ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac: Packaging and Bundle3. ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac: Board Layout and Features4. ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac: BIOS5. Testing Methodology6. Tests: System-related7. Tests: Processor-related8. Tests: Gaming-related9. Tests: Motherboard-related10. Overclocking: Frequencies11. Overclocking: Performance12. Comparison: PLX x16 link vs CPU x8 link13. Technical: Power Consumption14. Closing Thoughts15. View All Pages

Automatic CPU Overclocking:

 

Built into the Z87 Extreme11/ac are five automatic overclocking profiles. The five included profiles consist of the following settings:

• 4.00GHz use a core ratio of 40x with a 1.000V + ‘auto' offset CPU VCore. Cache voltage is set as 1.000V + ‘auto' offset with a 39x multiplier. LLC and the CPU input voltage are set to ‘auto'.
• 4.20GHz use a core ratio of 42x with a static 1.200V CPU VCore. Cache voltage is set as a static 1.150V with a 39x multiplier. LLC and the CPU input voltage are set to ‘auto'.
• 4.40GHz use a core ratio of 44x with a static 1.300V CPU VCore. Cache voltage is set as a static 1.270V with a 39x multiplier. LLC is set to level 1 and the CPU input voltage is increased to 1.900V.
• 4.60GHz use a core ratio of 46x with a static 1.320V CPU VCore. Cache voltage is set as a static 1.300V with a 39x multiplier. LLC is set to level 1 and the CPU input voltage is increased to 1.900V.
• 4.80GHz use a core ratio of 48x with a static 1.420V CPU VCore. Cache voltage is set as a static 1.300V with a 39x multiplier. LLC is set to level 1 and the CPU input voltage is increased to 1.900V.

All settings keep the memory operating at its default (XMP in our case) value.

Using ASRock’s built-in turbo profiles, we had no problems taking our 4770K chip straight to 4.4GHz. The 4.6 and 4.8GHz profiles were unstable with our chip.

The automated profile was tweaked well; at no point did we encounter voltage spikes or instability. Temperatures were bearable with our Corsair H100i CPU cooler, too.

The automatic overclock validation can be found here.

Manual CPU Overclocking:

To test the ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac motherboard’s CPU overclocking potential, we first increased the CPU VCore to 1.325V, Cache voltage to 1.275V, and CPU Input Voltage to 1.900V. Load-line calibration was set to level 1 in order to maintain a constant voltage supply.

As we encountered with ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer and Z87 Extreme9/ac to name just a few, the CPU VCore offset had to be set to its minimum increment (+0.001V) in order to maintain safe voltage levels. Without applying this setting, VCore levels would spiral off past the danger region of 1.40V with temperatures following in voltage’s footsteps towards equally worrying levels.

We tested a number of different overclocking settings to ensure that we hadn't selected a parameter which messed with the voltage override. Confirmation of the needlessly-applied additional VCore voltage was present with a number of different overclocking-related settings both enabled and disabled.

This is an irritating issue that will frustrate many users who are looking to boost their processor’s frequency. When a user selects the ‘override’ voltage option, they shouldn’t be forced to tweak other settings in order to tame voltage levels. That defies the point of giving users the override option in the first place.

In comparison to an entry-level board used by novice overclockers, the voltage issue on the Extreme11/ac isn't as worrying due to the likelihood of its user being knowledgeable in regards to overclocking and voltage-adjustment. Nevertheless, the issue should not exists at all; ‘override' should mean override.

After our BIOS-led voltage tweaks, ASRock’s Z87 Extreme11/ac fed our 4770K with only 2mV more than what we applied. This is a good level of accuracy and resulted in complete stability as well as tolerable temperatures with our Corsair H100i CPU cooler.

We pushed for 4.6GHz but could not achieve stability upon running Prime95. This mirrors the results that our 4770K showed on other Z87 motherboards that we have tested.

Our 4.5GHz validation can be viewed here.

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