Desktop Llano Motherboards: The ASRock A75 Extreme6 Preview
by Ian Cutress on June 14, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ASRock
- Llano
The usefulness of desktop Llano will depend on pricing relative to Intel's Core i3 series. We have a system here which excels in iGPU capability compared to Intel, but lacks serious CPU horsepower: it's more like a two legged horse—no matter which legs have been taken away, it's still going to move awkwardly.
Desktop Llano is going to have more success in mini-ITX format, if the iGPU can hold its weight in the standard video playback tests. In ATX or micro-ATX, people are going to be using their own discrete graphics solutions for the most part, and unless you're using a midrange 6xxx Northern Islands GPU to take advantage of the hybrid CrossFireX, you're always going to be lagging behind on CPU performance. So I look forward to examining any mini-ITX that are coming my way.
In terms of ASRock and the A75 Extreme6—it's rough, it needs a polish, but we didn't expect more than that. The DVI/USB issue on the back panel is frustrating, and the BIOS needs a distinct overhaul. But the placement of the numerous fan headers and abundance of SATA 6 Gbps and USB 3.0 are always welcome. There's a lot of PCI slots which makes me think that not a lot of imagination has gone into this, even if the chipset specifications say that up to 3 is possible—it reeks of 'it's in the specs, let's add it'.
There's room for improvement too—ASRock have started placing a new design of ferrite choke on their top models (similar to MSI's SFC), so it should slowly filter down. I was told that it doesn't cost much compared to the older design, and is far more efficient for heat and power delivery, so I'm surprised it's not on the Extreme6 model already.
Look out for a full review in the coming weeks.
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marc1000 - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Ian, I believe that in the "release to market" boards, the memory speed should be configured according to the official maximum speed of each platform. if that means 1333 for intel and 1800 (or whatever the final spec may be) for AMD, then this is the way it should be tested. maybe AMD was aiming for higher speed to compensate for the low number of channels. ;)KaarlisK - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Seconded.If a platform supports DDR3-1866, it is an actual advantage of the platform and it should be used.
There is the question of cost, though.
IanCutress - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Noted for the future. It's always interesting to hear what other people think on the issue.Ian
semo - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Do AMD motherboards fully support UEFI like this ASRock?mino - Thursday, June 16, 2011 - link
UEFI support is PURELY motherboard vendor's choice.It has nothing to do with the CPU, be it AMD, Intel or VIA for that matter.
mino - Thursday, June 16, 2011 - link
Err, better wording would be "has UEFI", as the board either uses UEFI or BIOS loader.It does not "support" either. It contains/uses them.
DanNeely - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
How many PCIe lanes does the southbridge have in total? If it's low enough (eg the same 4 as the mobile part + 4 on the CPU), then the 3 legacy PCI slots might simply reflect not being able to add anything else?The ethernet and additional sata controllers would take two; and if the firewire controller is PCIe instead of PCI that would take a 3rd, leaving only the 5 used in the 1x and 3rd 16x(phy) slot.
Alternately, are they using AMD audio or a 3rd party controller? The latter would take a connection as well.
mino - Thursday, June 16, 2011 - link
Exactly.glugglug - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Is there an AMD equivalent of QuickSync? To me, that is the biggest plus of SandyBridge right now.Shinobi_III - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
I hope there's some sort of safety here, resetting that would suck while running..