Review: asrock z75 pro3

These new boards are characterized by having the new H77 / Z75 chipset or the Intel Z77. They are compatible with all "Sandy Bridge" Core I3, Core i5 and Core i7 and the new "Ivy Bridge". The interesting Z75 offers few features that differ from the Z68 Chipset, such as;

• Ivy Bridge LGA1155 processors. Native USB 3.0 ports (4). OC capacity. Maximum 4 DDR3 DIMM modules. PCI Express 3.0. Digital phases. 1 x 16x or 2 x 8x PCI Express. Dual UEFI BIOS. (Depends on model and manufacturer) Wi-Fi + Bluetooth (Depends on model and manufacturer).

Here is a table to see the differences between the current chipsets of socket 1155:

In fact we must remind our readers that 90% of P67 and Z68 boards are "Ivy Bridge" compatible with a BIOS update.

We also don't want to bore you with a lot of information, but we find it necessary to highlight the new advantages of the Ivy Bridge processor:

• New manufacturing system at 22 nm. Increasing the Overclock capacity and decreasing the temperature. New random number generator that was left outside of "Sandy Bridge". Increases the maximum multiplier from 57 to 63. Increases the memory bandwidth from 2133 to 2800mhz (In step of 200 mhz).Your GPU includes DX11 instructions increasing ~ 55% performance.

Now we include a table with the new models of Ivy Bridge 22nm processors:

Model	Cores / Threads	Speed ​​/ Turbo Boost	L3 Cache	Graphics Processor	TDP
I7-3770	4/8	3.3 / 3.9	8MB	HD4000	77W
I7-3770	4/8	3.3 / 3.9	8MB	HD4000	77W
I7-3770S	4/8	3.1 / 3.9	8MB	HD4000	65W
I7-3770T	4/8	2.5 / 3.7	8MB	HD4000	45W
I5-3570	4/4	3.3 / 3.7	6MB	HD4000	77W
I5-3570K	4/4	3.3 / 3.7	6MB	HD4000	77W
I5-3570S	4/4	3.1 / 3.8	6MB	HD2500	65W
I5-3570T	4/4	2.3 / 3.3	6MB	HD2500	45W
I5-3550S	4/4	3.0 / 3.7	6MB	HD2500	65W
I5-3475S	4/4	2.9 / 3.6	6MB	HD4000	65W
I5-3470S	4/4	2.9 / 3.6	3MB	HD2500	65W
I5-3470T	2/4	2.9 / 3.6	3MB	HD2500	35W
I5-3450	4/4	2.9 / 3.6	3MB	HD2500	77W
I5-3450S	4/4	2.8 / 3.5	6MB	HD2500	65W
I5-3300	4/4	3 / 3.2º	6MB	HD2500	77W
I5-3300S	4/4	2.7 / 3.2	6MB	HD2500	65W

ASROCK Z75 PRO3 FEATURES
CPU	- Supports 3rd and 2nd generation Intel® Core ™ i7 / i5 / i3 processor in LGA1155 package - Digi Power Design - 4 + 1 power phase design - Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 technology - Supports Intel® K-Series CPU Unlock - Supports Hyper-Threading technology
Chipset	- Intel® Z75- Supports Intel® Rapid Start Technology and Smart Connect Technology
Memory	- Dual Channel DDR3 memory technology - 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots - Supports DDR3 2800+ (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2133 (OC) / 1866 (OC) / 1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory - Maximum system memory capacity: 32GB * - Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3 / 1.2
BIOS	- 64Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support - Supports "Plug and Play" - ACPI 1.1 according to Wake Up Events - Supports jumperfree - Supports SMBIOS 2.3.1 - CPU Core, IGPU, DRAM, 1.8V PLL, VTT, VCCSA multi-voltage setting
Graphics	- Supports Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals: Intel® Quick Sync Video 2.0, Intel® InTru ™ 3D, Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, Intel® Insider ™, Intel® HD Graphics 2500 / 4000- Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 11 with Intel® CPU Ivy Bridge processor. Pixel Shader 4.1, DirectX 10.1 with Intel®CPU Sandy Bridge processor.- Maximum memory size 1760MB- Dual VGA output: supports HDMI and D-Sub ports by independent display controllers- Supports HDMI 1.4a technology with maximum resolution up to 1920 × 1200 @ 60Hz- Supports D-Sub with maximum resolution up to 2048 × 1536 @ 75Hz - Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI (HDMI monitor compatibility required) - Supports HDCP function with HDMI port - Supports Blu-ray (BD) Full HD 1080p / HD-DVD playback with HDMI port
Audio	- 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec) - Supports Premium Blu-ray audio - Supports THX TruStudio ™
LAN	- PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb / s- Realtek RTL8111E- Supports Wake-On-LAN- Supports LAN Cable Detection- Supports 802.3az Ethernet Power Efficiency- Supports PXE
PCI slots	- 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot (PCIE2: x16 mode) - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE3: x4 mode) - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot - 2 x PCI slots - Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX ™ and CrossFireX ™
SATA connections	- 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb / s connectors, Supports RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and Intel® Rapid Storage), NCQ, AHCI "Hot Plug"
Rear I / O panel	Input / Output Panel - 1 x PS / 2 keyboard port - 1 x D-Sub port - 1 x HDMI port - 4 x Ready-to-use USB 2.0 ports - 2 x Ready-to-use USB 3.0 ports - 1 x Ports with RJ-45 LAN LEDs (Activation / connection and speed LEDs) - HD Audio Plug: Side Speaker / Rear Speaker / Center / Bass / Line In / Front Speaker / Microphone
Format	- ATX format: 12.0-in x 7.6-in, 30.5 cm x 19.3 cm - Design of all solid capacitors

The Asrock is protected in a black box. We see the model and its XFAST technologies recorded. Improvement in SATA, USB connections…

The bundle includes a complete kit:

• Manual and instruction guide. Back jacket. SATAS cables.

The board has a brown PCB, its connections accompany it with the black color and it has an ATX format.

For the most curious… the rear view?

The board allows us to install a MultiGPU system at 8x or monogpu at 16x. It also includes a 1x PCIE connection and two regular PCIs. For example, we can install a TV tuner-grabber and / or sound card.

Also at the bottom we have the general panel and internal USB connections.

It allows us to install up to 32GB DDR3 at 2800MHZ (OC). Dissipation is one of its most interesting points. More than one board would like to have this efficient system.

South Bridge Heatsink and BIOS.

In addition, it includes 6 SATA connections. The ones we see in the photo are SATA 3.0, while the two gray ones are 6.0.

And here, the rear connections. You do something less true? I would have liked that important DVI connection.

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel 3770k
Base plate:	Asrock Z75 PRO3
Memory:	Kingston Hyperx PNP 2x4GB
Heatsink	Corsair H60
HDD	Kingston Hyperx 120gb
Graphic card	ASUS GTX580 DCII
Power supply	Thermaltake TouchPower 1350W

I have overclocked the 4400mhz CPU with Prime 95 Custom and a GTX580 graphics card at 780mhz. And I have obtained the following results:

TESTS
3dMark Vantage:	25180 PTS
3dMark11	P5597
Heaven Unigine v2.1	40.6 FPS and 1022 PTS.
CineBench	7.45 pts
Battelfield 3	58 FPS

It is the first contact we have with the Asrock brand, and it has been better than expected. The Asrock Z75 PRO3, it is an ATX motherboard, which incorporates the Z75 chipset. As we have seen it is a very useful chip, since it allows us to overclock our CPU, it maintains a large number of USB 3.0 ports. So… what differentiates it from the Z77 chipset? Well, it excludes SRT (SSD Caching) technology and the possibility of installing two PCI Express graphics cards at 16x, but you relax them at 8x.

In our test bench we have raised our i7 3770k to 4400mhz with the default profile. Surprised because the processor has been stable and with low 1.19v voltage… We have also accompanied it with a GTX580 DC II graphics card, and we have obtained very good results: 25180 PTS in 3DMARK VANTAGE and P5597 in 3DMARK11.

One of the strongest points of this board is the dissipation. Both the phases and the southern bridge are protected by two good heatsinks. This means, that it allows us to practice a secure and stable Overclock.

For connections we should not worry either, since it includes 6 SATA 3.0 / 6.0 ports and rear USB 2.0 / 3.0 ports. Very good work by the Asrock team.

In short, if you are looking for an overclockable motherboard, with a stable, quality UEFI BIOS and with a breakthrough price of € 90. This Asrock is one of the best choices on the market.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ QUALITY COMPONENTS.	- NONE.
+ ALLOWS TO PERFORM OVERCLOCK.
+ USB 3.0 AND SATA 6.0 CONNECTIONS.
+ EFFICIENT DISSIPATION.
+ UEFI BIOS AND SOFTWARE VERY PRACTICAL AND EASY TO USE.
+ EXCELLENT PRICE.

The Professional Review team awards you the gold medal and quality / price.