ASRock X58 Extreme 3 Motherboard Review

Before we get into the review of the board itself let’s have a look at the features of the chipset this board uses. This chipset has been around for some time now and incorporates a number of enthusiast level features. Intel’s Turbo Memory technology is one of these integrated features of this chipset. This technology utilizes NAND cache to boost load times and application performance. With Intel’s Turbo Memory Dashboard interface you can control cache utilization of applications and data to increase performance.

One of the most important of these features is Intel’s QPI (QuickPath Interconnect) technology. This technology is designed to increase bandwidth and lower latency when used in conjunction with Intel’s high-end processors. The processors that allow the use of this feature are from the i7-920 to the Extreme Edition processors.

Another feature of this chipset is native SATA 2 capability. This means that this chipset has up to 6 native SATA 2 ports for 3/Gbps bandwidth on compatible SATA 2 hard drives. This gives this board really good RAID functionality and storage options. With this type of support this chipset sets itself up for the future of mass storage. This also gives native eSATA connectivity support with the option turn the ports on or off. Along with this you also get the ability to disable or enable your USB ports. For SATA 3 or USB 3 support a separate vendor’s chip, such as Marvell or JMicron, needs to be incorporated.