ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard Review

We have reviewed many fantastic Z77 motherboards this year and the ASRock Z77 OC Formula is certainly in a class at the top of the pile. We have seen ASRock make strides with their BIOS configurations in recent months, and I firmly believe they are almost as good as market leader, ASUS.

The development of the Z77 OC Formula has been heavily connected with one of the world's best overclockers Nick Shih and it shows in the bios. This board is the number one option for inexperienced users who want to overclock their system directly.

Many other manufacturers expect the end user to have a working knowledge of the bios to achieve a good overclock, but ASROCK are taking many of the tricky bios settings away from the user.

Nick Shih has a dedicated bios section to specifically overclock the processor based on identity. Make no mistake, this ‘Nick Shih Profile' section isn't a half assed concept, it really does work. For every stage in this overclocking process the Z77 OC Formula will adjust and tune voltage and bios parameters to ensure stability. While this sounds simple in theory there are potential issues that ASRock needed to research.

Not all processors are created equal, even within the same family. For instance, we know that a batch of 3770k processors will require a specific voltage to reach a certain clock speed. Our main 3770k sample only requires 1.32 volts for 4.8ghz, but another sample we have needs 1.35 volts for the same speed. ASRock have clearly researched a wide range of samples and every ‘Stage' in the Nick Shih profile is using the upper end of the voltage range.

This means that every system will be stable at the chosen speed. Those with a ‘better than average' processor and some bios knowledge will be able to fine tune the CPU voltage a little, to reduce operating temperatures. To overclock our 3770k sample, we selected Stage 9 – 4,800mhz and reduced the voltage from 1.35v to 1.32v. Then restarted. It was really that simple. The board took care of load line and other more complex settings that are likely to scare an inexperienced user.

Those users adopting a high end watercooling system would be able to hit 4,900mhz and 5,000mhz easily enough. Nick Shih has even set up a Liquid Nitrogen OC option, for experienced, hardcore enthusiast users. The general public should stay well away from the top three settings as they could cause damage to their new processor.

If you are interested in buying this board, we have some simple rule of thumb settings for our readers. If you are using stock cooling and don't want to risk anything, then use the Stage 5 setting. Every 3770k will run at 4.4ghz without any need for enhanced cooling. Stage 7 is perfect if you have bought a quality £20 cooler such as the less expensive Arctic range available on stores such as Amazon.

If you have a Corsair H60 or better, then the Stage 8 option is ideal.

If you have a Noctua NH D14, Corsair H80/H100 or better than we recommend the Stage 9 setting. Stage 10 and Stage 11 settings should be reserved for the hard core audience who are using high end watercooling kits.

We are completely confident in the overclocking capabilities of the Z77 OC Formula motherboard – it was a pleasure to work with, and required minimal effort from us to achieve fantastic results. It also had no problems dealing with the latest 2,666mhz memory kits. The Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB 2,666mhz kit we tested today was recognised immediately and we actually overclocked it manually to 2,800mhz+ after this review was finished, with minimal effort. It is worth adding that is the only Z77 board to date that we have hit a 30GB/ bandwidth memory score in dual channel.

In all other areas, this board doesn't disappoint. When paired up with an overclocked GTX680, we were able to push gaming frame rate results way past the Kitguru reference ‘gaming system' comprising a 6 core overclocked Core i7 970 with Triple channel memory running at 1,800mhz. Cinebench, 3D Studio max and video encoding results were also excellent.

During a weeks testing between other reviews we never once experienced a BSOD, hard lock or random glitch at 4.8ghz which verifies that the Nick Shih bios settings are perfectly set up. If you ever wanted a board for overclocking but had private concerns about your experience level then this is the one to get. You can not only use Nick's bios settings to overclock comfortably, but you can study how the profiles are changing voltages and parameters to educate yourself for the future.

We had expected this board to cost an arm and a leg, but have been surprised to find it online for only £194 inc vat.

At this price it easily earns our highest award, not only does it look beautiful and incorporate the finest quality components, but the bios is easily setting a new benchmark for newbie overclockers who not only want a highly overclocked system, but who want to learn from one of the world's best overclocking guru's.

Pros:

• Beautiful build quality.
• Bios is the new market leader.
• stable.
• performance is class leading.
• 2800mhz memory+ is possible easily.
• Price.
• scared of overclocking? buy this board.
• bundle is extensive, and even includes market leading thermal paste!

Cons:

• You will feel the need to spend a lot of money on a quality CPU cooler.

Kitguru says: A wonder board for inexperienced overclockers who want to learn how to do it themselves!

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