14 DAY TRIAL // ASRock has just announced its upcoming Intel Z68 motherboard lineup and this includes no less than three new models, the Z68 Extreme4, the Z68 Pro3 and the Z68 Pro3-M, all of them featuring support for the Lucid Virtu and Intel Smart Response technologies as well as an FDI link and Sandy Bridge multiplier adjustment.
The most powerful of the models announced today is the Z68 Extreme4 that features SLI and CrossFireX support, USB 3.0 connectivity, 7.1 channel sound, with support for THX TruStudio Pro standard, and four SATA 6Gbps connectors.
The Z68 Extreme4 also packs three PCI Express x16 slots, on-board power and reset buttons, a BIOS debug LED, a rear mounted Clear CMOS button and D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs.
Besides the flagship Z68 Extreme 4, ASRock has also launched two other more budget friendly motherboard models, the Z68 Pro3 and the Z68 Pro3-M.
The first one of the two sports an ATX form factor and comes with support for dual channel DDR3-2133MHz memory, two USB 3.0 ports and a pair of SATA 6Gbps connectors.
Expandability is further increased thanks to a PCI Express x16 slot, three PCIe x1 slots and a pair of legacy (32 bit) PCI slots.
There is also a graphical UEFI BIOS, 7.1-channel HD audio as well as on-board D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI video outputs.
The last of the three models, the Z68 Pro3-M, features much the same specifications as the Z68 Pro3, but adopts a micro-ATX form factor.
In the process, the motherboard also lost one PCI Express x1 and one regular PCI slot as well as one of its four SATA 3Gbps ports, since this has been routed to the back of the motherboard as an eSATA connector.
ASRock hasn't mentioned the prices of these three motherboards, but they are expected to become available on May 11 when Intel makes the Z68 PCH official.
