Introduction
For those new to the system building, ASRock were a spin off from Asus over ten years ago. The idea seemed straight forward, create a budget brand that supplements the flagship Asus brand and corner the market.
It didn’t really work out that way, at least for a couple of years. We remember when we wouldn’t consider an ASRock motherboard for any of our personal builds, but over the years they gained a reputation for features and performance, just like Asus. Every system builder these days will know the name ASRock, and it’s welcome, in the past ten years we have seen the number of motherboard manufacturers dwindle, losing the likes of Abit, Nvidia and even the mighty Intel from the motherboards arena.
We have recently had a feeling that there aren’t enough manufacturers of computer components, and we mean the big stuff, graphics, memory storage and motherboards. So we are happy to pick up a ASRock Z170 Extreme4 motherboard and see what the fuss is about.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7/i5 Pentium / Celeron processors in the LGA1151 package |
| Chipset | Intel Z170 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 4 DIMMs, Supports DDR4 3866+(OC) memory modules Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB Dual channel memory architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 2.0 |
| On-board Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics Built-in - Support for up to 3 displays at the same time HDMI 1.4 DVI-D Display Port 1.2 |
| Audio | 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec) Supports Purity Sound™ 3 & DTS Connect |
| LAN | Intel NIC Giga PHY Intel® I219V Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s |
| Expansion Slots | 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE6: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4); triple at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) / x4 (PCIE6)) 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x1 Slots (Flexible PCIe) Supports AMD Quad CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and CrossFireXTM Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLITM and SLITM 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE2) |
| Storage Interface | 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by Intel® Z170, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage Technology 14 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug 3 x SATA Express 10 Gb/s Connectors (Support to be announced) 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket, supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) |
| USB | 2 USB 3.1 (1 Type-C & 1 Type-A), 8 USB 3.0 (2 Front, 6 Rear) |
| Internal I/O Connectors | 1 x COM Port Header 1 x TPM Header 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control) 3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control) 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector) 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector 1 x hunderbolt AIC Connector 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) 1 x USB 3.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.0 ports) 1 x Dr. Debug with LED 1 x Power Switch with LED 1 x Reset Switch with LED |
| Back Panel Connectors | 1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port 1 x DVI-D Port 1 x HDMI Port 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) (ASMedia ASM1142) 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) (ASMedia ASM1142) 6 x USB 3.0 Ports (Intel® Z170) (Supports ESD Protection 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED) 1 x Clear CMOS Switch HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone |
Product Gallery
Super Alloy dominates the packaging, and inside you get the usual, SATA cables, instructions, backplate and more.
ASRock Z170 Extreme4 Motherboard Review
Package - 7.5
Performance - 6.5
Price - 8
Consumer Experience - 8
7.5
We are a little disappointed with the ASRock Z170 Extreme4 motherboard in the performance stakes. The rest of the motherboard is very good for looks, features, presentation and connectivity. We just cannot get past the odd graphics and storage performance.