G3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
List Price: $ 242.36
Price:
Everything I had hoped for and more,
I took my time looking at forums and product reviews to select this MB. I am not a gamer but wanted a high end motherboard that had the latest features and would cary me over for a few years. This MB is part of a 100% new build, everything including power supply, case, CPU and memory. I have built my desk model computers forever and the last one an Asus P5E3 Delux was giving me a random BSOD and when I tried to upgrade the memory and add Win 7 64 bit it choked. Time for a new computer. This is it and what a great choice. Everything went together slick including an Antec Kuhler water cooler for the Intel I5 2500K CPU. Mated this with 16GB of Skill 1600 Ripjaws memory and powered up the system. Loaded Win 7 64bit onto the Kingston 120GB SSD and I was off. Added the drivers only from the MB CD, no extra junk for me. I have not had a chance to monkey around with overclocking this rig yet, but I will. The only problem with the build was the video card I purchased flaked out on me the first week. No big deal as the MB has HDMI and digital video out and runs my two monitors great. I will look around for another video card in the near future, no hurry. I have used Asus MB’s for a very long time. I was a littel worried about changing over to ASRock but not any more. What a great MB this is, solid and smooth. I load Win 7 in less than 30 sconds from start up with the solid state drive I load programs as fast as if they were open already. My advice: Buy this MotherBoard, I did and I am smiling.
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|ASRock … Awesome,
Objective … Performance and Efficiency: I have built computers with mobos mfted by Abit, ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte, and Soyo. All good, but I have leaned to ASRock and ASUS (I loved my ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe (beautiful board) which will now go to another computer builder in the family). My most satisfying installation to date is this Z68 Extreme4/Generation3 (X4G3) mobo by ASRock. It scored well in layout, electrical goodies … gold-coated capacitors, future proofing (PCIe 3.0, HDMI, etc.), and performance. Did I say attractive … beautifully manufactured and sturdy. Layout is quite similar to the ASRock P67X4G3; which I built in another computer in 2011 (that installation had a lot to do with buying this Z68X4G3). This installation was straight forward with no issues; it had the latest bios, CD disc had the latest drivers (checked against ASRock’s online downloads), and it fired up on the first try. This is my fourth ASRock MOBO and all I can say is they get better every time. This is also my fastest computer to-date … Windows 7 – Home Premium 64-bit, two solid state drives (Kingston HyperX SATA III 120 GB and a OCZ Vertex SARA III 90 GB), and a single Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB data drive. The lowest score on Windows performance is 7.5 listed for calculations per second (Intel i5-2500K … no slouch). The remaining scores are 7.8 (memory: G Skill Sniper 8 GB dual channel 1600/DDR3 set to XMP), 7.8 (desktop graphics: XFX 6870 HD Radeon/dual fans), 7.8 (gaming graphics … board has slots for three video cards), and 7.9 (primary SSD drive: Kingston HyperX … the 90 GB SATA III OCZ SSD would have scored the same). All I can say about SSD drives is don’t buy one unless you’re ready to get spoiled forever … incredibly fast, fast, and fast! PSU is OCZ ZX Series 850W 80 Gold-Plus modular (no excess wires to deal with) with 90% efficiency at 50 percent capacity and 87% efficiency at 100 percent capacity (all modular connectors are gold-coated).
Although I have read where some complained that ASRock technical staff is lacking; that has not been my experience (a single event out of four previous MOBOs .. not bad record for a mobo company either). Last year ASRock and I worked hard to resolve an issue with the P67X4G3 board for not accepting Channel B memory and after a couple of board exchanges we resolved the issue (actually turned out to be the processor?). Also, look over their listing of approved memory before you build … they’re listed for a reason … compatibility and less chances of problems. That’s why I bought new memory for this build … the G Skill Sniper is listed.
I purchased this ASRock at Amazon. Good MOBOs and good technical assistance spell success. Definitely recommend this mobo.
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|Solid board, but plagued with issues.,
The board itself is great. Extremely easy to overclock if you wish and is priced fantastically for its features. Many of which aren’t even standard yet (USB 3.0, SATA 3, Ivy Bridge), making this very upgradeable when the time comes.
However, the first board I received did not have functioning PCI-E slots. Imagine my disappointment booting up for the first time only to be stuck using the onboard GPU over my 460. Looking around on the ASRock forums, this is a rare, but not unusual occurrence. To make matters worse, many of the graphics cards people are attempting to use will not be recognized by the BIOS, and require the ASRock team to design a CUSTOM BIOS for your setup. It’s great that they were willing to do this, but in no way should it be necessary or acceptable for a company to expect customers to product test hardware months after releasing it.
Bottom line, the board has many excellent features, is well priced, and performs better than many higher priced boards. I have not been disappointed when I finally got everything set up, but getting there really made me wish I spent the extra cash to get an ASUS.
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