ASRock H87 Fatal1ty Performance: Affordable Gaming Motherboard

The launch of Intel Haswell processors was the push for motherboard manufacturers to introduce the products of a new generation. ASRock was not an exclusion, since it offered a lineup of boards for various customer groups. This way, Fatal1ty gaming series has gained two new representatives: high-end Z87 Fatal1ty Professional and more affordable H87 Fatal1ty Performance. The latter is targeting those customers who would like to kill two birds with one stone: create a highly efficient PC system and save the hard-earned money.

Therefore, ASRock H87 Fatal1ty Performance is designed in a standard ATX form-factor. It is based on Intel H87 chipset and features LGA1150 CPU socket. The board is compatible with already introduced Intel processors of the fourth generation (Core i7/i5), as well as with only announced Core i3, Pentium and Celeron. The implemented PCB accommodates four DIMM slots for the integration of up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory modules.

To continue, stability of system operation is secured by means of 8-phase power supply system. A set of expansion slots consists of three PCI, two PCIe 2.0 x1, a single PCIe 2.0 x16, and a single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. This motherboard features six SATA III 6 Gb/sec sockets and the same amount of USB 3.0 ports. Audio facilities (production of 7.1-channel sounding) are ensured by Realtek ALC892 controller, while network functions are vested on gigabit Intel I217V controller.

External I/O panel consists of six audio sockets, four USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports, one optical S/PDIF, one PS/2 for the connection of keyboard and mouse, one RJ45 port, and three various video interfaces (HDMI, DVI and D-Sub). Additionally, this board supports a wide spectrum of brand technologies, including: Instant Flash, Instant Boot, XFast RAM, XFast USB, XFast LAN, APP Charger, OMG, Hybrid Booster, Boot Failure Guard, Internet Flash, SmartView, and Combo Cooler Option.