ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Champion and X79 Professional Review: From a Gamer to Gamers
by Ian Cutress on February 9, 2013 10:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ASRock
- Fatal1ty
- X79
ASRock X79 Fatal1ty Champion Conclusion
The Champion is a hard product to fathom out. Sitting at $360 at the time of review, it is within striking distance of the ASUS Rampage IV Formula ($370), a motherboard that crosses the boundary between gaming and overclocking. The Champion is designed (and endorsed) by users specifically for gaming, and so we would expect the Champion to deal a better hand on that front.
Going by PCIe configuration, the Champion wins – the odd combination of five full length PCIe slots allows users of triple-slot GPUs to use up to three onboard without PCIe risers, whereby the Formula will have to resort with two. The Champion also wins on memory configuration, having access to all eight memory slots, whereas the Formula has only four (although anecdotal evidence would suggest that those gamers that use more than four tend to go big and high end anyway).
Looking through the specifications, the Champion gets the nod over the Formula in onboard SATA 6 Gbps ports (6 vs. 4), USB 3.0 ports (12 vs. 6), network ports (2 vs. 1), and IEEE1394 connectivity. The Formula takes the upper hand on NIC branding (Intel vs. Broadcom), and fan headers (8 vs. 6). While the Champion gets a Creative Core3D audio chip, the Formula also gets improved audio via the SupremeFX III (an actively enhanced ALC898). In terms of Software and BIOS, we would have to give that to the Formula, on the basis of the automatic overclock settings, depth of fan control, memory compatibility and ease of use which the Champion does not have.
In terms of our performance testing, the Champion is 10% down on the Formula in multithreaded benchmarks at stock, due to no implementation of MultiCore Turbo, although this point is moot given that both systems are likely to see an overclock. For overclocking, our Champion sample had a rough time with our processor, as it required 1.525 volts in the BIOS (1.520 volts at load) just to hit 4.7 GHz, which gave 90C at load.
| ASRock X79 Fatal1ty Champion | ASUS Rampage IV Formula | |
| Price | Link | Link to Newegg |
| Size | ATX | ATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA-2011 | LGA2011 |
| Chipset | Intel X79 | Intel X79 |
| Memory Slots |
Eight DDR3 DIMM slots Supporting up to 64GB ECC+non-ECC Up to Quad Channel, 1066-2500 MHz |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots Supporting up to 32 GB Up to Quad Channel DDR3, 1066-2400 MHz |
| Onboard LAN | 2 x Broadcom BCM57781 | Intel |
| Onboard Audio | Creative Sound Core3D | SupremeFX III |
| Expansion Slots |
5 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots - 1/5: x16/16 - 1/3/5: x16/8/16 - 1/4/7: x16/8/8 - 1/3/5/7: x16/8/8/8 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
2 x PCIe 3.0 x16/x8 2 x PCIe 3.0 x8 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| Onboard SATA |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps (Chipset) 4 x SATA 6 Gbps (Marvell SE9230) 4 x SATA 3 Gbps (Chipset) |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps (Chipset) 2 x SATA 6 Gbps (ASMedia) 4 x SATA 3 Gbps (Chipset) |
| USB |
12 x USB 3.0 (Controller) 7 x USB 2.0 (Chipset) 1 x USB 2.0 Fatal1ty Mouse Port |
6 x USB 3.0 (ASMedia) 12 x USB 2.0 (Chipset) |
| Onboard |
6 x SATA 6 Gbps 4 x SATA 3 Gbps 2 x USB 3.0 Headers 3 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x COM Port Header 1 x HDMI_SPDIF Header 1 x IEEE1394 Header 7 x V-Probe Connectors 6 x Fan Headers Power/Reset Buttons Two-Digit Debug LED Post Status Checker LEDs |
4 x SATA 6 Gbps 4 x SATA 3 Gbps 1 x USB 3.0 Header 3 x USB 2.0 Headers 8 x Fan Headers 1 x SPDIF Output Header 1 x SlowMode switch 8 x Measurement Points Power/Reset Buttons LN2 Mode Switch Go Button |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX Power Connector 1 x 8-pin CPU Power Connector 1 x 4-pin Molex Power Connector |
1 x 24-Pin ATX Power Connector 1 x 8-Pin CPU 12V Power Connector 1 x 4-Pin Molex PCIe Power Connector |
| Fan Headers |
2 x CPU (4-pin, 3-pin) 3 x CHA (4-pin, 2x3-pin) 1 x PWR (3-pin) |
2 x CPU (4-pin) 3 x Chassis (4-pin) 3 x Optional (4-pin) |
| IO Panel |
8 x USB 3.0 Ports (TI Controllers) 2 x USB 2.0 Ports 2 x Broadcom BCM57781 GbE NICs 2 x eSATA 6 Gbps (Marvell 9172) 1 x Keyboard PS/2 Port 1 x ClearCMOS Button 1 x IEEE1394 Port Optical SPDIF Output Audio Jacks |
4 x USB 3.0 (ASMedia) 6 x USB 2.0 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel) 2 x eSATA 6 Gbps (ASMedia) 1 x PS/2 Combination Port 1 x Clear CMOS Button 1 x ROG Connect Button Optical SPDIF Output Audio Jacks |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years | 3 Years with ASUS Premium Service |
| Product Page | Link | Link |
The battle between the Champion and the Formula is more of a direct face off than the Professional and the Gene, primarily by virtue of board size. It is a tough decision – almost all that the Formula has, the Champion has more, but the execution is better on the Formula. XFast is a core feature of any ASRock product, but this has competition with the fan controls, features like USB BIOS Flashback and automatic overclock settings on the Formula. Not to mention the ROG board also offers ASUS Premium Service as part of the warranty package.
The Champion technically gets more ‘stuff’ for your money, whereas the Formula will give you a better user experience. How much that is worth is up to what you really want from an X79 product if your budget is near $360.
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lukarak - Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - link
Citroen C4 by Loeb? Sporty as hell :D :DMithan - Sunday, February 10, 2013 - link
A waste of money, like all these "performance" series boards designed to get an extra $100 out of you for a 3% increase in speed.Sorry, but I will always buy a board in the $140-160 range, and take that extra money and dump it into a better video card.
CeriseCogburn - Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - link
This board appears to be not worth it, as it falls short too much, too often.Others do not.
A poor boys budget means never getting something great, and that's okay to suffer in the underclass.
althaz - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
Where is the Day[9] CPU heatsink or the Tastosis keyboard/mouse combo? Or the JP calendar?ypsylon - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
For starters I couldn't force myself to buy any motherboard with black&red theme. Bleeeh. Red as a color make me sick. Anyway that is only personal distaste. But that is not the only thing which is wrong with those boards. 1. 8 USB3 ports. Adding so many to the back panel is nothing short of idiotic. A lot of supposedly compatible hardware of USB2 fame doesn't work when connected to USB3. Every motherboard -equipped with USB3- I tested/owned displayed same stubbornness with one device or another. Some USB2 devices just refused to work outright on USB3. Period. 2. Board which cost 350$+ and doesn't have Intel NIC = joke. 3. Professional have better balanced I/O panel, but it is also stripped down when compared to "Champion". There is nothing "Professional" about supposed professional board. 4. Endorsement by a bloke which for most modern PC users means absolutely nothing is also nothing short of laughable. I think AsRock would do better releasing "Justin Biber" board. Then maybe some brainless teens will buy it only because it is JB board. 5. Both boards also share same problem with top 16 PCI-Ex slot (of course it is not native only to those 2 products, but must be pointed out). Can't remove memory sticks without removing VGA, large dual tower coolers also can be an issue. Think before releasing product. If you desperately want quad-SLI/CF setup release XL-ATX board. On such board there is enough space for everything.Oh and these red slots/ports, bleeeh. Did I mention that earlier? :P
lukarak - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
You do know that you can insert DIMMs with just one latch moveable. Especially on these, where there is only one moveable to begin with.Endorsement by a bloke is no more or less idiotic than every other marketing thing. From Republic of Gamers, Lanparty series boards with UV cable sleeves and a chasis carrying strap and so on. It all adds to the price of an otherwise fine board, but that's their calculation.
You also have USB 2.0 ports on the back side, for that occasional peripheral that doesn't work. Plus six of them on headers which you can, imagine the surprise, route to the back side as well.
Peanutsrevenge - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
The designs are always far too aggressive and garish for my tastes, which is annoying as often the products are just what I'm after - spec wise.Gamer stuff does NOT have to be all aggressive and such, opponents will only see the equipment of LAN gamers, which is a tiny percentage of us.
For the majority of us, the system sits at home and plays multiple roles and even requires the WAF in very very rare cases (usually Mum Acceptance Factor).
sking.tech - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
I've never purchased a fatal1ty product because often they are too expensive and show no real performance gains vs a lot less expensive competitors. Now that I know it's based on some has-been gamer. Even less likely to ever buy a product with this brand on it. This Article - greatly appreciated.Bonesdad - Monday, February 11, 2013 - link
What drives me nuts is how they try to make him look like a tough guy...like he's some badass keyboard bangin, mouse clickin gangsta.maximumGPU - Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - link
Hahah