Starting with the CPU socket let’s move in for a closer look. The Extrem4 Gen3 is equipped with a 12-Phase Power Design (8+4 Digi Power). The heatsink design is oversized and covers the MOSFETs and we have a series of premium gold solid CAPs around the CPU socket and throughout the motherboard. These are 100% Japanese made and offer extended stability and endurance.
The CPU socket itself is of course LGA1155, supporting the Intel K series of 2nd Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 processors. Should you have an LGA1156 CPU cooler you can fit this on the board as LGA1155 and LGA1156 use the same mounting alignment. The CPU has a single 8-pin power ATX12v1 port.
More than adequate MOSFET cooling and gold solid CAPs
Moving on, we have 4x DIMM slots for dual channel DDR3. On the Extreme4 Gen3 we have 1066MHz up to 2133MHz (OC) supported. Over in this region we also have the 24-pin power as expected.
Memory slots – dual channel DDR3
Further on we have a total of 8x SATA ports. The black ports are SATAII whilst the grey are SATAIII so we have a choice of going with 3Gbps or 6Gbps (two via Intel and two via Marvell SE9120). We have support for Intel® Rapid Storage and Intel® Smart Response Technology via the SATAIII ports.
The SATA ports with 6Gbps support via Marvell SE9120 and Intel
The Extreme4 Gen3 features a Smart Switch Design. Pictured below you can see the onboard power and reset buttons. Over at the I/O we also have a clear CMOS button with LED. These onboard buttons illuminate red when the motherboard is powered up and are extremely handy for system builders and enthusiasts.
Onboard power and reset buttons are very useful
In the same region we also have LED debug – a feature that is absent on many motherboards these days but is great for diagnosing POST issues. Again, like the onboard power buttons the LED screen emits a warm red glow. Directly above the LED debug is the Intel Z68 Chipset with a large heatsink placed on it. Strangely, the heatsink here doesn’t have any fins as a typical heatsink would have for dissipating heat and it does get rather hot under operation.
The USB3.0 header is located at the very bottom of the motherboard.
LED debug and Intel Z68 heatsink
Moving on we have the PCI-E lanes – it’s important to note that because the Extreme4 has the Gen3 branding we now have support for PCI-E 3.0. PCI-E 3.0 actually delivers 32GB/s over PCI-E that only delivers 32GB/s (x16) and because the Extreme4 Gen3 uses PLX PEX8608 we are able to have more PCI-E lanes on the motherboard: 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, 2 PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots and 2 PCI slots. In the graphics department we have support for AMD Quad CrossFireX , 3-Way CrossFireX and CrossFireX NVIDIA Quad SLI and SLI.
Although there are no PCI-E 3.0 graphics cards available yet it’s great to see that ASRock are preparing for this – this will surely be one of its unique selling points as it future-proofs the product.
Support for multi-GPU configurations and PCI-E 3.0 graphics
Finally, onto the I/O section of the motherboard. Here we have various ports including:
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
- 1 x D-Sub Port
- 1 x DVI-D Port
- 1 x HDMI Port
- 1 x DisplayPort
- 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
- 1 x eSATA3 Connector
- 2 x Ready-to-Use USB 3.0 Ports
- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
- 1 x IEEE 1394 Port
- 1 x Clear CMOS Switch with LED
- HD Audio Jack: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
The I/O panel on the Extreme4 Gen3
