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The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 uses the ATX form factor, measuring 305 x 244mm, which is fairly typical for a Z77 motherboard as the platform is much more compact when compared to LGA2011. The only EATX Z77 board that we know of is the Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 and at the opposite extreme there are a few Mini-ITX boards such as the recently released Asrock Z77E-ITX.
Asrock has employed their 8+4 Power Phase along with their Digi Power VRM design and Dual-Stack MOSFET (DSM). By adopting digital pulse-width modulation (PWM), the Asrock motherboard can provide CPU vcore voltage more efficiently and smoothly. Compared to analog PWM, digital PWM can optimize the CPU power solution and provide a proper and stable vcore for the processor.
The Dual-Stack MOSFET feature is an innovative new design of MOSFETs. The silicon die area is increased by stacking two dies into a MOSFET. The larger the die area, the lower Rds(on). Compared to traditional discrete MOSFET, DSM can provide larger die area and lower Rds(on), so the power supply for CPU Vcore is more efficient.
Cooling the power phase along with the Z77 chip is another elaborate system of heatsinks and heatpipes. This time we find a huge heatsink directly behind the I/O panel which is designed to cool the boards power phase circuitry and is connected to another large but slightly smaller heatsink. The smaller heatsink is placed over the PLX PEX 8747 PCIe 3.0 bridge chip.
Finally in the bottom right hand corner of the board is a small heatsink which stands alone and is designed to cool the Z77 chip. This heatsink along with the massive one over the power circuitry feature LED lighting, which looks impressive when active.
In fact the entire board design looks rather impressive, as it features the unique all black design which was first introduced when Asrock started pushing their Gen3 (PCIe 3.0) motherboards. With the exception of the gold capacitors the board is almost entirely black, from the PCB to the connectors. In our opinion the Asrock Extreme series of motherboards is more aesthetically pleasing than anything Asus or Gigabyte are producing right now.
Looks aside, the Z77 Extreme9 also includes a number of useful design features such as the onboard power and reset switches, along with the clear CMOS switch which is mounted on the boards I/O panel. The Dr. Debug LED diagnostic display is also another useful tool and enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that the BIOS chip can be removed. |
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moss |
Posted on: 06/06/2012 10:40 PM
Love the look of the Champion! Wish I could afford it  I want to upgrade my LGA1366 system to the LGA2011, just gotta wait a little longer and get a cheaper board. Thanks for the review though. |
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drate |
Posted on: 06/06/2012 11:50 PM
I wish you could install a mSATA SSD on the Z77 Extreme9 for caching. |
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lame |
Posted on: 06/07/2012 05:35 AM
Fatal1ty branded products ... really Asrock :S |
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stretch1 |
Posted on: 06/07/2012 11:07 PM
very good looking boards from asrock. I bought the extreme6 and I am very happy with it. The 9 looks even better! |