Pros: I was really hesitant to purchase this motherboard for all the bad reviews it was getting here on Newegg. My brother and I was looking to get this motherboard and we really liked all the features it has; like x16x2 SLI support for the GPU and the upgradable features for the new Intel CPU coming down the road, the 10 SATA connecters, USB 3.0 and on and on it goes. We both where thinking about getting this ASRock, and I finally broke down and done just that about two weeks ago and I’m so glad I did. Using an ASRock Extreme4 mobo I knew better then to install all the software that they give you, (see cons below) for most of it is junk that well send your mind spinning, and I just installed the new drivers from ASRock’s website. Not only was the setup a peace-of-cake, but the mobo is just great looking for eye candy as well. Everything has been working like a top without one hitch, so if you’re thinking about the bad reviews, STOP, just get it, like my brother is, I’m sure you’ll like it.

Cons: Do not install the software they give you like, XFAST USB, Extreme Tuning Utility, and XFAST LAN at 1st,for it is rubbish, and will have you pulling your hair out trying to get your mobo running right, (alot of the bad reviews here on Newegg, sounds like that’s what some folks did). Do not install these software’s until you have the mobo up and running fine with just the drivers installed, then take a day and try and get these things running, but beware that some like the XFAST USB, makes your DVD drive drop off the face of the earth and you will not see it ever agin until you uninstall that fun little heartbreaker; ask me how I know?

Oh, also it will not bring me my coffee when playing Crysis with my brother on Sundays, this would had been a nice feature, but about all they could have added, this thing is loaded.

Other Thoughts: This is my 2nd ASRock motherboard both has worked great for me, and I was a ASUS man for a long time, but after this board I think I’m reclassifying myself to a ASRock man, this is a great motherboard and Newegg rocks when it comes to getting it to you in good shape, but then Newegg has always been great in doing an outstanding job. If you’re on the circumference, get off that and order this thing from Newegg today, you won’t regret it.

My setup:

Intel i7 2700K CPU OC to 4.2MHz
Antec Kuhler h2o 920 CPU cooler
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3
Crucial SSD III, 128GBx2 in Raid0
Seasonic 1050watt PSU
GSkill 16GB 4x4 1600 DDR3
Rosewill Blackhawk Case
Two PNY GTX 560 GPU in SLI OC to 850MHz
VewSonic V3D245 1080p Monitor

Pros: Worked for 2 months

Cons: Worst customer service experience, no phone # listed on website, if you call newegg they will give you a phone number, phone number must go to a call center or something people there were less then helpful.

I went on a limb buying a ASROCK motherboard, clearly a bad move as it went bad within two months and I am stuck with trying to get it replaced. Will not purchase a ASROCK in the future

Manufacturer Response:

Dear AsRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for that you've issue with the mainboard after 2 months of use. Please contact us at "http://www.asrock.com/support/tsd.asp" with detail about your mainboard issue. We’ll assist you shortly.

Thank you

AsRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@asrockamerica.com

Pros: Listed Features

Cons: Arrived, would not send a signal through VGA/DVI so I could setup. Tried with my vid card also.... nada. RMA'd.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear AsRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for that you've received DOA mainboard. AsRock mainboards are fully tested to assure that they're working before shipped. Unfortunately, due to nature of electronics products, it can happen. Please remove the video card (if apply), clear CMOS and try again. If still having same issues please contact us at "http://www.asrock.com/support/tsd.asp" alone with Dr. Debug code. We’ll assist you shortly.

Thank you

AsRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@asrockamerica.com

Pros: This board looks great. Was more than happy from the moment I began unpacking. It has many great features that I could list but that would take way too long. OCing was a breeze had my i7 2600k at 4.8ghz with little effort. Everything was supported under my custom build of Linux.

Cons: Doesn't order pizza for me yet.

Other Thoughts: This is the third AsRock board I have purchased and each time I have been more impressed than the last time. Would I buy this board again? "YES!" Hands down without any doubts AsRock has won a customer for life.

Pros: Very nice board with lots of overclocking potential, loaded with features.

Cons: Layout of the PCI slots is not the best. With 2 PCI-E video card plus PCI sound card, have to place the cards in the first and last slot. Basically unable to bridge them and card is on top of the POST codes.

Other Thoughts: At times, motherboard does not Boot or POST at all. No power to the mouse, keyboard or to monitors. Have to power cycle 3 - 4 times to get it to POST properly and boot to Windows. Doesn't happen everytime but 7 out of 10 times. Unable to see POST codes due to video card over codes .

Pros: This board is so feature-packed. There's almost nothing I could add to this to make it better. Biggest selling point for me was that I can finally run SLI on full 16x PCIE lanes rather than 8x and 8x like every other board on the market it seems. Also this thing is future proofed really well. Ivy Bridge, PCIE 3.0, USB 3.0 and SATAIII. I definitely won't have to upgrade for awhile.

Installation went smoothly. Teamed it up with an i5-2500k, 8 gb of RAM and two GTX 460s and it is a beast.

All in all excellent motherboard.

Cons: There's only one little thing I can nitpick about this board. With the included USB 3.0 front panel, this thing has 6 USB 3.0 ports but only two USB 2.0 ports. This right off hand doesn't sound like a bad thing and it isn't but it can make the initial Windows setup a little tricky if use more than two USB devices during installation. Make sure to install the USB 3.0 drivers first if that's the case for you as it was for me because the USB 3.0 ports will not work without them.

Pros: Ohh it looks nice

Cons: Have built two set ups with this board, RMA ed both, AsRock you need QUALITY control in the worst way Wake up or quit trying to build MB's

Other Thoughts: Both boards had no Ethernet connections

Pros: The features are amazing. They are what sold me on this motherboard. So many PCI slots, and the spacing is PERFECT for my needs! So many SATA plugs! The dual 16x PCI-E stuff is cool, too, and it actually works!

Oh, and it boots much faster after updating the BIOS. Do that.

Cons: The HDD controller can't handle two SATA III SSDs. I have two OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS drives and the Intel HDD controller crashes all the time. I'll be RMAing the board and trying again soon.

Other Thoughts: With those two SSDs in RAID 0 this motherboard boots in 15 seconds. Literally. Press the power button, be on the desktop in under 20 seconds every time. I really hope my new board is more stable.

Pros: Excellent board, no problems at all. I personally will look at Asrock as my top pick for mother boards. The quality and options made the 290 price tag disappear.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: have had countless problems with motherboards and other hardware, then came the even more crappier support. Boards still brand new, but seeing the time, quality and tools they give you personally says it all.

they just got a life time buyer, till they give me a reason not to be.

Pros: Wow, this is one amazing motherboard. It is absolutely the best mobo I have ever had. Would absolutely buy this again.

Cons: None