ASRock is known for developing high-quality hardware components for a relatively affordable price. Thence, its latest Z170A-X1/3.1 ATX mainboard is not an exception, since its price tag does not go beyond $100. In order to cheapen the prime cost, the manufacturer backed away SATA Express & M.2 connectors, limiting the PCB by six SATA III 6 Gb/sec ports. To add, instead of a modern 8-channel audio controller it incorporated a well-known Realtek ALC892 item. The other boons of modernity remained unchanged. Thus, ASRock took Intel Z170 top chipset as the basis for the motherboard. The chipset is targeting the latest Intel Skylake CPUs for Socket LGA1151. The PCB accommodates 4 DIMM slots for dual-channel DDR4-3466 MHz RAM (up to 64 GB max. capacity).
Graphics facilities are ensured thanks to a pair of PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, although there are three more PCI Express 3.0 x1 slots for the connection of other items. Network options are entrusted to gigabit Intel I219V LAN …
Thermalright Inc. has managed to design and supply a whole galaxy of cooling solutions for the entire period of its existence. The prototype of the cooler codenamed Thermalright Archon SB-E was announced last spring and its original version has reached the market this autumn. This model is characterized by some outstanding efficiency and noise level showings, as well as high compatibility with diverse platforms. 