The main characteristic of this motherboard
is that it’s unlike any other board out there, it doesn’t have any unneeded
feature. There is no “excess” additional controller, no button, no decorative
metal plate, but the things essential for efficient operations are present. We
can point out 2 or 3 things, but otherwise, this motherboard has a bunch of
good advantages, like other ASRock’s products.
To rank all the motherboard manufacturers,
experts usually study their financial reports, compare the production volumes,
gross income and profits. To us, the last users, we care about completely
different things: whether we will find something that meets our needs in the
company’s product series. However, each of us has his or her interest, so the
first or most important thing is the width and versatility of the product range.
The more choice the manufacturer offers, the higher the chances that there will
be what potential buyers are looking for are, and the potential buyers can
become real users, therefore, increasing the manufacturer’s profits and
allowing them to raise the production volumes to meet the demand. ASRock, being
one of the today’s leaders in the motherboard segment, always pay high-leveled
concentration to the versatility of their product range and always add new
models to it. As a result, users with diverse needs and wants can always find
an ASRock product that will meet their needs and requirements.
If, for example, you are looking for an LGA
1155 motherboard on Intel Z77 Express chip and are planning to build a complex
graphics sub-system with two or more graphics accelerators, you should take a
look at ASRock Z77 Extreme9. If you are a computer enthusiast, love playing
game and overclocking, you should think about getting ASRock Fatal1ty Z77
Professional or ASRock Z77 OC Formula. If you are building a common system with
diverse functions, you should choose ASRock Z77 Extreme6. However, despite all
advantages of the above listed models, we think that ASRock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
is probably the most popular one. This model doesn’t have anything unique that
could distinguish it from other boards, but it offers true compelling
combination of price and functionality, the reason why its success is absolutely
logical. In fact, I personally decide to get one of those for my home system.
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 was sometimes the
junior model in Z77 Extreme family from ASRock, but a new Extreme3 model soon came
out. The first question you ask is what’s the difference between the two? Which
outstanding features and functions have been sacrificed to prove the lower
models lower price? What if the functions of Extreme3 model turned out to have
more shortcomings that even the low price couldn’t make up for it and it could
make more reasonable to choose a slightly more expensive, but also more
functional product? Our review will answer all of these questions. So, let’s
start with the apple-to-apple comparison right away.
Packing and accessories
The box contains ASRock Z77 Extreme3 looks
exactly the same as that of ASRock Z77 Extreme4. It is as small and narrow as
the other one.
The
mainboard photo on the back
There’s a motherboard photo on the back of
the box, parallel to a summary list of the motherboard technical specs,
supporting functionality, techs and distinctive features.
Summary
list
Inside the box the board is protected with
a traditional anti-static bag and a thick frame made of soft foam material. The
accompanied accessories are separated from the board with a sheet of thick
cardboard:
·
Two Serial ATA cables with metal connector
locks, one with an L-shaped lock and another with two straight locks;
·
A bridge for Nvidia SLI graphics configuration;
·
I/O Shield for the back control panel;
·
A document about functionality of BIOS motherboard
and accompanying software;
·
User manual in many languages;
·
DVD with software and drivers.
Accessories
As you can see, ASRock Z77 Extreme3 and
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 have the same packing and accessories.
