If you've been following news of computing technologies, you've probably already noticed the presence of Thunderbolt technology. Now the maestros of motherboard manufacturing, ASRock is the world's first to add more of these wonderful Thunderbolt ports to the upcoming Intel 8 Series motherboards! What's more, the company's top-of-the-line Z87 Extreme9/ac motherboard is the world's first Intel 8 Series motherboard to pass the Intel Thunderbolt certification.These Thunderbolt ports will come on ASRock's Z87 Extreme9/ac, which are allegedly arriving to the market very soon, along with dozens of other exciting new features, such as ASRock's A-Style. So, if you're looking forward to build a solid next gen desktop rig with insanely fast data transfer abilities and innovative new software or hardware features, keep your eyes open for this bad boy.

25 Comments on ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac World's First Thunderbolt-certified Motherboard

#1 MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer I swear that is the sexiest board I have ever seen. It would go so well with Corsair Dominator Platinums with the black and clean aluminum. Posted on May 15th 2013, 6:23 Reply

#2 Nordic

I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general. Posted on May 15th 2013, 6:46 Reply

#3 MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer james888 I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general. Im not expecting much from Haswell. as long as its on par with Ivy Bridge ill still upgrade to it.



Id like to be on the new socket even if performance isn't that much of an improvement. Im not expecting much from Haswell. as long as its on par with Ivy Bridge ill still upgrade to it.Id like to be on the new socket even if performance isn't that much of an improvement. Posted on May 15th 2013, 6:49 Reply

#4 Jorge

Asrock has improved their mobo products in recent years and they now can be considered on par with Asus and Gigabyte as far as mobo performance is concerned, with the nod definitely going to Asrock tech support over both Asus (sic) and Gigabyte, (poor IME).



That being said, Thunderbolt is a technology looking for something to use it. It really is a solution for few people/devices so unless you have some real need for it, it's just marketing hype. Posted on May 15th 2013, 6:54 Reply

#5 Nordic

MxPhenom 216 Im not expecting much from Haswell. as long as its on par with Ivy Bridge ill still upgrade to it.



Id like to be on the new socket even if performance isn't that much of an improvement. If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself. If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself. Posted on May 15th 2013, 6:57 Reply

#6 MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer james888 If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself. I really would like to get a chip with hyper threading for video editing rendering. That's why I am looking at Haswell to get the 4770k. I really would like to get a chip with hyper threading for video editing rendering. That's why I am looking at Haswell to get the 4770k. Posted on May 15th 2013, 7:15 Reply

#7 drdeathx

MxPhenom 216 I really would like to get a chip with hyper threading for video editing rendering. That's why I am looking at Haswell to get the 4770k. Buy my 3930K LOL Buy my 3930K LOL Posted on May 15th 2013, 7:41 Reply

#8 dj-electric

drdeathx Buy my 3930K LOL +1 this



Expecting performance plus overclocking from 4770K is like expecting a violent vomit from a drunk friend right in your face. I know... +1 thisExpecting performance plus overclocking from 4770K is like expecting a violent vomit from a drunk friend right in your face. I know... Posted on May 15th 2013, 8:48 Reply

#9 RCoon

james888 I cant wait to see cadaveca's reviews of these new boards. Not to mention the haswell reviews in general. Could be pretty soon, but along with the wonderful review I'm sure we'll see the ugly sides of Z87.

Loving the board, still waiting on a board to go with my block white with black highlight theme. Could be pretty soon, but along with the wonderful review I'm sure we'll see the ugly sides of Z87.Loving the board, still waiting on a board to go with my block white with black highlight theme. Posted on May 15th 2013, 9:01 Reply

#10 radrok

james888 If it overclocks to 5ghz like sandy did to 4.5ghz I might upgrade myself. Well, Sandy already does 5Ghz so it's not like it would be a feat Well, Sandy already does 5Ghz so it's not like it would be a feat Posted on May 15th 2013, 12:09 Reply

#11 Aquinus

Resident Wat-man Am I the only person who thinks that it is interesting that the picture of that board has 10 SATA ports on it and that they're all the same color? Thunderbolt is cool, but if those are all SATA3 ports, that's pretty nifty and it's about time. :p Makes me wonder how many of them are off the PCH and what controller they're using for the rest. Posted on May 15th 2013, 12:47 Reply

#12 radrok

Aquinus Am I the only person who thinks that it is interesting that the picture of that board has 10 SATA ports on it and that they're all the same color? Thunderbolt is cool, but if those are all SATA3 ports, that's pretty nifty and it's about time. :p Makes me wonder how many of them are off the PCH and what controller they're using for the rest. And this is not the Extreme11 which will probably have an LSI controller onboard.



Let's hope they get the memo and make Raid5 possible, the only reason I didn't pick up an X79 E11 is the lack of Raid5.



Oh and also retarded latency given by PLX chips. And this is not the Extreme11 which will probably have an LSI controller onboard.Let's hope they get the memo and make Raid5 possible, the only reason I didn't pick up an X79 E11 is the lack of Raid5.Oh and also retarded latency given by PLX chips. Posted on May 15th 2013, 12:51 Reply

#13 Aquinus

Resident Wat-man radrok Let's hope they get the memo and make Raid5 possible, the only reason I didn't pick up an X79 E11 is the lack of Raid5.



Oh and also retarded latency given by PLX chips. +1: There is no reason to have a PLX chip on a X79 board IMHO. Also the lack of RAID-5 was the biggest turn off with the board. I already had my board when it came out so I wouldn't have swapped, but it definitely was a turn off. +1: There is no reason to have a PLX chip on a X79 board IMHO. Also the lack of RAID-5 was the biggest turn off with the board. I already had my board when it came out so I wouldn't have swapped, but it definitely was a turn off. Posted on May 15th 2013, 12:54 Reply

#14 radrok

I think that the X79 E11 had some nifty engineering choices but those were eclipsed by some other poor choices.



They probably implemented that half assed LSI controller just to have all those ports and the PLX chips just to cram everything they could on the platform.



The idea was nice but the implementation just came as a mix of too many things which made the strong points much more weaker.



Let's hope they will understand the message and show that on upcoming E11s because ASRock has gained my interest lately and this is tough to say by an ASUS fanboy. Posted on May 15th 2013, 13:07 Reply

#15 Nordic

radrok Well, Sandy already does 5Ghz so it's not like it would be a feat 5ghz is not something every sandy can do. 4.5ghz is something nearly every sandy can do with ease. I can at max get 4.6ghz but no higher. 5ghz or maybe more with a small bit of an ipc improvement combined is what might make me upgrade, but not till I read many many reviews. I desire more single threaded performance. In the end I may not upgrade and live happy with sandy. 5ghz is not something every sandy can do. 4.5ghz is something nearly every sandy can do with ease. I can at max get 4.6ghz but no higher. 5ghz or maybe more with a smallof an ipc improvement combined is what might make me upgrade, but not till I read many many reviews. I desire more single threaded performance. In the end I may not upgrade and live happy with sandy. Posted on May 15th 2013, 19:11 Reply

#16 drdeathx

james888 5ghz is not something every sandy can do. 4.5ghz is something nearly every sandy can do with ease. I can at max get 4.6ghz but no higher. 5ghz or maybe more with a small bit of an ipc improvement combined is what might make me upgrade, but not till I read many many reviews. I desire more single threaded performance. In the end I may not upgrade and live happy with sandy. James, Sandy can do 5GHz FYI James, Sandy can do 5GHz FYI Posted on May 15th 2013, 19:17 Reply

#17 ensabrenoir

......ouch!!!!!!.......... tech woodie....... credit card on stand by...... Posted on May 15th 2013, 19:29 Reply

#18 Eric_Cartman

drdeathx James, Sandy can do 5GHz FYI Can do, and does consistently are two very different things. That is his point. Can do, and does consistently are two very different things. That is his point. Posted on May 15th 2013, 23:14 Reply

#19 Aquinus

Resident Wat-man Eric_Cartman Can do, and does consistently are two very different things. That is his point. That depends on the board and the CPU. Where my 3820 might not go above 4.94Ghz at the highest, there are a lot of boards (in particular, ROG boards,) that will let it get much closer to 5.4Ghz, so with a good board a 5Ghz overclock with a 2600k shouldn't be unreasonable. 5Ghz for a 2700k should be a walk in the park though, assuming your motherboard can handle it. That depends on the board and the CPU. Where my 3820 might not go above 4.94Ghz at the highest, there are a lot of boards (in particular, ROG boards,) that will let it get much closer to 5.4Ghz, so with a good board a 5Ghz overclock with a 2600k shouldn't be unreasonable. 5Ghz for a 2700k should be a walk in the park though, assuming your motherboard can handle it. Posted on May 16th 2013, 10:35 Reply

#20 radrok

Aquinus That depends on the board and the CPU. Where my 3820 might not go above 4.94Ghz at the highest, there are a lot of boards (in particular, ROG boards,) that will let it get much closer to 5.4Ghz, so with a good board a 5Ghz overclock with a 2600k shouldn't be unreasonable. 5Ghz for a 2700k should be a walk in the park though, assuming your motherboard can handle it. Yes many 2700k can hit 5,0 Ghz easily ;) Yes many 2700k can hit 5,0 Ghz easily ;) Posted on May 16th 2013, 12:23 Reply

#21 Fourstaff

Which one should come first, lots of Thunderbolt devices and then motherboards to take advantage of them, or lots of Thunderbolt equipped motherboards, and then the devices? Posted on May 16th 2013, 13:27 Reply

#22 m1dg3t





Who's first? Wow! Dual 8 pin and a hefty I/O feature set, should be a top board for serious power users :)Who's first? www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z77V_PREMIUM/ m1dg3t haz :confused: Posted on May 16th 2013, 14:29 Reply

#23 Eric_Cartman

radrok Yes many 2700k can hit 5,0 Ghz easily ;) Many, but not all, again that is his point. Many, but not all, again that is his point. Posted on May 16th 2013, 22:15 Reply

#24 progste

I have low expectations for haswell but this motherboard looks SO GOOD! :respect: Posted on May 19th 2013, 16:56 Reply