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Automatic CPU Overclocking:
Using ASRock's built-in turbo profiles, we had no problems taking our 4770K chip straight to 4.4GHz. ASRock's profile sets a CPU VCore of 1.300V and a CPU Cache setting of 39x at 1.270V. DRAM settings aren't adjusted which is very good as many motherboards will decrease the modules' frequency.
The automatic overclock validation at 4.4GHz can be found here.
We were actually able to boot into Windows using the 4.6GHz automatic overclocking profile and hold stability for a good amount of time – better than any other motherboard that we have tested could achieve. For 4.6GHz, the profile uses a 1.320V VCore and 1.300V CPU Cache voltage with 39x multiplier.
Manual CPU Overclocking:
To test the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard’s CPU overclocking potential, we first increased the CPU VCore to 1.350V, Cache voltage to 1.300V, and CPU Input Voltage to 1.900V.
Load-line calibration was set at level 1 (to maintain a constant voltage), the CPU Cache multiplier was 39x, and power limits were set to 1000.
We had no problems pushing directly to our 4770K chip's known-stable limit of 4.5GHz. The ASRock Z87 OC Formula handled the overclock without any issues and with perfect stability.
Our 4.5GHz frequency validation can be viewed here.
To a certain amount of surprise from myself, the ASRock Z87 OC Formula was able to push our chip to 4.6GHz (as other Z87 motherboards have done) and keep it stable in Windows for a considerable amount of time. We weren't able to obtain perfect stability using our settings, but the Z87 OC Formula kept the chip operating at 4.6GHz for a substantially greater amount of time than any other Z87 motherboard I have tested with this processor.
We have no doubt that the ASRock Z87 OC Formula has the ability to take a potent chip to great overclocks, with the correct cooling. As of now, it is the best overclocking motherboard that we have tested due to the fact that it held our chip stable at 4.6GHz for the longest period of time, by a wide margin.
High-speed Memory Compatibility:
While a system’s maximum memory frequency may be heavily swayed by the CPU’s individual memory controller, the motherboard’s performance can also help to obtain higher speeds, especially when XMP settings are taken into account.
We switched to a 3000MHz set of Avexir Core Extreme Series memory to test the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard’s support for high DRAM frequencies. These sticks feature an XMP profile for 3000MHz and are a great challenge for any Z87 motherboard to support.
After installing Avexir's 3000MHz memory modules, the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard was able to POST and boot without issues. The system was perfectly stable with 3000Mhz memory and the slight base clock increase.
Our validation with the 3000MHz Avexir Core Extreme Series memory running at its XMP settings can be viewed here.
Memory Overclocking:
We wanted to see how potent the Z87 OC Formula motherboard was as a memory overclocker, so we applied some BIOS tweaks and checked how far we could push the 3000MHz kit. From our individual review of the Avexir Core Extreme Series 3000MHz memory kit, we know that the sticks are capable of booting at 3240MHz.
The tweaks applied included a 1.7015V DRAM voltage, various CPU voltage increases and setting changes for BCLK overclocking stability, and loosened memory timings at 14-15-15-40-2T.
Topping out at 3288MHz DRAM frequency with a 137MHz BCLK, the ASRock Z87 OC Formula was able to deliver the strongest memory overclocking performance of any board that have tested with this RAM kit. With Asus' Maximus VI Extreme, we couldn't get past 3240MHz DRAM frequency.
We aren't going to claim that this memory overclock was benchmark stable (a brief run of Super Pi gave a failed test), but it didn't give us a BSOD for our few minutes of screenshot gathering.
The validation with the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard overclocking Avexir Core Extreme Series memory to 3288MHz can be found here.
