ASROCK Z97 Extreme4 – Performance Test
Introduction
After the ASUS Maximus VII Gene has made a start in our reviews of Z97 motherboards, followed by the ASUS Z97 Deluxe and now we will be taking a look at a motherboard from another vendor, the ASRock Z97 Extreme4. The Z97 Extreme4 is a mid-range socket LGA1150 motherboard targeted for the Haswell, Haswell Refresh, and Devil’s Canyon processors. It will also support the upcoming 14nm-based processor codenamed Broadwell.
Compared to the predecessor platforms, there are some additions that have been made on this Z97 Extreme4. Having a DNA of the recently launched Z97 chipset, it is equipped with the M.2 socket 3 and SATA Express ports for the lightning-fast storage drives. ASRock has also decided to design the board with their exclusive Super Alloy Technology, including XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink, Premium Alloy Choke, Dual-Stack MOSFET, NEXFET MOSFET, and 12K Platinum Capacitors. Besides that, it gets Full Spike Protection, Sapphire Black PCB, and other nice features from ASRock.
We have seen in the Z77 and Z87 platforms that the Extreme4 line of ASRock motherboards tend to offer a good performance at an attractive price. Will this Z97 Extreme4 motherboard continue the same trend like its predecessors? We will find it out later in this review.
Product Link: ASRock > Z97 Extreme4
Suggested Retail Price: RM 579
Specifications:
Full specifications can be obtained HERE
Overview
Unboxing
The ASRock Z97 Extreme4 ships in a black box illustrated with a big gold coloured “X” to emphasize their XFast features including XFast USB, LAN, RAM along with XFan technology. Across the bottom of the retail packaging you will see some of the motherboard features which include the ASRock APP Shop, Purity Sound 2, ASRock Cloud, M.2 Socket, HDD Saver, four graphics outputs, support for Intel’s Core processor, Intel Z97 chipset, NVIDIA's SLI and AMD's CrossfireX supports, DTS Connect supports, as well as Windows 8.1-ready.
The back of the box shows the specifications and explains more details about key features of the ASRock Z97 Extreme4, including the XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink Design, Dual-Stack MOSFET for CPU power, NEXFET MOSFET, the rock-solid quality Sapphire Black PCB, the ultra-durable 12K Platinum Capacitors, and Premium Alloy Choke. Besides that, here you will be briefed about the ASRock Cloud, Purity Sound 2, ASRock APP Shop, thick Gold Contact in DIMM and PCIe slots, as well as the SATA Express and M.2 ports.
As this is a budget oriented motherboard so the bundle is lean towards cost cutting. You will get a pretty standard accessories package including a detailed user’s manual, a quick installation guide, a support CD, an I/O Shield, an SLI cable, a HDD Saver cable, an installation screw for the M.2 drive and four SATA data cables.
ASRock ditches the gold and black colour scheme found on their 7 and 8 series Extreme line of motherboards and go for a light blue and black combination. It gives a fresh new look to the motherboard and good for those who are going to build a new rig with a blue theme. However, the colour scheme might not be so attractive for some of us who don’t have the blue theme.
The ASRock Z97 Extreme4 s very well finished and comes with durable 12K Platinum Capacitors, offers a digital VRM with 12-phase power design to regulate the power to the CPU and another 3 phases to take care of the memory activities. The twelve phases powering the CPU are wired to a powerful dual-stack MOSFET, with two silicon dies have been stacked on top of each other. The three phases for the memory feature next generation NEXFET MOSFETs to provide higher efficiency with lower temperature and resistance therefore will improve the DRAM performance. There is an 8-pin 12V CPU power connector located on the upper left of the VRM heatsink, which supplies power to the CPU socket. Also spotted,a pair of 4-pin PWM CPU fan headers located near the top heatsink to connect your favourite CPU cooler fans.
Moving on to the top right portion of the Z97 Extreme4, you will find four DIMM slots that are specified to run at dual channel configuration with support for Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) and 32GB capacities. We would like to see the memory slot latches to have single-sided clips in their future products. The 24-pin ATX power connector is located on the right of the bank of memory slots to supply power to the motherboard. Next to it is a USB 3.0 header supporting two ports for front casing connectivity.
The Z97 Extreme4 has a plenty of expansion slots. There are a total of three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, along with three PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. The PCIe 3.0 x16 slots support up to 2-way quad-GPU SLI and 3-way Quad CrossFireX configurations. However, the top two primary slots will run at x8 both when the second slot is occupied while the PCIe lane bandwidth will turn to x8/ x4/ x4 when three AMD graphics cards are installed. However, 3-way SLI for NVIDIA graphics cards is not supported due to the fact that SLI requires x8 PCIe lanes or greater to work, unless if the motherboard is equipped with a PLX chip. Above the top PCIe 2.0 x1 slot there is a 4-pin Molex power connector to aid auxiliary power for stability of multi-GPU setups. Next up, you will find a 10Gbps M.2 socket 3 connector sitting between the lower primary PCIe X16 slots. Formerly known as next-generation form factor (NGFF), M.2 is the replacement for the mSATA interface found on previous generation of motherboards. Across the bottom of the motherboard, from left to right, you can see a COM Port header, a Power Fan connector, a Clear CMOS jumper, a Thunderbolt header, a pair of USB 2.0 headers, a speaker header, a front panel connector bank, a debug LED, along with Clear CMOS, Power, and Reset buttons.
As usual, ASRock provides two BIOS chips in case of BIOS corruption or the BIOS chip is damaged. Out of the box you will get BIOS version of P1.00. BIOS flashing can be done through UEFI Update Utility in BIOS settings or the included A-Tuning software.
ASRock have equipped the Extreme4 with a dedicated audio chip powered by Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec which is based around Purity Sound 2. It features a 7.1-Channel HD Audio with Content Protection, Premium Blu-ray Audio support, ASRock Full Spike Protection, Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Capacitors, 115dB SNR DAC with differential amplifier, TI NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier that supports up to 600 ohm headsets, Direct Drive Technology, EMI shielding cover, PCB isolate shielding and supports DTS Connect. The Nichicon Fine Gold audio caps can reduce noise level significantly that will satisfy even the pickiest audiophiles.
ASRock includes a total of eight 6Gbps SATA 3 ports and one 10Gbps SATA Express port to the motherboard. Six of the SATA 3 ports are natively controlled by the Z97 chipset supporting Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 and the other two SATA 3 ports are wired to the ASMedia ASM1061 controller. The SATA Express port is controlled directly by the Z97 chipset. Two of the adjacent SATA 3 ports will be used together with the SATA Express port when a SATA Express device is connected.
The rear I/O panel sports a total of six USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports. The USB 2.0 ports and four of the USB 3.0 ports are controlled by the Z97 chipset while the rest of the USB 3.0 ports are wired to the ASMedia ASM1042AE controller. The integrated graphics iGPU gets four interfaces, which are VGA D-sub, DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI port. There is a PS/2 port which comes handy when you have an older mouse or keyboard. Next up is the Gigabit Ethernet port powered by Intel I218V, followed by the analog audio jacks and an optical SPDIF output.
The back side of the PCB comes plain with just a single backplate at the CPU socket are. You can see some screws are used hold the VRM and chipset heatsinks located at the other side of the PCB. The components are well soldered on the entire PCB.
Introduction
After the ASUS Maximus VII Gene has made a start in our reviews of Z97 motherboards, followed by the ASUS Z97 Deluxe and now we will be taking a look at a motherboard from another vendor, the ASRock Z97 Extreme4. The Z97 Extreme4 is a mid-range socket LGA1150 motherboard targeted for the Haswell, Haswell Refresh, and Devil’s Canyon processors. It will also support the upcoming 14nm-based processor codenamed Broadwell.
Compared to the predecessor platforms, there are some additions that have been made on this Z97 Extreme4. Having a DNA of the recently launched Z97 chipset, it is equipped with the M.2 socket 3 and SATA Express ports for the lightning-fast storage drives. ASRock has also decided to design the board with their exclusive Super Alloy Technology, including XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink, Premium Alloy Choke, Dual-Stack MOSFET, NEXFET MOSFET, and 12K Platinum Capacitors. Besides that, it gets Full Spike Protection, Sapphire Black PCB, and other nice features from ASRock.
We have seen in the Z77 and Z87 platforms that the Extreme4 line of ASRock motherboards tend to offer a good performance at an attractive price. Will this Z97 Extreme4 motherboard continue the same trend like its predecessors? We will find it out later in this review.
Product Link: ASRock > Z97 Extreme4
Suggested Retail Price: RM 579
Specifications:
Full specifications can be obtained HERE
Overview
Unboxing
The ASRock Z97 Extreme4 ships in a black box illustrated with a big gold coloured “X” to emphasize their XFast features including XFast USB, LAN, RAM along with XFan technology. Across the bottom of the retail packaging you will see some of the motherboard features which include the ASRock APP Shop, Purity Sound 2, ASRock Cloud, M.2 Socket, HDD Saver, four graphics outputs, support for Intel’s Core processor, Intel Z97 chipset, NVIDIA's SLI and AMD's CrossfireX supports, DTS Connect supports, as well as Windows 8.1-ready.
The back of the box shows the specifications and explains more details about key features of the ASRock Z97 Extreme4, including the XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink Design, Dual-Stack MOSFET for CPU power, NEXFET MOSFET, the rock-solid quality Sapphire Black PCB, the ultra-durable 12K Platinum Capacitors, and Premium Alloy Choke. Besides that, here you will be briefed about the ASRock Cloud, Purity Sound 2, ASRock APP Shop, thick Gold Contact in DIMM and PCIe slots, as well as the SATA Express and M.2 ports.
As this is a budget oriented motherboard so the bundle is lean towards cost cutting. You will get a pretty standard accessories package including a detailed user’s manual, a quick installation guide, a support CD, an I/O Shield, an SLI cable, a HDD Saver cable, an installation screw for the M.2 drive and four SATA data cables.
ASRock ditches the gold and black colour scheme found on their 7 and 8 series Extreme line of motherboards and go for a light blue and black combination. It gives a fresh new look to the motherboard and good for those who are going to build a new rig with a blue theme. However, the colour scheme might not be so attractive for some of us who don’t have the blue theme.
The ASRock Z97 Extreme4 s very well finished and comes with durable 12K Platinum Capacitors, offers a digital VRM with 12-phase power design to regulate the power to the CPU and another 3 phases to take care of the memory activities. The twelve phases powering the CPU are wired to a powerful dual-stack MOSFET, with two silicon dies have been stacked on top of each other. The three phases for the memory feature next generation NEXFET MOSFETs to provide higher efficiency with lower temperature and resistance therefore will improve the DRAM performance. There is an 8-pin 12V CPU power connector located on the upper left of the VRM heatsink, which supplies power to the CPU socket. Also spotted,a pair of 4-pin PWM CPU fan headers located near the top heatsink to connect your favourite CPU cooler fans.
Moving on to the top right portion of the Z97 Extreme4, you will find four DIMM slots that are specified to run at dual channel configuration with support for Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) and 32GB capacities. We would like to see the memory slot latches to have single-sided clips in their future products. The 24-pin ATX power connector is located on the right of the bank of memory slots to supply power to the motherboard. Next to it is a USB 3.0 header supporting two ports for front casing connectivity.
The Z97 Extreme4 has a plenty of expansion slots. There are a total of three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, along with three PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. The PCIe 3.0 x16 slots support up to 2-way quad-GPU SLI and 3-way Quad CrossFireX configurations. However, the top two primary slots will run at x8 both when the second slot is occupied while the PCIe lane bandwidth will turn to x8/ x4/ x4 when three AMD graphics cards are installed. However, 3-way SLI for NVIDIA graphics cards is not supported due to the fact that SLI requires x8 PCIe lanes or greater to work, unless if the motherboard is equipped with a PLX chip. Above the top PCIe 2.0 x1 slot there is a 4-pin Molex power connector to aid auxiliary power for stability of multi-GPU setups. Next up, you will find a 10Gbps M.2 socket 3 connector sitting between the lower primary PCIe X16 slots. Formerly known as next-generation form factor (NGFF), M.2 is the replacement for the mSATA interface found on previous generation of motherboards. Across the bottom of the motherboard, from left to right, you can see a COM Port header, a Power Fan connector, a Clear CMOS jumper, a Thunderbolt header, a pair of USB 2.0 headers, a speaker header, a front panel connector bank, a debug LED, along with Clear CMOS, Power, and Reset buttons.
As usual, ASRock provides two BIOS chips in case of BIOS corruption or the BIOS chip is damaged. Out of the box you will get BIOS version of P1.00. BIOS flashing can be done through UEFI Update Utility in BIOS settings or the included A-Tuning software.
ASRock have equipped the Extreme4 with a dedicated audio chip powered by Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec which is based around Purity Sound 2. It features a 7.1-Channel HD Audio with Content Protection, Premium Blu-ray Audio support, ASRock Full Spike Protection, Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Capacitors, 115dB SNR DAC with differential amplifier, TI NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier that supports up to 600 ohm headsets, Direct Drive Technology, EMI shielding cover, PCB isolate shielding and supports DTS Connect. The Nichicon Fine Gold audio caps can reduce noise level significantly that will satisfy even the pickiest audiophiles.
ASRock includes a total of eight 6Gbps SATA 3 ports and one 10Gbps SATA Express port to the motherboard. Six of the SATA 3 ports are natively controlled by the Z97 chipset supporting Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 and the other two SATA 3 ports are wired to the ASMedia ASM1061 controller. The SATA Express port is controlled directly by the Z97 chipset. Two of the adjacent SATA 3 ports will be used together with the SATA Express port when a SATA Express device is connected.
The rear I/O panel sports a total of six USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports. The USB 2.0 ports and four of the USB 3.0 ports are controlled by the Z97 chipset while the rest of the USB 3.0 ports are wired to the ASMedia ASM1042AE controller. The integrated graphics iGPU gets four interfaces, which are VGA D-sub, DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI port. There is a PS/2 port which comes handy when you have an older mouse or keyboard. Next up is the Gigabit Ethernet port powered by Intel I218V, followed by the analog audio jacks and an optical SPDIF output.
The back side of the PCB comes plain with just a single backplate at the CPU socket are. You can see some screws are used hold the VRM and chipset heatsinks located at the other side of the PCB. The components are well soldered on the entire PCB.
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