 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||
For those of you who are looking at upgrading to the AMD AM3 platform and do not wish to spend a great deal of money but would still also like to receive the latest features, then we have the perfect motherboard for you. The new Asrock 870 Extreme3 provides many new features, such as USB 3.0 and 6Gb/s SATA, for a little over $100 US...
Asrock has been aggressively pushing their new Extreme3 motherboards since releasing the P55 Extreme3 and X58 Extreme3 motherboards. Since then three more Extreme3 motherboards have been released, all supporting AMD processors. The flagship part, being the 890GX Extreme3, has now been followed by the 880G Extreme3 and 870 Extreme3 motherboards.
 All Extreme3 motherboards feature USB 3.0, SATA3 (6Gb/s) and eSATA3 (6Gb/s), while they also receive the “extreme” theme which makes use of a black PCB with a blue and white connector color scheme. However Extreme3 is not just about a couple of new features and a fancy color scheme, rather Asrock includes all their enthusiast orientated features in these boards as well. Features such as Asrock UCC (Unlock CPU Core) are included, along with a great deal of overclocking options. The 870 Extreme3 is one of the most affordable Asrock motherboards to receive Extreme3 status, making it a very interesting product. The heart of the 870 Extreme3 is of course the AMD 870 chipset, which is accompanied by the SB850 south bridge chip. Unlike the AMD 890GX and 880G chipsets, the 870 does not feature an integrated graphics engine, just like the flagship product the 890FX. However where as the 890FX is designed to deliver a huge amount of PCI Express lanes for optimum CrossfireX support, the 870 is best suited for a single graphics card. Whereas the 890FX can provide full PCIe x16 bandwidth for two graphics cards, the 870 limits them to PCIe x8 bandwidth, while the 890FX can support four graphics cards using PCIe x8 bandwidth. That said, those looking at spending around $100 US on a motherboard are unlikely going to be investing enough money in their graphics card configuration to warrant a secondary card, let alone a third or fourth. With a total of 22 PCI Express lanes, the AMD 870 chipset matches the 890GX and 880G chipsets, while all 8-seires chipsets utilize the x4 A-Link III technology for connecting the north and south bridge chips. The 870 is the most power conscious chipset of the 8-series, consuming just 12.5 watts of power which is 36% less than that of the 890FX. |
|||||
|
|
Busta9 |
Posted on: 05/11/2010 12:43 PM
wow these boards are cheap!!! now I really cannot wait for the new phenom ii x4 processors to unlock those extra cores. |
|
Ricky |
Posted on: 05/11/2010 01:15 PM
Now we just need some SATA 6Gb/s devices. Ohh and while we are at it lets request some USB 3.0 hardware as well  Still great review thanks. |
|
Minx |
Posted on: 05/12/2010 11:48 AM
Hey what about the Asrock 770 Extreme3? Its about $30 cheaper ... is it any good? Also have you tried the Asrock ION 330HT-BD computer? It looks pretty cool but I want to know if they work well. Thanks for the review and any help you can give me regarding those two products. |
|
Rocky |
Posted on: 05/23/2010 10:57 AM
These 870 boards are great value. Thanks for the review this helped me heaps! |
|
seb |
Posted on: 06/17/2010 11:08 AM
I bought this board yesterday... my cpu and hdd are on their way, lets see if it can hold what internet says about it. Future system config: Asrock 870 extreme 3 AMD Phenom II X4 to unlock 2 cores Sapphire radeon HD 4650 2x Western digital caviar green 800GB 64MB sata3 i think it will rock! |
|
G0D5MARINE |
Posted on: 08/05/2010 07:09 PM
I have had the 870 for about a month now. Running a 965BE. Had the overclock to 4ghz but wasn't stable. No matter what I have tried to do, I can't seem to get above 3.7. Attribute this to the mobo not the processor. Overall however it runs well. Liked the spacing with the pci-e slots for my crossfire configuration. Running 8x8 isn't as good as the FX series but it still gets the job done. Dual MSI Hawk 5770. |
|
boss rain |
Posted on: 10/17/2010 08:34 AM
this asrock 870 extreme3 is nowhere to be found in the philippines! i have looked in all places imaginable but there was nada. they should have never built a good motherboard like this if they weren't gonna make it available for people who want to buy it! it just don't make sense! |
|
bossrain |
Posted on: 10/17/2010 08:42 AM
maybe next time they build a motherboard (asrock 870 whatever!) like this they put it in the market so people who wants it can buy it, instead of putting it on websites telling you how good it is and is nowhere to be found! very disappointing! |