14 DAY TRIAL // There are a number of motherboard manufacturers and all have certain, exclusive special technologies that give their products a certain edge over the competition. Such features can be special cooling features, advanced power saving technologies or some kind of unique overclocking mechanism. ASRock, on the other hand, has that special technology which can turn an AMD CPU into a superpowered version of itself without needing to mess with the clock speeds at all. Plainly named the unlock CPU Core (UCC) function, this technology allows a simple BIOS option to turn AMD X2 (dual-core) and X3 (triple-core) processors into X4 (quad-core).
This technology is not exactly a new one, as it has been implemented in quite a number of motherboards already, not just AMD-based but also models from the NVIDIA N68 series. What can be called a new and quite fortuitous development is the implementation of this feature into the company's new motherboard based on the 890GX chipset. No doubt consumers will be thrilled to combine their upgraded processor with the advanced technologies, such as SATA 6.0Gbps and USB 3.0.
The ASRock 890GX Extreme3 supports AMD's upcoming six-core CPU, has four DDR3 1800(OC) memory slots with support for dual-channel memory, six SATA 6.0Gbps connectors, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATAIII port, two IEEE1394 Ports, three PCI Express slots and support for ATI Quad CrossFireX, 3-Way CrossFireX, CrossFireX and Hybrid CrossFireX. The board also has the ASRock Instant Boot, Instant Flash, OC DNA, OC Tuner and even Turbo 30 GPU Overclocking technologies, among other things.
Besides support for advanced clock functions and UCC, the motherboard also has the AMD Radeon HD 4290, DX10.1 integrated graphics, with D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI outputs, as well as 7.1 CH HD Audio. Unfortunately, there is no word on pricing and availability, but the model itself may be seen in detail on its product page on the company's official website.