Pros: Supports overclocking for the Intel Anniversary edition chips (including G3258*)
Great number options for input/output
6 SATA ports and built in Wireless AC card w/ external antenna

Cons: Wake on LAN not supported with Linux
* If you want to overclock you will need to roll back BIOS version to 1.70 (ships with 1.80)

Other Thoughts: My use for this board was to power a media center PC with a Pentium G3258 dual core processor. I had heard it overclocks very easily and this chipset does indeed support this, but not out of the box.

If you're not interested in that particular feature, I can say that as my first ITX form-factor build it was a breeze to set up. The BIOS is great, and there are a surprising number of expansion slots and USB ports for a relatively inexpensive motherboard. The bundled software that auto-updates your drivers and utilities is pretty slick as well.

My biggest disappointment was that support for Wake on LAN in Linux has essentially been abandoned. I wanted to run this as a Linux server and be able to turn it on/off remotely. In order to accomplish this I needed to install Windows which was pretty disappointing.

Finally, I'm not sure why it was disabled in the latest BIOS version (1.80 as of this writing) but if you’d like overclocking capability you’ll need to actually load an older version of the BIOS (1.70) to do so.

Pros: The specs looked perfect and I suppose the packaging was very nice.

Cons: Dead on arrival. After looking into it a bit more I discovered that several other people have said they had a problem with this board never posting, and powering down after a few moments, using the Intel i5 4690S chip. I wish I'd have done that search prior to purchase, because the board isn't buoyant enough to use as a tub toy or symmetrical enough to go Frisbee golfing with.

Other Thoughts: The wifi module was not well-implemented. The antennae never connected in securely, and the wire leads were prone to slip off. No idea how they'd have held up with my case fans running, since the thing never posted.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Christopher,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Mainboard support i5 4690S out of the box.
Please contact us with detail problem description at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: Small, Wifi

Cons: Worked fine for a month, but now it wont power off the PSU after Windows 10 shutdown. Is there a Bios fix for this or something?

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Simon,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Please turn the power off, clear the CMOS.
Load the BIOS setting default.
If problem still persist, test with another PSU.

If you have any technical support inquiry, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: Works great with Linux.
Nice solid construction.
Comes with wifi blutooth half mini card.

Cons: Half mini card is a pain cause of bracket.

Other Thoughts: I recommend this board for its price construction and painless drivers.
I would definitely buy this board again.
They should change the half mini card mounting thing.

Pros: USB 3.0 slots
onboard wifi (difficult to install tho)
HDMI port

Cons: Died after 6 months of light use

Other Thoughts: This is a neat board with nice features typically found in pricier boards, but for slightly cheaper, and with onboard wifi.

Unfortunately, it stopped turning on entirely one day. Power supply was confirmed working via a power supply tester. Replaced the CMOS battery and all. Capacitors seemed fine.

And with no light indicating if its receiving power, or motherboard beeps, and the fact that its not even turning on to hit POST, I can only come to the conclusion that it's dead considering the many other reviews on the same thing.

Looks like it's Gigabyte from here on out!

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued ASRock Customer,

Sorry to hear that the mainboard has defective after 6 months which’s due to nature of electronic product, it could happen.
Please trouble shoot the mainboard whether the issue is resolved.
• Unplug the ATX power, clear the CMOS.
• Test with single memory module.
• Test with onboard video.
• Connect the monitor to onboard video.
• Plug the 24 + 4 pins ATX power.
• Turn on the power to check if its post.

If you have any technical support inquiry, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: - Inexpensive considering that it comes with wireless
- Small form factor
- Included ac wireless network adapter
- USB 3.0 headers and plugs
- Don't need to install any software on Windows to use the board

Cons: - Only has 2 fan connectors but you can buy fan splitters for less than $5 if you need one

Pros: It worked great up to a point

Cons: Went through my routine dusting that I do every month. Went I fired up the system to start up some work, the HDMI socket was not responding. Now I have to get another board rushed to me so I can get this rig to a LAN next weekend.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Mitchell,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Please trouble shoot the mainboard whether the issue is resolved.
• Unplug the ATX power, remove all components from mainboard.
• Clear the CMOS.
• Reseat the CPU and heatsink fan.
• Reseat and test with single memory module.
• Test with onboard video (remove the VGA card if applied).
• Reconnect the monitor.
• Reconnect the 24 + 4 pins ATX power.
• Connect the chassis power switch to mainboard, and try again.

If you have any technical support inquiry, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: cheap, wifi on board, raid support, it works

Cons: cheap i/o
requires some additional work to o/c
some assembly required
2 fan headers, no m.2

Other Thoughts: Bought this for an htpc running a g3258, out of the box was a pain to make this board o/c, their newest BIOS(shipped with) does not offer an unlock multiplier option, downgraded BIOS to 1.4 did the trick, not as easy to use as Asus boards, poorly written manual(minimal information). Asus version of this board(form factor) is a much better value(build, features, quality and ease of use), even if you have to add your own wifi.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued ASRock Customer

Thank you for purchase and review.
The BIOS 1.80 is for Windows 10 and it will be limited multiplier function.
If it's not Windows 10 that may stay at BIOS 1.70

If you have any technical support inquiry, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: Powerful small form factor

Cons: Lots of other reviewers have noticed bent pins. I didn't realize until my board failed to boot to BIOS.

Other Thoughts: Like I said in the Cons, make sure you check if you have bent CPU pins before installing or taking the UPC barcode out. Should be common sense but I started over-trusting manufactures and Newegg and just started installing the machine and sending my rebate in. Newegg won't refund/replace without the UPC barcode. Contacted the manufacturer explaining the problem and they gave a cookie-cutter response on how to troubleshoot the board, with a bullet in there that says to confirm the pins aren't bent. Awaiting their response to see what will come of it but I don't have any high-hopes.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Jack,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. ASRock mainboards are fully tested to assure the quality.
The CPU socket has been covered with protection CAP to avoid damage the pins.
For more information about CPU installation guide, please visit at link " http://www.asrock.com/Support/QA/TSDQA-103.pdf ".
If you have any technical issues or warranty questions, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp

Pros: Cheap
Mostly works
It does OC non-Z CPU's in Windows 10
Nice default OC profiles

Cons: Will not allow XMP memory profile over 1400 -> I bought 1600 memory :(
Will only spin the CPU fan down to 1200 RPM ... the board is unable to spin it slower or stop it
Will only spin the case fan down to 436 RPM
unintuitive OCing - It has all the features, just hard to figure out and not documented in manual
Oddities - The ethernet port just stopped working one day for example

Other Thoughts: To overclock in windows 10:
Install Windows 10 using the current BIOS revision 1.8
rename the windows/system32 file mcupdate_genuineIntel to something different (need to take ownership first)
Flash it to BIOS 1.7, afterward overclocking functions will be enabled

Verdict: Would not buy again

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Layla,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
For the XMP, please update the BIOS at UEFI/BIOS, Tools, Internet Flash (required internet connection).
Adjust the DRAM Frequency to 1600 tot est.
For the network issue, please clear the CMOS.
Load the BIOS setting default to try.

If you have any technical support inquiry, please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp
We will assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock Support
Tech Support Email: http://www.ASRock.com/Support/tsd.asp