ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer Motherboard Review

As far as good-value, mid-range gaming motherboards go, ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer is a strong option. The onboard audio solution is powerful, overclocking performance was identical to that of other motherboards, and multi-VGA support (with good spacing) is present.

Overclocking results from the Z87 Killer were identical to those of the other Z87 motherboards that we have tested. We managed to achieve stability at our 4770K's limit of 4.5GHz, although we were forced to apply some unusual BIOS tweaks in order to keep voltages at a sane level. We don't expect to be forced into applying a minimum offset in order to maintain safe VCore levels. While the fix is straightforward, ASRock needs to resolve this issue.

Performance was as good as we would expect from a Z87 motherboard. We didn't observe any obscurities throughout our testing. The SATA and USB storage interfaces were fast and reliable, too. On the point of USB 3.0, I strongly believe that ASRock's XFast USB is an excellent piece of software. Granted, not many people are using SSDs as external storage drives, but for those who are, the circa-20% speed boost that UASP activation offers is truly welcomed.

ASRock gives the Z87 Killer a solid set of worthwhile features that many gamers will relish. Purity Sound is becoming common across ASRock's line of motherboards, but its performance is still impressive, nevertheless. The dedicated mouse port allows users to adjust polling rates, although this is less of a worthwhile feature as many gaming mice already offer their own tweaking software. The built-in network control offered by the Killer E2200 series NIC's software can help to give games and important programs priority on an internal network.

Layout of the Z87 Killer is a little hit-or-miss. Multi-VGA support with effective slot spacing is a good point and so is the space around the CPU socket for large coolers. But some tricks have been missed. ASRock clusters many of the board's fan headers in a location that is difficult to reach while still hiding cables. The outwards-facing USB 3.0 header also makes cable management around that area more difficult.

Priced around the £120 mark, the stiffest competition to ASRock's Z87 Killer comes from MSI's Z87-G45 Gaming motherboard. Both boards utilise the Killer E2200 series NIC, both provide effective multi-VGA support, and both feature a similar red and black colour scheme. The main differences would be MSI's inclusion of an mSATA slot and ASRock's UASP-activating XFast USB software. Of course, the BIOS interfaces will be different, too.

ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer is a good motherboard that provides plenty of features for mid-range gamers. It does have stiff competition from MSI's Z87-G45 Gaming, but the fast USB 3.0 speed and good BIOS interface may be enough to sway a user's decision in its favour.

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Pros:

• Solid overclocking performance, with the correct tweaks.
• Good support for multi-VGA configurations.
• Network control with the Killer E2200 series NIC.
• Powerful onboard sound configuration.
• Well laid-out UEFI BIOS.
• Attractive colour scheme.
• USB 3.0 transfer speeds are excellent.

Cons:

• Multi-core turbo voltage too high for stock levels.
• Forced to manually adjust offset voltages when overclocking.
• Fan header distribution could be better.

KitGuru says: A good gaming-orientated motherboard that will be right at home as the heart of a mid-range gaming system.

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