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Overall we are very impressed with the ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional motherboard and can't actually think of anything significant that could be improved. The red and black colour scheme may not be to everyone's tastes but on a hardware level it is among the best available.
The Fatal1ty board boasts a wide range of connectivity including USB3.0 and SATA-600 which ensure the fastest possible transfer rates. One minor complaint we have is that there are only two USB3.0 ports on the back panel whereas most motherboards feature four. That said, ASRock include two front USB3.0 headers as opposed to the single header that is present on most motherboards. You can always use the included USB3.0 bay adapter ASRock include, but this may not fit in aesthetically with all cases and may well be hidden behind a case door.
One of the most impressive features of this motherboard is the overclocking capabilities. We were able to achieve 3.8 GHz with our AMD Phenom II X6 1090T using the automatic overclocking function without having to tweak any settings, meaning users of all abilities can benefit from the performance benefits without having to learn a plethora of bios settings.
When overclocking manually, we were able to achieve a fully stable 4.1 GHz without much trouble at all. We managed to boot at 4.3 GHz but the temperatures were rather high and the system ran into instability after a minute or so of Prime 95. That said, with better cooling, we wouldn't be surprised if you were able to achieve a stable overclock at this speed.
Many users will factor in the cost of a motherboard as well as the performance when deciding to buy. The ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional is currently available for around £150 which makes it around £30 cheaper than the similarly designed Crosshair V Formula from Asus.
ASrock have reached new heights in 2011, this is the best 990FX motherboard on the market today.
Pros
- Attractive red and black colour scheme
- Great for overclocking
- Easy to use Auto OC functionality
- Good connectivity
- Dual LAN connection
- Plentiful bundle
Cons
- We still have to wait for Bulldozer
KitGuru says: No doubt, the best 990FX motherboard we've tested to date.
hard to believe that they used to be seen as a ‘budget’ model maker. Great product.
Maybe this has been asked before but some people on a forum I visit say they are actually ASUS, is this right?
Looking forward to bulldozer, but some figures leaked dont look that impress. if they are right.
ill wait until I see some bulldozer reviews before b uying, but this is on my shortlist.
Hi Francis, they used to be Asus’ “sister” company, but made the break some years ago now.
I have a 1090t and ordered this today. if bulldozer is worth the upgrade ill move over !
Excellent again. t hey seem to be on a roll lately with some great products released every week. Im an intel guy, but this is great
The only thing that puts me off this product is having to look at his face in the bios! can that be switched off?
How often do they tend to make bios updates? I had a bad time with my last gigabyte board and thats why I moved ot asus as they are more regular.
Seems to me that ASROCK are really stepping up their game. I currently have two ASROCK boards at home. One of them is about middle of the road and the other is a very budget board running a HTPC. I was very impressed with both boards and they have been running for about 6 months each 24/7 with no problems. Seems to me that both of mine come with pretty cheap looking graphics and UIs but for the feature set vs price you really can’t beat it at all.
You could set a really sh#t clock by AMD CPU releases, intel must be pissing themselves.
I am waiting on parts and will be building a system with the Buldozer and this motherboard. I would be happy to post any info on the results of the build if either Henry Butt or his readers are interested. I chose this Asrock board based on features, reviews and price. So far the board seems to be impressive in all catogories.
I am waiting on parts and will be building a system with the Bulldozer and this motherboard. I would be happy to post any info on the results of the build if either Henry Butt or his readers are interested. I chose this Asrock board based on features, reviews and price. So far the board seems to be impressive in all categories.
Hi Nate,
We would love to hear your views. good luck with the system build!