Those wanting to build the ultimate performance system will naturally turn to Intel’s new LGA2011 platform which made its debut with the Sandy Bridge-E processors back in November of 2011. This highly refined architecture takes the original Sandy Bridge design and pumps it full of steroids, while adding a few new things. Moreover, the platform is expected to support enthusiast-level Ivy Bridge processors that are slated for release by the end of 2012, adding to the platform's longevity.

The current series' flagship CPU known as the Core i7-3960X boasts a massive 15MB L3 cache and six cores clocked at 3.3GHz. As we found on our review last November, the i7-3960X is 20-30% faster than the Core i7-2600K, though at $999 it's over 3 times more expensive. As crazy as that price might seem, there are those willing to fork out the dough to purchase the world’s most powerful desktop processor.

There is also a slightly slower and considerably more affordable option. The Core i7-3930K is already selling for $599, and a third alternative, the Core i7-3820 which costs just $320. But if you are after a hexa-core processor with L3 cache to spare, then the Core i7-3930K is going to be the cheapest option for a while.

Still, not everyone jumping on the LGA2011 platform right now requires the power of Intel’s six-core processors and for those people the Core i7-3820 is an attractive option. However purchasing a $300~ processor only to spend another $300~ on the motherboard isn’t exactly cost effective.

However not all X79 motherboards cost a small fortune and we are now seeing boards that are retailing closer to $200 rather than $400, as they were last year. The problem we found with the grossly overpriced X79 boards was that the cheaper Z68 parts offered considerably more features and this was primarily due to the limited feature set of the X79.

When we first tested the LGA2011 platform, we were shocked by the X79 chipset's lack of features. The X79 fails to differentiate itself from the more affordable Z68 as users still get six SATA ports of which only two are 6Gb/s capable. USB 3.0 support is nowhere to be found, but you get the same 14 USB 2.0 ports as on the Z68.

So then what can Asrock provide for a smidge over $200? Well there is the impressive looking X79 Extreme4 which offers many of the features found on the more expensive boards. However perhaps more noteworthy is the Micro ATX version known as the X79 Extreme4-M which surprisingly doesn’t sacrifice much despite measuring just 24.4 cm x 24.4cm...

An important aspect of all LGA2011 motherboards is the PCI Express slot configuration, as that determines the SLI and Crossfire support. Asrock has included three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots which when used at the same time will operate using x16/x16/x8 bandwidth. The board also provides support for 4-way Crossfire or 4-way SLI when using a pair of Radeon HD 6990 or GeForce GTX 590 graphics cards.

A disappointing aspect of the X79 Extreme4 is that it features just four DIMM slots opposed to the full eight. This means the maximum memory capacity right now is limited to 32GB’s whereas boards with eight slots can handle 64GB. 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.

Whereas the X79 chipset provides six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asrock has included the ASMedia ASM1061 6Gb/s controller for an additional three ports. However this controller only supports a pair of SATA 6Gb/s ports, so really only two of the three ports can be used at the same time. The controller is connected to a pair of onboard SATA headers as well as an eSATA port on the boards I/O panel.

Network connectivity comes from a single Broadcom BCM57781 controller, which support Wake-On-LAN, Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az and Teaming. This is the same controller used by Asrock’s prized X79 Extreme9 motherboard and it is a quality component.

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. This audio solution can be found on other high-end X79 motherboards such as the Asus P9X79 Deluxe, so again it’s not a budget solution.

Asrock has tasked two ASMedia ASM1042 controllers with delivering the X79 Extreme4 USB 3.0 connectivity. The ASM1042 is a USB 3.0 xHCI compliant host controller supporting up to two downstream ports using PCIe x1 Gen 2. One controller powers two ports on the motherboard's I/O panel, while the other supports an onboard header for another two connectors.

The X79 Extreme4 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).

The X79 Extreme4 features what Asrock calls their Advanced 6 + 2 Phase CPU set up. There are 6 phases for the CPU and 2 phases for the System Agent. The board is also complemented by an army of premium gold capacitors. These 100% Japan-made solid capacitors are sleek, high gloss caps with a premium gold coating, representing long life and stable performance according to Asrock.

We have few qualms about Asrock's design, though the X79 chip is cooled by a small 35mm fan, which are notoriously unreliable. You'll find similar features on Asrock’s more high-end X79 boards, including onboard power and reset buttons as well as a diagnostic LED screen. Asrock's UEFI BIOS is well designed, making it easy to navigate all the settings.

Like the bigger ATX version, the X79 Extreme4-M features three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots allowing for quad SLI and CrossfireX. However as the slots are all placed right next to each other, unless you are using single slot cards it is only possible to install two.

Yet it is still possible to take advantage of the 4-way SLI or CrossfireX support using a pair of either the GeForce GTX 590 or Radeon HD 6990 graphics cards. That said, most mATX cases will likely only accommodate for a single high-end graphics card.

The X79 Extreme4-M also only supports four DDR3 DIMM slots, though given this is a Micro ATX motherboard we are a lot more forgiving here as space is very limited. Still, even with four slots a 32GB memory capacity for a mATX system is quite impressive. Again 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.

Once again complementing the X79 chipsets six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asrock has included the ASMedia ASM1061 6Gb/s controller for an additional port. Despite the fact that the controller does support a pair of SATA 6Gb/s ports Asrock has chosen to include just a single eSATA port on the boards I/O panel.

The same audio and network solutions have been implemented, as the X79 Extreme4-M utilizes the Broadcom BCM57781 controller and Realtek ALC898 audio codec. The X79 Extreme4-M 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).

The same USB 3.0 configuration has been used which again relies on a pair of ASMedia ASM1042 controllers. Again one controller powers two ports on the motherboard's I/O panel, while the other supports an onboard header for another two connectors.

Asrock has also gone with the exact same Advanced 6 + 2 Phase CPU set up which uses 6 phases for the CPU and 2 phases for the System Agent. The board is also littered with premium gold capacitors, while the X79 chip is cooled via the same heatsink and fan combo.

In essence the X79 Extreme4 and X79 Extreme4-M are the same board with the only real difference being that there are two less SATA 6Gb/s connectors on the X79 Extreme4-M and the PCI Express 3.0 x16 configuration is a little more cramped. Even the price is the same as both boards retail for roughly $220.

Hardware - Intel Core i7 3960X(3.30GHz) - x4 2GB 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 - Asrock Extreme4-M - Asus P9X79 Deluxe - Intel DX79SI Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Nvidia Forceware 296.10

Hardware - Intel Core i7 2600K (3.40GHz) - x2 4GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 (CAS 8-8-8-20) - Kingston HyperX 240GB (SATA 6Gb/s) - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC (1.5GB) - Asrock Z68 Extreme4 (Intel Z68) Software - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Nvidia Forceware 296.10

Hardware - AMD FX-8150 (3.6GHz) - x2 4GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 (CAS 8-8-8-20) - 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 296.10

When equipped with four DDR3-1866 memory modules we found that all X79 motherboards delivered similar performance. Both the Asrock X79 Extreme4 and Extreme4-M provided strong performance, though overall the results were extremely similar when comparing all X79 boards.

The AIDA64 L2 cache performance test looks at the CPU exclusively and as a result the motherboard used has little impact here.

The Microsoft Excel 2010 benchmark favored the Asrock X79 Extreme4, though if you look at the results the Asus P9X79 Deluxe was just a 10th of a second slower, and this trend continued with the other X79 boards.

We saw almost no variance in performance for our custom 700MB compression test. The Asrock boards delivered virtually the same performance as the Asus and Intel X79 boards with just 1 – 2 seconds separating them.

The Photoshop CS5 test was completed within 16 seconds on all X79 boards, though it was the Asrock Extreme4-M that posted the best result.

When encoding with HandBrake we saw less than a 1fps difference between the slowest and fastest of the X79 boards. At the top of the heap was the Asrock X79 Extreme4 followed by the Extreme4-M.

The x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 saw a 3fps difference in the first pass test between the fastest and slowest X79 boards. The Intel DX79SI was the slowest X79 board tested, with the Asrock X79 Extreme4-M taking the lead delivering 175.4fps.

TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress saw the four X79 boards deliver virtually the same performance as they all completed the task in around 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

The performance varied slightly in Dirt 3 and at 1680x1050 the Asrock X79 Extreme4 was the fastest X79 board.

The Witcher 2 provided a 2fps difference between the fastest and slowest X79 boards at 1680x1050. The slowest board was the Asrock X79 Extreme4-M, while the Asrock X79 Extreme4 was again the fastest of the bunch.

Finally the Asrock X79 boards finished strong in Crysis 2 delivering comparable performance to the other X79 boards tested.

The power consumption results for the Asrock X79 boards was very similar, with the X79 Extreem4-M using slightly less than the X79 Extreem4. When compared to the Intel DX79SI the Asrock X79 boards did consume more power, particularly when at idle. However compared to the Asus P9X79 Deluxe the Asrock X79 boards were far more conservative, as they consumed roughly 60 watts less under load.

As we had hoped both the X79 Extreme4 and X79 Extreme4-M overclocked extremely well. However to our surprise they were able to match the 4452MHz overclock of the X79 Extreme9. This is an incredible result for these budget orientated X79 motherboards and the overclocking potential provides even greater value.

After all, these motherboards are all about bringing affordability to the LGA2011 platform, and we feel for just a little over $200 they do that. The only other motherboards that come close to the $200 price tag are the Intel DX79TO and MSI X79MA-GD45. The DX79TO is a standard ATX board and when compared to the X79 Extreme4 users miss out on features such as eSATA, while there are less SATA and USB 3.0 ports.

The MSI X79MA-GD45, which is a Micro ATX board, is also ill-equipped for battle with the Asrock X79 Extreme4-M. Features that can be found on the X79 Extreme4-M that are absent from the X79MA-GD45 include eSATA and Firewire, while Asrock offers more PCIe x16 slots, SATA ports and better onboard switches.

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Therefore it appears that Asrock has the affordable LGA2011 segment stitched up nicely and in our opinion offers the best motherboards for pairing with the Intel Core i7-3820 processor. The X79 Extreme4 and X79 Extreme4-M are well rounded boards offering excellent performance, exceptional overclocking abilities, rich feature sets, unbeatable value and low power consumption.

The X79 Extreme4-M really is an interesting motherboard as it allows users to build a high performance computer in a small mATX case. Today there are loads of high quality mATX cases that will allow the Extreme4-M to take advantage of large tower coolers and high-end graphics cards. However for those happy to have a larger computer case the X79 Extreme4 provides a little more breathing room. In either case, we feel you cannot go wrong with either motherboard.