Beginning at the CPU socket we can see there are plenty of gold solid CAPs around this region. A 12+6 CPU Phase Power Design is present on the Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3. The entire heatsink design that covers the MOSFETs has a thick heatpipe that stretches as far as the Z68 chip also. The EATX requires 8-pin power from the PSU – based on the Phase Power Design, heatsinks and EATX power in theory we should be looking to aim high with overclocking performance.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 has dual CPU coolers mounting holes for LGA775 and LGA1155/1156 coolers.



Moving to the memory slots we have 2x dual channel options. These slots support DDR3 and Intel XMP. We can also use memory kits that run from 1066MHz up to 2133MHz (OC).

ASRock have chosen to support older devices that make use of IDE on the Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3. This is a strange move since SATA has pretty much superseded IDE now. Sure, some may still use IDE but those individuals will be few and far between this standard is much slower than SATA.

Next to the IDE slot there is a USB 3.0 header for connecting to the USB 3.0 ports on the front of the case.



Moving to the SATA ports we have an abundance of options here. Up to 6x SATA 3 (6Gbps) ports and 4x SATA 2 (3Gbps). 2 of the SATA 3 ports are supplied via Intel Z68 and the other 4 ports are supplied via ASMedia ASM1061.



Beside the SATA ports there are some other great features that we come to expect from premium high-end motherboards. In the corner of the motherboard we have on-board power and reset buttons. These buttons illuminate red when the system is running – this feature is extremely useful for system builders and particularly those who have their system setup on a test bench.

We also have a Dr Debug display panel for diagnosing any issues on POST. Again this is a very handy feature to have on the motherboard as it can assist with eliminating any issues you may have getting the system booted.



In terms of graphics compatibility we have 2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (PCIE2/PCIE4: single at x16 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) or dual at x8/x8 mode) and 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE5: x4 mode). We also have 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and 2 x PCI slots. Available via these slots we have support for AMD Quad CrossFireX™ , 3-Way CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™ and on NVIDIA side - Quad SLI™ and SLI™.



Lastly the I/O panel on the Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 from left to right has:

• Dual USB 2.0 ports
• PS2 Keyboard
• Dual HDMI and VGA port
• Clear CMOS Button
• Gigabit LAN (RJ45)
• 2x USB 3.0 ports
• 2x USB 2.0 ports (Top - Fatal1ty Mouse Port)
• IEEE 1394 Port
• eSATA3 port
• Gigabit LAN (RJ45)
• 2x USB 3.0 ports
• 6 Channel HD Audio Jacks with Optical SPDIF

The top USB 2.0 port acts as the Fatal1ty Mouse Port. This mouse port offers gamers the chance of seeing Fata1lty’s personally preferred settings. It also allows gamers to completely customise their mouse settings giving plenty of flexibility- all via bundled software of course.