ASRock Z87 OC Formula Motherboard Review

To test the ASRock Z87 OC Formula, we paired it with an Intel Core i7 4770K processor and 8GB of 2133MHz memory from Patriot. We will be outlining the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard's performance with the Core i7 4770K CPU at its stock frequency of 3.5GHz and when overclocked to 4.5GHz.

We will be comparing the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard's performance to that of five other Z87 motherboards. All motherboards are partnered with identical hardware and software, so the results are directly comparable.

By default, the ASRock Z87 OC Formula motherboard forces the 4770K to a constant 3.9GHz. This will be displayed as the ‘stock’ setting. The board used a high CPU VCore of 1.280V at stock which had a clear impact on temperatures.

Motherboard Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50GHz.
• Memory: 8GB Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 2 2133MHz.
• Graphics Card: nVidia GTX 760 2GB.
• System Drive: 500GB Samsung 840 Series SSD.
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i.
• Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Compared Z87 Motherboard(s):

• ASRock Z87 OC Formula (BIOS 1.60 – newest).
  
• ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac (BIOS v1.70).
• Asus Maximus VI Extreme (BIOS 0711).
• Asus Maximus VI Hero (BIOS 0711).
• Gigabyte Z87-D3HP (BIOS F4).
• MSI Z87 XPower (BIOS v1.0).

Settings:

• ASRock Z87 OC Formula BIOS v1.60.
• GeForce 320.49 VGA drivers.
• Intel 9.4.0.1017 chipset drivers.

Software Suite:

• 3DMark
• 3DMark 11
• PCMark 8
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0
• SiSoft Sandra 2013 SP4
• Cinebench 11.5 64 bit
• Super Pi
• VLC Media Player 2.0.7
• CyberLink Media Espresso 6.7
• HandBrake 0.9.9
• ATTO
• Battlefield 3
• Metro 2033
• Sleeping Dogs

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