ASRock, ECS, Gigabyte, Intel, Sapphire Z77 Motherboard Roundup - PAGE 2

Starting alphabetically we have the ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional. This board is designed for gamers and the packaging is a clear indication of this with the Falal1ty branding along with an image of the professional gamer Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel himself. The rest of the front panel lists the supported graphics cards and microprocessors.

The reverse side of the packaging goes more into detail about what the motherboard offers in terms of features and support including their 555 XFast technology, along with Lucid's Virtu MVP design. Just below the MVP info is six boxes that each list key components of the motherboard including use of gold caps, a Digi Power design, a 16+8 power phase layout, support for memory up to DDR3 2800+, a Fatal1ty mouse port, and UEFI BIOS.

Inside the box ASRock has bundled six SATA cables, a Molex to SATA power connector, the I/O cover, SLI bridge, drivers/utilities disc, manuals and a USB 3.0 bracket that can either be used at the front of the case in a 5.25" drive bay, or at the rear panel via single slot adapter.

The ASRock Fatal1ty has a very slick and well laid out design, along with the Fatal1ty red and black color scheme. The motherboard also uses all high quality components such as Premium Gold Capacitors, a large heatsink on the vital components and a massive phase design. The back also top-notch, as all the heatsinks are secured to the PCB via screws and there are even additional power circuitry connected to the board. Since the neither Ivy Bridge nor Sandy Bridge support dual graphics cards at a full x16/x16, the board has sufficient connectors.

This model also utilizes ASRock's XFast 555 technology. Essentially this feature improves the performance of the memory, internet access time and USB speed fivefold. A software utility boosts the memory usage by creating a virtual disk for increased system memory performance in applications such as Photoshop. ASRock XFast LAN is a smart productivity tool to helps you manage your priorities of internet applications, simplify your digital life and accomplish more. XFast USB technology boosts the USB transfer to a new level enabling more data to be transferred in less time.

The ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Pro is built on the Z77 platform which supports all of Intel's LGA-1155 Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge processors. To properly power the CPU and ensure the board has maximum overclocking potential, ASRock uses a Digi Power design with 16+8 phase units. Additionally, the large heatsink attached to the VRM will also improve the overall efficiency of the voltage regulation unit, increasing stability and improving the overclocking headroom.

Next to the CPU socket are four memory DIMMs that run in a dual-channel configuration. In total the board can support up to 32GB of DDR3 memory with speeds of up to 2800+ (Ivy Bridge only). This model also includes support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules. By default the voltage to the memory is set at 1.5V, so if your memory requires more power the voltage level will have to be adjusted manually in the BIOS. Interestingly, there is a IDE connector next to the memory slots. This is interesting as IDE is no longer supported by the chipset, and few high-end consumers are stuck to using any Legacy devices.

The Z77 Fatal1ty Pro has a wide array of expansion options. The I/O panel features a single PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, 6 USB 3.0 ports, 5 USB 2.0 ports, Optical P/DIF out connector, six USB 2.0 ports, 1 Fatal1ty Mouse Port (USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 IEEE 1394a port, 1 eSATA3 connector, dual RJ-45 LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED) and HD Audio Jacks for the Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone.

In total the Z77 Fatal1ty Pro has three PCIe x16 slots, two of which use the PCIe 3.0 standard, while the third is PCIe 2.0. Between the three slots the board can support both CrossFireX and SLI in either a x8/x8, or x8/x4/x4 configuration. Additionally, the Fatal1ty Pro includes dual PCIe x1 slots and 2 PCIe slots.

To the right of and below the PCIe slots are n-board headers for additional connectivity. From left to right, the board features a COM port, Floppy drive connector, 3-pin fan header, front audio header, dual USB 2.0 ports the font panel connection points and two more power connectors. The lower portion of the board  also has an on-board diagnostics LED along with reset and power buttons that each sport the Fatal1ty logo.

Along with the Legacy connectors, the Fatal1ty Z77 Pro also a total of 10 SATA ports. Of these, the 4 bottom ports utilize the SATA 3Gbps specification while the top six SATA ports are all 6Gbps ports. Not all are supported via the chipset though, as four are connected by ASMedia ASM1061 controllers, while only two are directly controlled by the Panther Point chipset. To power the controllers ASRock has included a PLX chip, which expands the PCIe 2 lanes.