ASRock Z170M OC Formula (Intel Z170) Motherboard Review
Overclocking Results
CPU Overclocking
I have decided to reduce the CPU VCore to 1.4v applied (I will measure real VCore at the output capacitors), and see how high I can validate. On most boards it's 5.0.
I wasn't surprised when the Z170M OC Formula hit 5GHz; it's an overclocking motherboard, so 5GHz is to be expected.
Stability testing worked well, but it's obvious that the LLC is very aggressive as the VCore is slightly higher than what I chose in the UEFI and it almost throttled on a few cores.
Compatible Memory Overclocking Kits
Test 1: 2x8GB (16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666MHz C16
As expected, this 2666MHz kit worked well.
Test 2: 2x4GB (8GB) Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200MHz C16
The Dominator Platinum worked without a hitch.
Test 3: 2x4GB (8GB) G.Skill TridentZ 3733MHz C17
The TridentZ worked well, even at their high speed of 3.733GHz.
Test 4: 2x4GB (8GB) Corsair Vengeance 4000MHz C19
The Corsair Vengeance 4GHz kit is the fastest kit I have on hand, and most Z170 motherboards fail to boot with this kit at XMP. However, the Z170M OC Formula handled this kit like a champ; training was extremely minimal. I expect this kit to work well, as many memory vendors have told me their 4.33GHz kits and faster kits work flawlessly with this motherboard.
PRICING: You can find the ASRock Z170M OC Formula (Intel Z170) Motherboard for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link below to see real-time pricing for the best deal:
United States: The ASRock Z170M OC Formula (Intel Z170) Motherboard retails for $219 at Amazon.
United Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon UK's website.
Canada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon Canada's website.
- Page 1 [Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing]
- Page 2 [Packaging and Z170M OC Formula Overview]
- Page 3 [ASROCK Z170M OC Formula Circuit Analysis]
- Page 4 [ASROCK Z170M OC Formula Circuit Analysis Continued]
- Page 5 [The BIOS]
- Page 6 [Test System Setup]
- Page 7 [Overclocking]
- Page 8 [CPU, Memory, and System Benchmarks]
- Page 9 [System IO Benchmarks]
- Page 10 [Thermal Imaging and Power Consumption]
- Page 11 [What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts]
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