Four Multi-GPU Z77 Boards from $280-$350 - PLX PEX 8747 featuring Gigabyte, ASRock, ECS and EVGA
by Ian Cutress on August 22, 2012 9:15 AM ESTConclusion: ASRock Z77 Extreme9
The ASRock Z77 Extreme9 comes in following a good performance from the G1.Sniper 3. This is compounded by the fact that the ASRock motherboard comes in as the most expensive motherboard in this roundup, some $70 more than the Gigabyte at $350. Any way you slice it, $350 is a lot of green to be laying down for a Z77 motherboard.
For the cash, ASRock offers a straight forward 4-way GPU setup. As part of the additional functionality, we have access to a total of 10 SATA ports (six SATA 6Gbps) and 12 USB 3.0 ports, more than any other product. The only video output onboard is HDMI, which contributes to the extra space in the IO panel being filled with USB, IEEE1394, and eSATA. For this price we also get dual gigabit Ethernet from Broadcom controllers, with the added bonus that can be teamed. If that was not enough networking functionality, we also have an integrated WiFi card from a mPCIe slot, and a dual receive/transmit antenna box which fits into a large drive bay slot.
When examined in isolation, the Z77 Extreme9 would come across as a nice board to play around with – the BIOS is easy to navigate, and the combination of XFast USB, XFast LAN and XFast RAM offer a good software package. But in comparison to other products on the market, it is let down by the not-so-great fan controls, the use of only a Realtek ALC898, no Intel NICs, and the performance at stock settings.
While the ASRock took like a fish to water with my tight memory XMP profile, the same cannot be said for the benchmark results. ASRock had ample time before my review to release a public BIOS with MultiCore Enhancement, giving the CPU increased performance at heavy loading in exchange for heat and power consumption. However they did not, and the Z77 Extreme9 actually has a poor multithreaded showing.
Much of the CPU performance is moot if you overclock, and the ASRock has a few automatic overclock settings which work straight away. Overclocking options for manual adjustment are readily available to the user in a single screen. ASRock have a BIOS update planned which modifies the look of the BIOS a little in the near future.
ASRock have unfortunately been caught unawares by the competition, which have both undercut them in terms of price and value. The Z77 Extreme9 would have to price match the G1.Sniper 3 in order be the slightest bit competitive in terms of value – then the question of performance may rear its head. ASRock also have the Z77 OC Formula in the wings, which may solve some of these issues, although it is aimed more at aggressive and competitive overclockers.
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ultimatex - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
I got this MOBO from Newegg the first day they had it available , I couldn't believe the price since it offered 8x8x8x8x , Picked it up the first day and havent looked back. Doesnt look as cool as the Asrock extreme9 but it still looks good. Awesome Job Gygabyte , Anandtech should have given them a Gold not bronze though since the fan issue is a minor issue.Arbie - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
For gaming, at least, how many people are really going to build a 2xGPU system? Let alone 3x or 4x. The are so few PC games that can use anything more than one strong card AND are worth playing for more than 10 minutes. I actually don't know of any such games, but tastes differ. And some folks will have multi-monitor setups, and possibly need two cards. But overall I'd think the target audience for these mobos is extremely small.Maybe for scientific computing?
Belard - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
Yep.... considering that most AAA PC games are just ports from consoles... having 3-4 GPUs is pointless. The returns get worse after the first 2 cards.Only those with 2~6 monitors can benefit with 2-3 cards.
Also, even $80 Gigabyte boards will do 8x x 8x SLI/CF just fine.
But hey, someone wants to spend $300 on a board... more power to them.
cmdrdredd - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
"Only those with 2~6 monitors can benefit with 2-3 cards."Oh really? 2560x1440 on a single card is garbage in my view. I am not happy with 50fps average.
rarson - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
If you're going multi-GPU on a single monitor, you're wasting money.Sabresiberian - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
Because everyone should build to your standards, O god of all things computer.Do some reading; get a clue.
Steveymoo - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
Incorrect.If you have a 120hz monitor, 2 GPUs make a tonne of difference. Before you come back with a "no one can see 120hz" jibe. That is also incorrect.... My eyes have orgasms every once in a while when you get those ultra detail 100+ fps moments in battlefield, that look great!
von Krupp - Friday, August 24, 2012 - link
No. Metro 2033 is not happy at 2560x1440 with just a single HD 7970, and neither are Battlefield 3 or Crysis. The Total War series also crawls at maximum settings.I bought the U2711 specifically to take advantage of two cards (and for accurate colours, mind you). I have a distaste for multi-monitor gaming and will continue to have such as long as they keep making bezels on monitors.
So please, don't go claiming that multi-card is useless on a single monitor because that just isn't true.
swing848 - Monday, December 8, 2014 - link
At this date, December 2014, with maximum eye candy turned on, there are games that drop a refrence AMD R9 290 below 60 fps on a single monitor at 1920x1080 [using an Intel i5-3570K at 4GHz to 4.2GHz]Sabresiberian - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link
This is not 1998, there are many games built for the PC only, and even previously console-oriented publishers aren't just making ports for the PC, they are developing their games to take advantage of the goodness only PCs can bring to the table. Despite what console fanboys continue to spew, PC gaming is on the rise, and console gaming is on the relative decline.