ASRock Fatal1ty E3V5 Gaming/OC (Intel C232) Motherboard Review

Introduction

For many generations, Intel's mainstream chipsets supported a wide range of processors, including Xeons. Intel has decided to segment their lineup so that Xeons will only run on their workstation class chipsets, in this case, the Intel C232 and C236 chipsets. The Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC is a C232 chipset motherboard capable of supporting Xeon, all Core i, Pentium, and Celeron processors. The C232 and C236 chipsets should also be designed to last longer than their consumer counterparts.

Compared to the Z170 and C236 chipsets, the C232 chipset has less PCI-E ports, and we see fewer C232 chipset motherboards with M.2 slots or expansive feature sets. Instead, Intel offers the C232 chipset at a lower price than the Z170 and C236 chipsets. Since chipsets are one of the most expensive parts of a motherboard, these savings should be passed along to the end-user. Motherboard vendors are looking to offer higher quality at a lower price, to meet the needs of workstation users who require an affordable option with high reliability.

Today I take a look at ASRock's Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC, whose name is an oxymoron since Intel doesn't officially support overclocking on any chipset other than Z170.

Specifications

Compared to Z170 motherboards, ASRock's Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC doesn't have as many ports and slots, but then again the Z170 chipset has more ports than most will ever use. ASRock has done their due diligence to offer all the chipset features, such as 6x USB 3.0, 6x SATA6Gb/s, and an Intel NIC. All features are rooted in the C232 chipset; there are no hubs or third party controllers.

The motherboard also has a modest amount of ASRock's gaming features such as the Fatal1ty Mouse Port and Purity Sound 3, which are the same as their Z170 counterparts and more advanced than other C232 chipset-based motherboards. The board also has a dedicated clock generator for the BCLK, which allows the end-user to manually regulate the BCLK, something ASRock and Intel do not officially support nor condone.

Pricing

The Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC is available from many large retailers for $142.99.