Question 1

Is the internal USB connections on this board USB 3.0?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on the back and you can also plug into the mobo to have usb3 on tower or in front.

Question 2

I also bought the DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS and I wanted to know if I need to buy the cables or if the motherboard comes with them? My DVD Burner didn't come with any cables.

Accepted Answer

Power supply cable + SATA II/III cables. Yes every ASRock motherboard comes with SATA cables unless you buy it refurbished and then it's a gamble which accessories you get. Buy new and you are good to go.

Question 3

Just checking to make sure this has the CPU included, but it appears the CPU Cooling fan is not included?

Accepted Answer

It is not. Sorry

Question 4

Just set up a system yesterday using this motherboard. When I start the system all fans turn on, the digital display on the mb does not turn on (not sure if it's supposed to). There is no display, can it be related to the PSU? What should I check?

Accepted Answer

Sorry, I saw the wrong motherboard. I had this problem for the MSI z77a-GD65 motherboard.

Does the computer go through POST? It is suppose to beep to tell everything in the system is ok. If not, this motherboard has a debug led located on the motherboard; you need refer to manual to see what the problem is by finding the number associated with the number being displayed on the board. 
I think the problem I tend to have is the ram being faulty.

Question 5

Is the CPU included?

Accepted Answer

I purchased this as a gift for my son who already had an i7 CPU so based on that the answer as to whether the CPU was included would have to be no.  The CPU was $379, he also needed to buy memory and a graphics card.  I'm fairly certain the graphics is part of the CPU but you may want to research that to be sure.  He built a high end computer so a lot of extras went into this but the CPU was needed as it's a mother board only with the basics.  Hope that helps some.

Question 6

Does this motherboard have built in sound and Wi-Fi?

Accepted Answer

yes this has sound, you don't need a sound card if you don't want it's integrated into the motherboard.
No it doesn't have Wi-Fi, you will need to buy a wireless network card.

Question 7

this there any restrictions on windows O/S i can use?......  i wouldnt like to go to 8.1 just cause im so used to 7.0 ... am asking cause i dont see this detail on the specifications

Accepted Answer

I ran Windows 7 for a year and a half with no issues. I recently upgraded to Windows 8.1 and have no issues as well. Windows 8.1 is different, but not that bad, you can get it cheap on G2A.

i5 2500k
Gtx 670
2 sticks/8 gb 1600mhz ram (set speed manually in bios)

Question 8

Does this support i5 2500k?

Accepted Answer

Both Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors are socket LGA 1155. So yes, it will work. Haswell is LGA 1150 and requires an LGA 1150 motherboard. Since Sandy Bridge is only PCI Express 2.0 capable you may lose a little bandwidth but for a single card configuration it should not be that much. For maximum bandwidth on the PCI Express 3.0 slots you may want to upgrade to an Ivy Bridge processor. Great little motherboard though and one of the top 5 Z77's for overclocking.

Question 9

Hi All

My friend was telling me that this motherboard is going to be much better with an Ivy Bridge Intel CPU rather than the Sandy Bridge Intel CPU that I was planning on buying with this before. Is this really true? How big of a difference will this make? I didn't know that a motherboard can change the performance of a CPU significantly. Are there any other optimization facts I should be aware of?

Thanks everyone

Accepted Answer

Hey,

To answer your question, some motherboards MAY increase processing for CPU's but I highly doubt it. A simple google search between brands or types (for this, this is a Z77 you can find others with other markers. Note ?8? are typically for Haswell/4th gen Intel processors). A motherboard typically affects what you can and cannot use/put onto the overall PC. Things that differ the most are the RAM structures & number that they can use, amount of PCI(e) slots to add miscellaneous cards (read graphics + others), number of USE 3.0 slots, and how big they are.

Thus, looking for a motherboard shouldn't be "does this make my computer faster?" and more be "Does it fit the size of computer I want and can it hold what I want to throw into the computer?"

Question 10

Has anyone had problem connecting the USB 3.0 plug into the mobo? It never seems to actually latch on and a slight tug on the cord will pull it out.

Accepted Answer

Yes, I had to be very careful routing it around the back of the case, making sure there was enough cordage to form a loop large enough that it wasn't tugging on it. Even with the loop it wants to pull slightly to one side. 
If you are sure its connected and want to make sure it doesn't unlatch, go the Falc0n N0rthwest route and put some hot glue on the side of the connection, bridging both the USB3 connector and the plastic port on the mobo. Only a little is necessary. 
It would be nice if there was a riser for the port or the port itself was 90 degrees, but once my rig is built, it rarely moves so I am not overly concerned.

Questions & Answers