ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Review

SATA

For SATA 6Gb/s testing we use a Kingston HyperX 3K (SandForce SF-2281) SSD.

SATA 6Gbps performance is as we would expect from a modern SSD. The X99-fed ports on ASRock's X99 OC Formula are unlikely to hamper the performance of a modern SATA 6Gbps SSD.

M.2 connector

We use Plextor‘s fast M6e 256GB M.2 SSD to test the speed of a motherboard's M.2 connector. We reviewed the 512GB Plextor M6e (and its PCIe x2 adapter card) HERE. Unfortunately we do not have access to a PCIe 3.0-based SSD to fully test the M.2 connector's performance limits.

Both the 32Gbps Ultra M.2 connector and the chipset-fed 20Gbps M.2 slot are capable of pushing Plextor's popular M6e SSD to its limit. The high bandwidth capability of each connector is a clear form of future-proofing (if there is such thing in the world of computing).

USB 3.0

We tested USB 3.0 performance using the Kingston HyperX 3K SSD connected to a SATA 6Gb/s to USB 3.0 adapter powered by an ASMedia ASM1053 controller.

While it is clear that our Kingston SSD is suffering from age-induced slow downs, ASRock's X99 OC Formula still manages to show slight speed deficits in regards to USB 3.0 throughput.

The most fitting explanation that we can think of is that the two ASMedia ASM1074 hubs are introducing losses into the system for the eight USB 3.0 ports provided by them. Those losses are very small when compared with other non-UASP motherboards based on the X99 chipset.

Audio

We use RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) to analyse the performance of the motherboard’s onboard audio solution. A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested.

Realtek’s ALC1150 codec, with its 115dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), provides the foundation for ASRock's Purity Sound 2 audio system. EMI shielding and a distinct PCB pathway is used to minimise signal interference. A pair of Texas Instruments NE5532 operational-amplifiers are used to provide support for 600 Ohm headsets, while Nichicon fine gold series capacitors (largely 100µF and 10V specification) filter the audio signals.

According to RMAA, the Purity Sound 2 system used on ASRock's X99 OC Formula delivers ‘Very Good‘ general audio performance. The dynamic range and noise level results are particularly impressive, although the board struggles with distortion (in comparison to other performance aspects).

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