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FEATURES AND OVERVIEW
The ASRock Extreme9 brings many bundled software features to the table, and here we will cover them shortly.
ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) is all-in-one software to fine-tune different features in a user-friendly interface, which includes Hardware Monitor, Fan Control, Overclocking, OC DNA, IES and XFast RAM.
In the Hardware Monitor, the user can monitor important measurements such as the current voltages and temperatures of the system.
In the Fan Control, it shows the fan speed and temperature for the user to adjust.
In Overclocking, the user is allowed to adjust the CPU frequency, ratio and some voltages for optimal system performance. This is very helpful, as it allows the user to overclock on the fly, while the system is actually up and running.
In IES (Intelligent Energy Saver), the voltage regulator can reduce the number of output phases to improve efficiency when the CPU cores are idle without sacrificing performance.
The XFast LAN software allows a dizzying amount of personalization for the LAN settings. In conjunction with the dual Gigabit ports afforded to the user, this can bring about some great results. There is an included gadget that will allow constant monitoring of the internet traffic on the computer, and also this is a gateway to a much larger control panel that allows total optimization for the user.
XFast RAM is a feature that is configured in the AXTU utility mentioned above. Basically it allows a user of a 32 bit Operating System to utilize more than the 4 GB of RAM typically allowed. Many users of 32-bit operating systems are left out in the cold when they have large amounts of RAM, especially with the X79 platform. The X79 platform is practically begging for large amounts of RAM with its Quad Channel bandwidth. Add to that the fact that RAM is dirt cheap these days, and the XFast becomes a very interesting idea.
It allows the user to configure a virtual disk from the unused RAM, and this can be used to accelerate applications. There is a reported 5x performance increase in Adobe Photoshop alone, and it also benefits the Memory Pagefile, User Temporary Files, Ready Boost, IE/Firefox cache files, and WinRAR temporary files.
XFast USB Technology allows for higher performance with USB devices. It is very simple to use. When a USB device is plugged in, a USB manager will pop up that allows the user to utilize the enhanced USB drivers that ASRock has developed. This works for both USB 2.0 and 3.0.
Graphical UEFI BIOS Interface
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a revolutionary BIOS utility which offers tweak-friendly options in an advanced viewing interface. Compared with traditional BIOS design, the latest UEFI utility provides lots of improved functions. The major features of UEFI include:
1. Graphical Visual Experience “ UEFI provides an improved visual interface with colorful icons and makes your computing environment more versatile to replace the traditional dull BIOS page.
2. Mouse Enabling “ Besides keyboard control, users can freely use the mouse to select the ideal settings in UEFI as well.
3. Supports 3TB bootable HDD* – UEFI breaks the limitations of 2TB bootable HDD on traditional BIOS. With UEFI, you can enjoy 3TB bootable HDD size by using the GPT file system.
UEFI System Browser
The UEFI System Browser is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that is included in the UEFI. This allows the user to select each component and examine the component configuration.
Now, let’s get on with it and check out the board itself!
Awesome card, when I get my 3960X, this is the board I want the most. Foaming at the mouth.
can you do a review of the EVGA Classified SR2 which is dual socket board
Availability, for the most part assist in determining what we will review.
Can you please include as-ssd score in motherboard reviews with any drive you choose.I think that people will prisiated that.And that will help to choose product too.
Where is the Rampage IV Extreme? I would love to see you guys do a review of that board, arguably the highest end X79 board, and then compare it with the ASRock Extreme9, comparing performance AND performance-per-dollar…
Excellent thought Nick and Thanks. Unfortunately we haven’t the resources (steady mobo reviewer) to accomplish this and, as we know, motherboard reviewers are some of the most intensive you can find. WE have the contacts and, should a reviewer avail himself in the future, this will definitely be considered.