ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Review – Designed For Overclocking

GAMING BENCHMARKS

For gaming benchmarks we tested 3 different games, all with our CPU in the same configurations as during our CPU tests of stock, 4.2GHz and 4.5GHz.

3DMARK 11 – FIRE STRIKE EXTREME

3DMark 11’s Fire Strike Extreme is one of the most intensive graphical benchmarks available. It is reserved for testing ultra high-end gaming machines with multiple graphics cards or overclocked CPUs. While, we don’t have the former, we’ll be testing the latter with a 4.5GHz overclock on our Intel Core i7 5960X.

Our final results gave us an overall score of 5055. This is about what you’d expect from a system running a single high-end GPU, although we can see that our physics score is through the roof, scoring nearly double what you’d expect from a modern quad-core processor.

CRYSIS 3

We tested on “High” settings at 1080p with FXAA.

SHADOW OF MORDOR

We tested Shadow of Mordor on “Very High” at 1080p.

TOMB RAIDER 2013

For Tomb Raider, we tested the game on “Ultimate” settings with TressFX and FXAA turned on at 1080p.

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS 

Motherboards don’t really get the kind of consumer attention or respect that processors and graphics cards do, yet they are equally (if not more) important than those components as they can effect your overall system performance, reliability and stability, especially when overclocking. It is because of this unfortunate truth that we are glad manufacturers like ASRock exists. They keep pushing quality and performance standards up, prices down, and moves like this catch the consumer’s attention. When you create a world record for overclocking the world’s fastest consumer CPU with a motherboard specifically designed for the task, you ensure your success in the market.

Sure, the average PC gamer will still be much more interested in the latest graphics card, but it is the enthusiasts that shape the market as they will recommend their favorite brands and manufacturers to their less knowledgeable friends and loved ones. If I buy a high-end ASRock board like the X99 OC Formula and enjoy its features and find it to be a good purchase, I am likely to inform my friend who’s building an entry-level gaming PC, and then they’ll buy one of their lower-end models. It’s because of this cycle that manufacturers must deliver the best product they possibly can for enthusiasts like myself and others. We may represent a small percentage of the market, but we are the number one source of word-of-mouth advertising for companies that wouldn’t otherwise have the advertising budget to reach the average user.

In that regard, ASRock delivers with the X99 OC Formula. It is absolutely the best of the best when it comes to overclocking and brings a plethora of other high-end features you’d expect from a motherboard that costs as much as it does. If anything, it might even deliver more than you’d expect at this price point as its jokingly high 1300 watt maximum power draw is something I wouldn’t expect from a motherboard twice this price.

Bottom line, if you’re in the market for a high-end motherboard, you should strongly consider the ASRock X99 OC Formula. In fact, we are so please with it that we are presenting it with our Technology X Editor’s Choice Award.

Check out the ASRock X99 OC Formula on Amazon