Late last year Intel unveiled their LGA2011 platform and leading the charge was the Sandy Bridge-E architecture. The initial release saw the arrival of the exuberantly overpriced Core i7-3960X, which carried an MSRP of $1000, while a more sensible $590 version existed in the i7-3930K.

These 32nm processors offered up to six cores with a dozen threads. Intel has also upgraded the integrated memory controller with four channels supporting DDR3-1600 memory, for a theoretical peak bandwidth of 51.2GB/s. The new LGA2011 platform finally retired the aging LGA1366 platform, which was initially headed up by the Bloomfield 45nm processors but were later superseded by the Gulftown 32nm processors.

Now half a year later the LGA2011 platform has just three processors to choose from after releasing the Core i7-3820 in February at a more wallet friendly $300. While there are few processors to choose from there are even fewer chipsets, with the X79 being the one and only choice. That said, there are dozens of X79 motherboards to choose from ranging from $200 - $400 depending on your needs.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion just so happens to be one of those extreme $400 motherboards that throws in everything bar the kitchen sink. Granted ultra-expensive motherboards are not for everyone, but those supporting LGA2011 processors do make sense given this is a no frills platform design for power users and enthusiasts alike.

Alternatively power hungry users are also turning to Intel’s more affordable LGA1155 platform which was recently upgraded with the introduction of the Ivy Bridge architecture. Whereas the Sandy Bridge-E family comprises entirely of hard hitting Core i7 processors, the Ivy Bridge range caters to a wider audience with the inclusion of Core i5 processors.

However for those wanting to arm their Core i7-3770K processor with an equally impressive motherboard, then we believe Asrock has something special to offer with their Z77 Extreme9. Priced at $370 the Z77 Extreme9 isn’t exactly affordable either, but it does provide many of the same features found on the Fatal1ty X79 Champion...

If you compare the X79's features to the older X58/ICH10R chipset combination, you will note that after 3 years very little has changed. Essentially you get two extra USB ports, two additional PCIe x1 lanes and a pair of SATA 6Gb/s port upgrades.

As a result it has never been more important for motherboard manufacturers to include additional features and this is exactly what Asrock has done with the Fatal1ty X79 Champion, making it one of the most feature-packed X79 motherboards available.

Starting with the boards multi-GPU support there are five PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, though not all are wired for the full x16 bandwidth. Only the first and fourth x16 slots are wired for x16 bandwidth while the second, third and fifth slots are wired for x8 bandwidth. This means the board can support up to four individual graphics cards in a x16/x8/x8/x8 configuration when using 4-Way CrossFireX or 4-Way SLI.

The Fatal1ty X79 Champion has eight DIMM slots for up to 64GB of RAM. Using the chipset's quad-channel memory architecture, it supports frequencies of 1866, 1600, 1333 and 1066MHz, while 2400 and 2133MHz are possible with overclocking -- no different than you'll find on most X79 motherboards.

Whereas the X79 chipset provides six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asrock has included an additional Marvell 6Gb/s controller for another four ports: the Marvell SE9230 provides four SATA 6Gb/s ports using the PCI Express bus.

This controller also supports a feature called HyperDuo Plus Technology which is essentially SSD caching, allowing users to combine the lightning fast performance of an SSD with the enormous storage capacity of a traditional hard drive. Also included is the Marvell SE9172 controller which provides a pair of eSATA 6Gb/s ports on the boards I/O panel.

Network connectivity comes from two Broadcom BCM57781 controllers, which support Wake-On-LAN, Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az and Teaming. As impressive as the boards networking configuration is we were also excited by Asrock’s decision to use the Creative Sound Core3D audio solution. The Core3D audio supports THX TruStudio PRO, CrystalVoice, EAX 5.0 and full Blu-ray Profile 2.0 Audio Decoder Support.

Asrock has tasked three Texas Instruments TUSB7340 controllers with delivering the Fatal1ty X79 Champion USB 3.0 connectivity. The TUSB7340 is a USB 3.0 xHCI compliant host controller supporting up to four downstream ports using PCIe x1 Gen 2. A pair of controllers power eight ports on the motherboard's I/O panel, while the third supports a pair of onboard headers for another four connectors.

The Fatal1ty X79 Champion also offers FireWire via the VIA VT6315N controller which uses the PCIe x1 interface and supports two 400Mb/s IEEE1394a ports (one via the I/O panel, one via header).

However there are a few larger boards, such as the massive Extended ATX (EATX) boards which measure 305 × 330mm. Then there are a few XL-ATX boards measuring 345 x 262mm and finally two SSI CEB boards which are 305 × 267mm in size and one of them happens to be the Fatal1ty X79 Champion.

The SSI CEB form factor was designed by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) forum and derived from the larger SSI EEB form factor. The good news is that SSI CEB motherboards have the same mounting holes and the same IO connector area as ATX motherboards, meaning the Fatal1ty X79 Champion is fully compatible with ATX computer cases.

Asrock has made the most of the extra room by employing their first class 12+2 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 X79 chip is an elaborate system of heatsinks and heatpipes. Although there are four heatsinks just two of them are used to cool components, while the other two are mainly there for aesthetic purposes.

Speaking of aesthetics, the Fatal1ty X79 Champion is an impressive looking motherboard that wears the Fatal1ty theme proudly. The distinctive black, red and white color scheme helps make this Fatal1ty motherboard very aggressive.

Complementing the boards striking good looks are a number of excellent design features such as the Fatal1ty Mouse Port, Premium Gold Caps and V-Probe.

The Fatal1ty Mouse Port is a part of customizable Asrock F-Stream tuning software that is supplied with the board. After plugging a USB mouse into the Fatal1ty Mouse Port and running F-Stream, gamers can use Fatal1ty’s personal preferred mouse polling rate at 500Hz. F-Stream also provides the flexibility for gamers to adjust the mouse polling rate from 125Hz to 1000Hz. This provides gamers with smoother and faster response times from their mouse.

The Premium Gold Caps are luxury capacitors. These 100% Japan-made solid capacitors are sleek, high gloss caps with a premium gold coating representing long life and stable performance. Finally the V-Probe is a set of seven detection points laid on this motherboard. It allows overclockers to easily and quickly receive the accurate voltage readings via the multi-tester.

Despite the chipsets limitations the Z77 Extreme9 actually supports 4-Way SLI and CrossFireX, just as the Fatal1ty X79 Champion does. This is possible thanks to the inclusion of the PLX PEX 8747 PCIe 3.0 bridge chip. This chip offers solid PCIe 3.0 lanes for PCIe devices and is optimized to support high performance graphics cards.

With this bridge onboard the Z77 Extreme9 is able to work with dual graphics cards (2-Way SLI/CrossFireX) at PCI-E Gen3 x16/x16 mode or four graphics cards (4-Way SLI/CrossFireX) at PCI-E Gen3 x8/x8/x8/x8 mode, which is certainly a noteworthy upgrade.

The Z77 Extreme9 features four DIMM slots for up to 32GB of RAM. Using the chipset's dual-channel memory architecture, it supports frequencies of 1066, 1333 and 1600MHz, while 2133, 2400 and 3000MHz+ is possible through overclocking.

Whereas the Z77 chipset provides six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asrock uses a pair of ASMedia ASM1061 6Gb/s controllers for an additional four ports. The second controller, which provides the SATA3_A3 and SATA3_A4 ports, shares the A4 port with the eSATA port meaning only one of them can be used at the same time.

Network connectivity comes from a pair of Broadcom BCM57781 controllers, which support Wake-On-LAN and Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az. With the Teaming function enabled it allows two connections to act as one single connection for twice the transmission bandwidth, making data transmission more effective.

Additionally Asrock has also included a wireless and Bluetooth module which provides 2T2R (WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n+) Dual-Band WiFi and Bluetooth v4.0 support. Also included is a really innovative 5.25” tray which Asrock calls “Wi-SB BOX” which provides two invisible antennas (placed in a vertical/horizontal position), hidden inside the front panel that are designed to provide strong wireless network coverage. It even comes with a pair of front USB 3.0 ports along with room to install an SSD.

Providing the board's audio is the Realtek ALC898 audio codec which offers 7.1 channel audio with THX TruStudio and Premium Blu-ray audio support. It's the same solution found on many recently reviewed high-end Asrock X79 boards, such as the X79 Extreme9, so it's clearly not a budget part.

Along with the four USB 3.0 ports powered via the Z77, Asrock has included a pair of Etron EJ168A chips which provide eight more ports. Four of these ports are located on the boards I/O panel while the other four can be connected using front panel headers.

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.

Hardware - Intel Core i7 3960X (3.30GHz) - x4 4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-14900 (CAS 8-9-8-24) - Kingston HyperX 240GB (SATA 6Gb/s) - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC (1.5GB) - Asrock Extreme4 (Intel X79) - Asrock Extreme4-M (Intel X79) - Asus P9X79 Deluxe (Intel X79) - Intel DX79SI (Intel X79) Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Nvidia Forceware 301.42

Hardware - Intel Core i7 3770K (3.50GHz) - Intel Core i7 2600K (3.40GHz) - x2 4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-14900 (CAS 8-9-8-24) - Kingston HyperX 240GB (SATA 6Gb/s) - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC (1.5GB) - Asrock Z77 Extreme9 (Intel Z77) - Asrock Z77 Extreme6 (Intel Z77) - Asrock Z68 Extreme4 (Intel Z68) Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Nvidia Forceware 301.42

Hardware - AMD FX-8150 (3.6GHz) - x2 4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-14900 (CAS 8-9-8-24) - Kingston HyperX 240GB (SATA 6Gb/s) - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC (1.5GB) - Asus Crosshair IV Extreme (AMD 890FX) Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Nvidia Forceware 301.42

The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 delivered similar memory bandwidth performance to that of the Z77 Extreme6 with a read throughput of 20.4GB/s and a write throughput of 19.6GB/s. The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion and its Core i7-3960X processor are paired with slower 1600MHz memory which limited the read and write bandwidth to 18.4GB/s – 15.1GB/s.

The L2 cache performance of the Core i7-3770K and i7-3960X processors is very similar, that being said the i7-3770K is faster and as a result the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 again finished ahead of the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion. When compared to the competition both boards performed exceptionally well.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion averaged 12.28fps making it slightly slower than the X79 Extreme4 and slightly faster than the Asus and Intel X79 boards. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 on the other hand was a fraction faster than the Z77 Extreme6.

The Core i7-3770K took charge in the Maya test and here we see that the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 averaged 15.55fps, making it slightly slower than the Z77 Extreme6. The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion matched the X79 Extreme4 with 14.44fps each.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion scored 10.49 CPU points in CINEBENCH R11.5 which was slightly more than the X79 Extreme4 and slightly less than the Intel DX79SI. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 on the other hand scored 8.02fps with its Core i7-3770K processor, making it a fraction faster than the Z77 Extreme6.

The in-built WinRAR benchmark saw the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion produce a throughput of 4443KB/s in the multithreading test, making it slightly faster than the X79 Extreme4 and Asus P9X79 Deluxe. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 was slower with 4003KB/s, though it was faster than the Z77 Extreme6.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion took 3.67 seconds to complete the Excel workload which is the same time recorded by the Asus P9X79 Deluxe. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 was slower, taking 4.61 seconds, which is roughly the same time taken by the Z77 Extreme6.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion and Asrock Z77 Extreme9 produced roughly the same performance in our custom WinRAR compression test.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion matched the performance of the Intel DX79SI in the Photoshop CS5 test, making it slightly slower than the Asus P9X79 Deluxe. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 on the other hand was the fastest LGA1155 board tested taking 19 seconds.

When testing with Fritz Chess 13 the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion was slightly slower than the Asus P9X79 Deluxe, while it was faster than the X79 Extreme4. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 again outpaced the Z77 Extreme6 by a small margin.

Our first encoding test doesn’t offer any surprises as we find that the X79 boards all performed very much the same with less than 1fps separating any of them. It was the same case when comparing the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 to the Z77 Extreme6.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion performed well in the x264 HD Benchmark, beating all other X79 boards in the first pass test by a narrow margin. The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 also did well beating the Z77 Extreme6.

Finally when testing with TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion and Asrock Z77 Extreme9 provided almost identical results.

The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion and Z77 Extreme9 both showed strong gaming performance in all three tested games, matching or beating the competition in every test.

First up we have the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 which was exceptional, accepting a 49x multiplier. That said the voltage required for this overclock was dangerously high, but the system was 100% stable in our load test so the overclock still counts. This is on par with the highest overclock we have been able to achieve with our Core i7-3770K processor on any Z77 motherboard.

When overclocking the Core i7-3960X we also feed the processor quite a lot of voltage and this allowed us to achieve a stable overclock of 4.8GHz, which is a personal best using this processor. The Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion had no problem using the 48x multiplier, which we were shocked by as our previous best with any X79 board was 46x, using the same voltage setting.

The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 did consume more power than the Z77 Extreme6 under load, making it less efficient in terms of performance. We believe the extra 12 watts can be attributed to the increased number of features found on the Z77 Extreme9.

It was a similar situation with the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion which consumed considerably more power than the X79 Extreme4, around 28 watts more. Yet despite that large jump up in consumption the Fatal1ty X79 Champion still used less power than the Asus P9X79 Deluxe.

The Asrock Z77 Extreme9 really has no equal at $370, there is just one Z77 board that costs more and that is the ludicrously priced Asus P8Z77-V Premium at $450, while a more sensibly priced Asus P8Z77 WS can be had for $340. When compared to the P8Z77 WS the Z77 Extreme9 offers more onboard SATA ports, better networking support thanks to the WiFi/Bluetooth module and loads more USB 3.0 ports.

In fact the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 is arguably the best equipped Z77 motherboard money can buy and that’s including the $450 Asus P8Z77-V Premium. Asrock really has dotted the i's and crossed the t's with the Z77 Extreme9 as this really is one of the most polished Z77 boards you will find, and we say this having seen a great many of them.

From the boards immense feature set to its amazing overclocking abilities, the Asrock Z77 Extreme9 is the ultimate Z77 motherboard. So if the Z77 Extreme9 is the ultimate Z77 motherboard, is the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion the ultimate X79 motherboard?

Well it makes a pretty compelling argument, even at $400! Unlike the Z77 Extreme9 the Fatal1ty X79 Champion faces a great deal of competition in its price range. For roughly the same money the EVGA X79 FTW, MSI Big Bang-XPower II and Asus P9X79 WS exist.

When compared to the EVGA X79 FTW we feel the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion is a far superior product, offering considerably better storage capabilities, better USB 3.0 support and better memory support. The Fatal1ty X79 Champion also has the Asus P9X79 WS over a barrel, while the MSI Big Bang-XPower II puts up more of a fight.

Still, when matched up with the competition the Asrock Fatal1ty X79 Champion appears to have no real chinks in its armor. The board is flawless and honestly there isn’t anything we would change, and its not often we say that about a motherboard.

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Although the Fatal1ty X79 Champion looks to be one of the best motherboards money can buy, we believe a better X79 board may yet to be released. Asrock recently took the covers off their upcoming X79 Extreme11, which looks as though it could be the ultimate X79 motherboard offering considerably more gear onboard than anything currently available.

Overall we have been impressed by Asrock’s high-end offerings, as they really are top notch products. Asrock has continued to step up their game over the last few years and today we would have no problem purchasing one of their products over something from Asus or Gigabyte for example. The Fatal1ty X79 Champion and Z77 Extreme9 are more examples of why Asrock motherboards are worth checking out.