ASRock Z97 Extreme6 (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The ASRock Z97 Extreme6 is currently selling for $169.99 on Newegg and $179.99 on Amazon in North America. In the UK it is fetching £137.99 at Overclockers and £139.99 at Amazon. The pricing in the UK does seem a little high and I would expect it to be more in the £129.99 region based on the $169.99 MSRP. The ASRock Z97 Extreme6 comes with a 3 year warranty.

Overview

ASRock’s Z97 Extreme6 is absolutely ram packed with features and connectivity to the point where you wonder how ASRock can offer so much at such a low price. I think the ASRock Extreme6 is a brilliant value for money proposition for anyone who has lots of storage needs and can see themselves taking advantage of dual gigabit LAN. ASRock have always been famed for their speciality in offering abundant storage options (anyone who remembers the ASRock X79 Extreme11 will know what I’m talking about) and on the performance of this motherboard it is easy to see why. Of course this motherboard doesn’t just stop at storage because there’s a boat load of other features like high quality audio, a 12 phase CPU VRM, a great functional BIOS, mPCIe connectivity for an add in WiFi/BT card, onboard buttons, abundant USB connectivity and more! It’s fair to say the ASRock Z97 Extreme6 has an unprecedented level of connectivity and performance for its price point that is truly unmatched by rival products.

On the negative side there are a few things that bug me. The main one is that there are so many conditionalities to the motherboard that aren’t made explicitly clear in the documentation. For example when you use certain M.2 slots it disables or slows down other ports. ASRock need to make the PCIe configuration a lot clearer and literally spell it out in black and white for users so they know exactly what they can and can’t do with regards to PCI and storage connectivity. It is specified to some degree on the website and in the manual but it could be a lot clearer. Secondly, it feels like with so many different devices drawing on the limited PCIe lanes of the Z97 chipset (the Realtek Gbe, the SATA Express, the M.2, the mPCIe and then all the PCIe slots) there should be a PLX bridging chip on the motherboard. I’m sure people would happily pay $20 more to know the PCIe lanes are all usable. Finally, as I’ve mentioned on another ASRock Z97 motherboard review I did, I feel like the software package is a bit fragmented and needs more development. ASRock simply can’t match the software implementations made by the likes of ASUS. ASRock do well to correct their weaknesses by including some third party software (like the CFOS developed XFast LAN and the Kloudian developed Orbweb.ME) but they need to bring their own software up to a higher standard in my opinion.

Pros

• Amazing storage options
• Dual Gigabit
• Super-competitive pricing
• High quality audio
• Abundant USB connectivity
• Onboard buttons and LED
• Connectivity bonanza!
• 3 Year warranty

Cons

• In-house software a bit lacking
• Complex PCIe and storage conditionalities from limited PCIe lanes
• A PLX bridge chip would be nice (even with the extra cost that would entail)

“ASRock’s Z97 Extreme6 is a motherboard that has just about everything you could want, at a price you simply wouldn’t expect. If you’re in the market for a motherboard that’s jam packed full of storage, PCIe and networking connectivity then this board is seriously worth considering. ASRock have demonstrated yet again why they are a popular choice for users with demanding connectivity needs on a tight budget.”

Thank you to ASRock for providing this review sample.