ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard3. ASRock Z77 OC Formula (Super High Res Gallery)4. ASRock Z77 OC Formula (Bios & Overclocking)5. Testing Methodology6. Synthetic: PCMark 77. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage8. Synthetic: 3DMark 119. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark10. Image Quality: HQV Benchmark 2.011. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra12. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit13. Synthetic: SSD Performance14. Real World: 3D Rendering15. Real World: Media Encoding16. Real World: HandBrake 9.517. Gaming: Total War: Shogun 218. Gaming: F1 201219. Gaming: Dirt Showdown20. Gaming: Sleeping Dogs21. Gaming: Max Payne 322. Technical: Power Consumption23. Closing Thoughts24. View All Pages

ASRock have been aggressively targeting the overclocking audience in the last year and we have reviewed many of their motherboards for the Intel Z77 and X79 platform. Today we are focusing on a rather special design, created by overclocking guru Nick Shih specifically for the hardcore Z77 enthusiast audience. Make no mistake, ASRock are now a major force in the motherboard sector and today we overclock the Z77 Formula to the limits, and pair it up with an overclocked GTX680 and 16Gb of 2,666mhz rated memory.

The checklist for the OC Formula motherboard is staggering. ASrock have incorporated the ‘Formula Power Kit' which comprises Digi Power, Dual Stack MOSFET's and multiple filter capacitors, filtering noise by 3 different capacitors. They have ditched traditional chokes for more expensive premium alloy versions and are using a 12 + 4 Power Phase design.

The motherboard is an 8 layer PCB design, with 4x 2oz copper. To help the system builder, they have even included a syringe of high grade Gelid GC-Extreme thermal compound.

Product overview:

OC Formula Power Kit
– Digi Power
– Dual-Stack MOSFET (DSM)
– Multiple Filter Cap (MFC) (Filter different noise by 3 different capacitors: DIP solid cap, POSCAP and MLCC)
– Premium Alloy Choke (Reduce 70% core loss compare to iron powder choke)
– 12 + 4 Power Phase Design
OC Formula Connector Kit
– Hi-Density Power Connector
– 15μGold Finger (CPU and memory sockets)
OC Formula Cooling Kit
– Twin-Power Cooling (Combine active air cooling and water cooling)
– 8 Layer PCB, 4 x 2oz copper
– GELID Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound
Supports NickShih's OC Profile, Formula Drive, FAN-Tastic Tuning, Multi Thermal Sensor
Supports Fine-Tuning V-Controller, Interactive UEFI, Timing Configurator
Supports Rapid OC, PCIe ON/OFF, V-Probe
Supports ASRock XFast 555, Lucid MVP, Dehumidifier, OMG
Free Bundle : 1 x Front USB 3.0 Panel, 10 x OC Stands

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