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ASrock are using a UEFI interface which is both intuitive and stable. Updating the bios can be handled via Windows and only takes a couple of minutes. Ideal for less experienced users who dislike having to use USB flash drives.
The bios is well laid out and easy to use. We really do value the ASRock designs because they offer overclocked settings for a wide audience who don't feel comfortable overclocking the hardware manually.
As with other ASrock boards, there are ‘built in' settings for the processor you are using, once it is detected. In the case of this Core i7 2600k, right up to 4.8ghz.
System validation is available here.
Achieving 4.6ghz is easy enough, even with modest air cooling. All we had to do was change a single setting in the bios and reboot. Wham – instant 1.2ghz overclock. To get 4.8ghz stable we needed to change a few additional settings, including voltage increases, so we will concentrate on 4.6ghz today – achievable by anyone reading this.
We let the system run with a 2133mhz profile (9-9-9-24) via the ADATA 2200mhz memory, as it wouldn't post when forcing an XMP profile.
Very nice indeed, looks great. I need a system upgrade, it kills me everytime I read a review of a new mobo 🙁
Yeah they are really good now, I hate however how some forums have idiots who are ‘experts’ who say they still suck. I have a P67 board of theirs (B3) and it is brilliant, never a problem. hits 4.6ghz with my 2500k no problem too.
x16/x16 is quite rare on these systems. good job ASROCK. bit expensive though isnt it?
This $275 board is meant for triple card multi-monitor setups, and is in direct competition with the $350 Maximus IV Extreme-Z, $360 UD7, $370 G1. Sniper2 budget and $310 FTW.
IMO, if a current triple-CF/SLI setup is the priority and you already own a dedicated SSD, sacrificing the Z68 futures for the $235 P67 WS Revolution is a better deal.
AFAIK, the NF200 bridge/switch is PCIe 2.0. If it is to handle the traffic from 3 PCIe slots to the CPU, then how will do it at PCIe 3.0 speed with PCIe 3.0 video cards and CPU??
Ramon
Why are the first two pci-e slots so close together?
@ Carl. The second slot is the PCIE 3.0 compatible one. If you use SLI etc, I think you are meant to use slot 1 and 3.
Wich setting in the bios do have you change in the bios to achieve 4,6ghz?