ASRock Z97 Extreme6

Written by Michael Larabel in Motherboards on 26 June 2014 at 03:08 AM EDT. Page 1 of 5. 31 Comments.

Those looking for an Intel Z97 motherboard that's Linux-friendly and jam-packed with features should checkout the ASRock Z97 Extreme6 as it should cost you less than $170 USD.

The ASRock Z97 Extreme6 has plenty of interesting features from an Ultra M.2 SSD connector to Thunderbolt connectivity to boasting ten Serial ATA 3.0 ports plus an eSATA port and plenty of USB connectivity.

Specifications:

CPU
- Supports 5th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron Processors (Socket 1150)
- Supports New 4th and 4th Generation Intel Xeon/Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron Processors (Socket 1150)
- Digi Power design
- 12 Power Phase design
- Supports Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology
- Supports Intel K-Series unlocked CPUs
- Supports ASRock BCLK Full-range Overclocking

Chipset
- Intel Z97

Memory
- Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology
- 4 x DDR3 DIMM Slots
- Supports DDR3 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
- Maximum capacity of system memory: 32GB
- Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3 / 1.2

BIOS
- 2 x 64Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS (1 x Main BIOS and 1 x Backup BIOS)
- Supports Secure Backup UEFI Technology
- ACPI 1.1 Compliant wake up events
- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
- CPU, DRAM, PCH 1.05V, PCH 1.5V Voltage Multi-adjustment

Graphics
- Supports Intel HD Graphics Built-in Visuals
- Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 11.1
- Maximum shared memory 1792MB
- Three graphics output options: DVI-I, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2
- Supports Triple Monitor
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096x2304) @ 24Hz
- Supports DVI-I with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz
- Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096x2304) @ 24Hz or 4K x 2K (3840x2160) @ 60Hz
- Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant HDMI monitor is required)
- Supports HDCP with DVI-I, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 Ports
- Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with DVI-I, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2

Audio
- 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec)
- Premium Blu-ray Audio support
- Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
- Supports Purity Sound 2
- Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
- 115dB SNR DAC with differential amplifier
- TI NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier (Supports up to 600 ohm headsets)
- Direct Drive Technology
- EMI shielding cover
- PCB isolate shielding
- Supports DTS Connect

LAN
- 1 x Intel I218V (Gigabit LAN PHY 10/100/1000 Mb/s)
- 1 x Realtek RTL8111GR (PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s)
- Supports Intel Remote Wake Technology (on Intel I218V)
- Supports Wake-On-WAN (on Realtek RTL8111GR)
- Supports Wake-On-LAN
- Supports Lightning/ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
- Supports LAN Cable Detection (on Realtek RTL8111GR)
- Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
- Supports PXE

Expansion / Connectivity
Slots
- 2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4))
- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE5: x2 mode)
- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots
- 1 x mini-PCI Express Slot
- Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX and CrossFireX
- Supports NVIDIA Quad SLI and SLI

Storage
- 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by Intel Z97, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage Technology 13 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technology
- 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by ASMedia ASM1061, support NCQ, AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technology (SATA3_A4 connector is shared with the eSATA port)
- 1 x SATA Express 10 Gb/s Connector (shared with SATA3_4, SATA3_5 and M.2 Socket (M2_2))
- 1 x eSATA Connector by ASMedia ASM1061, supports NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
- 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)
- 1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3 (M2_2), supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)

Form Factor
- ATX Form Factor
- High Density Glass Fabric PCB

Unique Features
ASRock Super Alloy
- XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink
- Premium Alloy Choke (Reduces 70% core loss compared to iron powder choke)
- Dual-Stack MOSFET (DSM)
- NexFET MOSFET
- Nichicon 12K Platinum Caps (100% Japan made high quality conductive polymer capacitors)
- Sapphire Black PCB
ASRock Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4)
ASRock Full Spike Protection

Contents:

Included with this ATX Z97 motherboard was the Windows support/driver CD, an ASRock SLI bridge, quick installation guide, I/O shield, four Serial ATA data cables, one HDD saver cable, M.2 socket mounting screws, and a screw for the mini-PCI Express slot. ASRock's documentation justs lists Windows 8.1/8 and Windows 7 as being the supported operating systems, but of course we're going to put the Z97 Extreme6 through its paces under Linux.


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