The mainboard model name not always reveals clearly what the solution is capable of and how it positions among the similar solutions. For example, if one main board is called Asus P6T, and another - Asus P6T Deluxe, there are no questions here. Obviously, the “deluxe” mainboard is more advanced than the regular one. It is much harder to make the right choice if you have Asus M4A78-E and Asus M3A79-T. M4 seems to be better than M3, but 79 is a higher number than 78. Besides, it is fairly hard to decide between “E” and “T” models. And what would you say if we offered you to choose between ASRock X58 SuperComputer and ASRock X58 Extreme? Of course, the mainboard with the word “SuperComputer” in its model name should be exceptional, though the “Extreme” solution is can also hardly be considered common…

However, if we are talking about the ASRock mainboard from the last example, then we have an advantage over the others making the same choice. We have already reviewed ASRock X58 SuperComputer mainboard on our site a while back and we are very well familiar with the advantages and drawbacks of this specific model. As for ASRock X58 Extreme, we are going to talk about its features and peculiarities in our today’s review.

Package and Accessories

ASRock X58 Extreme mainboard ships in a small nice looking box. The front of the packaging is decorated with refreshed Intel Core i7 processor logos, a sticker indicating that the board is Windows 7 ready, Nvidia SLI and ATI CrossFireX technologies logotypes. Moreover, the box also tells us that the board uses 8-phase processor voltage regulator circuitry and is equipped with a Powered eSATA connector.

The back side of the box has a photo of ASRock X58 Extreme mainboard, its brief technical specifications in several different languages and some basic info about certain hardware and software peculiarities.

Inside the box we find an ASRock X58 Extreme mainboard, of course, as well as the following accessories:

• FDD and PATA cables;
• Four SATA cables with metal connector latches;
• A pair of power adapters for SATA devices;
• SLI bridge;
• I/O Shield for the connector panel;
• User manual with brief installation instructions in several languages;
• CD disk with drivers and software.

Besides the drivers, the disk contains different documents in electronic form, such as full version of the user manual for ASRock X58 Extreme mainboard, information about Intel Matrix Storage Manager utility and RAID configuring, instructions for connecting up to six monitors. Besides ASRock’s brand name utilities, such as ASRock OC Tuner, ASRock IES (Intelligent Energy Saver) and ASRock Instant Boot, the disk also contains Adobe Reader, Microsoft DirectX 9.0c and Norton Internet Security software.