Z68 Extreme4 Gen3

How would that solve the BIOS UI then, windows isn't even on the boot list at this point?

The problem i had was the keyboard was not working with the BIOS UI when plugged into the boards back USB sockets. It does work however, when plugged into the case front USB sockets that are connected to the mainboard.

I'm merely stating that after you have done the initial procedures in the BIOS, then installed windows + drivers for mouse and keyboard. You can then plug in the mouse in keyboard on the back 2x 3.0 USB ports and use them there within bios and windows. Saving all the wires going over the top of the case :).
 
Does this board do 8x8x8 tri sli? Or 8x8x4?

It doesn't do triple SLI with 3 cards at all.

It will do SLI with 2 cards at x8/x8.

It will do TriFire with 3 cards at x8/x8/x4.

Only the Sandy Bridge boards with an Nvidia NF200 chip (such as the ASRock Z68 Extreme7) can do triple SLI with 3 cards.
 
A few people have been asking for guides on how to overclock and what peoples BIOS settings are so I've taken some screenshots for reference.

These are the settings I use for a 24/7 stable overclock at 4.6GHz with all energy saving options enabled:

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Thanks for the guide! Is there any difference between those settings you posted as opposed to the Auto overclock feature in the BIOS? I'm currently using the auto preset at 4.6GHz and haven't had any problems, just wondering if using those settings will have any more benefit?
 
Thanks for the guide! Is there any difference between those settings you posted as opposed to the Auto overclock feature in the BIOS? I'm currently using the auto preset at 4.6GHz and haven't had any problems, just wondering if using those settings will have any more benefit?

The built in overclock profiles are a little overzealous with the voltage requirements, the 4.4GHz overclock uses a 1.375v VCore voltage while the 4.6GHz overclock uses (nearly) 1.5v!

I'd suggest giving my settings a try for 4.6GHz and see if it's stable for you, it will keep the temperature at a decent level, I can't imagine pushing 1.5v through your chip would be good for any great length of time :)
 
I reckon this is still an overkill for 4.6GHz. This board cant be much different from previous gen Ive used and 4.6 was stable with 1.34V :)
Also why would you need 1.65V for RAM? doesnt your set work with 1.5V?
 
I reckon this is still an overkill for 4.6GHz. This board cant be much different from previous gen Ive used and 4.6 was stable with 1.34V :)
Also why would you need 1.65V for RAM? doesnt your set work with 1.5V?

Anything below 1.375V on my chip and it isn't IBT stable, it's Prime stable for over 20 hours but IBT takes it down in under 2mins. I've thrown ever torture test I can think of at it with this voltage and it's rock solid - it's going to be a 24/7 overclock so it has to be 100% stable.

The RAM requires 1.65V for those timings, it even says this on the Corsair website
 
Got my system up and running but wondering is it best to install all the driver and
utilities ?

Just got the board, can someone tell me the best drivers to install and where I get them? Do I need any CPU drivers as well? Thanks!

First off, make sure you have the latest BIOS, you can get this from here: http://www.asrock.com/MB/download.asp?Model=Z68 Extreme4 Gen3&o=BIOS

After this, it depends on what GPU and OS you are using. As *most* people use Windows 7 64-bit these days, I'll link to the drivers you will need for everything except your GPU or add-in sound card.

Intel Chipset Drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=20019&ProdId=816&lang=eng

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...ng&OSVersion=Windows 7, 64-bit*&DownloadType=

Intel Management Engine Drivers: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/intel/Others/ME_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_XP(7.1.10.1065).zip

Network Card Driver: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/all/Lan/Broadcom_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_XP(v14.6.4.2).zip

USB3 Driver: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/All/USB/USB3_Etron_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_XP(v0.96_WHQL).zip

If you are using on-board graphics with Lucid Virtu then you will need these two...

Intel On-Processor GPU Drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...ional, 64-bit version*&DownloadType= Drivers

Lucid Virtu App/Drivers: http://lucidlogix.com/download/Lucidlogix VIRTU Setup1_2_106_17995_64Bit.exe

If you are using the on-board Marvell SATA3 Controller then you will need...

Marvell SATA3 Controller Drivers: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/all/SATA/Marvell_SATA3_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista(1.2.0.1003).zip

If you are using the on-board Audio then you will need...

Realtek HD Audio Drivers/App: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/all/Audio/Realtek_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_XP(R262).zip

THX TruStudio App: ftp://174.142.97.10/utility/THX/TruStudio_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista(1.00.01).zip

The following utilities are optional but I have them installed:

ASRock AppCharger: ftp://174.142.97.10/drivers/all/AppCharger/AppCharger(1.0.4).zip

ASRock Xtreme Tuning Utility: ftp://174.142.97.10/Utility/AXTU/AXTU(0.1.98).zip

ASRock XFast USB Utility: ftp://174.142.97.10/Utility/XFastUSB/XFastUSB(3.02.19).zip

ASRock XFast LAN Utility: ftp://174.142.97.10/utility/XFastLAN/XFastLAN_Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_XP(v6.61.1880).zip (I've already got a license for cFossSpeed from my previous build so I used this but it's the same software...)

Now all you need to do is add your GPU drivers and your good to go :)
 
are the drivers necessary?

i was under the impression it was all integrated within windows?

Windows 7 will do a good job of finding drivers via Windows Update however it isn't always possible to get a driver for every device that way and your never guaranteed it's the latest version (and thus giving you the best performance) so, in essence, yes they are necessary - I'd not dream of doing a build (for myself or anyone else) and not installing the latest drivers for every bit of hardware inside the machine!

Get downloading and installing! :)
 
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