Recommended reading

ASRock X99 Extreme3 Review

Reviews
By published

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Value

The X99 Extreme3 appears to be an excellent value compared to better-equipped models like the X99 Extreme4, so let’s consider what the extra money gets you. Currently priced at $211, the X99 Extreme4 includes a larger voltage regulator, an eSATA port on the I/O panel and the ability to support three-way SLI on 40-lane processors. This makes sense when you look at its target market. Enthusiasts are more likely to pair the pricier board with a higher-end CPU equipped with more PCIe connectivity and possibly more cores. We also estimate that the difference in worth between these two models is around $20, and that means temporary discounts favor the X99 Extreme4. If you really have your heart set on the Core i7-5820K though, the X99 Extreme3 might still be a smart choice.

Besides, the X99 Extreme4 already won our stamp of approval, as did MSI’s X99S Gaming 7 in the same article. Both of those boards coincidentally dropped in price to maintain their relative value positions, with X99S Gaming 7 buyers paying around $30 more to get around $30 of feature upgrades. Most prominent of these improvements are the X99S Gaming 7’s extra USB 3.0 controllers and ability to support three-way SLI on Core i7-5820K processors.

See more Motherboards Reviews
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • chenw
    In the 3D games benchmarks, you have CPU labeled as i7-4790k.

    Unless I completely missed something, that is a typo, 4790k cannot be paired with a X99 motherboard.
    Reply
  • chenw
    In the 3D games benchmarks, you have CPU labeled as i7-4790k.

    Unless I completely missed something, that is a typo, 4790k cannot be paired with a X99 motherboard.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    15763410 said:
    In the 3D games benchmarks, you have CPU labeled as i7-4790k.

    Unless I completely missed something, that is a typo, 4790k cannot be paired with a X99 motherboard.

    Recycled charts, it could take a while to replace the typo version with the corrected version. Thanks for pointing this out.

    15763411 said:
    In the 3D games benchmarks, you have CPU labeled as i7-4790k.

    Unless I completely missed something, that is a typo, 4790k cannot be paired with a X99 motherboard.

    Recycled charts, it could take a while to replace the typo version with the corrected version. Thanks for pointing this out.

    Reply
  • PaulBags
    As I understand most current single graphics cards run fine at pcie3 8x, so staying sans switches and running perminantly at 8x/8x/8x +M.2 4x would have been an interesting option. Ah well.
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    As we all know some (if not all) Apple laptops come without a CD drive, some do not have a Ethernet jack (WiFi only), obviously everyone heard about the new laptop with USB 3.1 being the only jack on the laptop.

    I am not saying Intel and motherboard manufacturers need to go to that extreme, but we have reached a point where removing some of these old ports will allow manufacturers to save money and pass them to the buyer.

    Is there really a need for a PS/2 port on a performance motherboard? Why not remove all the USB 2.0 ports and maybe add 2 more USB 3.0 ports.

    I recently purchased a MSI motherboards called GAMING 5, it is a gaming motherboard (duhh), marketed towards people on the gaming/performance side. Obviously anyone buying this board in the retail store is buying it with an intent to play games, and almost no one who games in 2015 uses a VGA or DVI ports, it also has PS/2 port.

    I am paying for these useless features that regular people almost no longer use, let alone gamers or people who are into PC building. You can include a HDMI to VGA or DVI adapter just in case someone out there still needs them.

    I think they need to start removing some of the legacy ports and chips and make boards cleaner, cheaper and more affordable to manufacture and buy.

    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    Sigh.. I know that in order to make things cheaper you need to compromise but only 4 ram slots for an X99 platform? To me, a big reason to go X99 is the idea that I can run LOTS of ram. What is the point of going X99 if you only want the lower end 6 core with less PCIe lanes and only 4 ram slots?

    Call me crazy or missing the point but I would almost rather save even more and just stick with Z97.
    Reply
  • ShermOR
    It's not time to be buying. We need X99 & Z97 motherboards with NVMe enabled EUFI BIOS, USB 3.1 Type A & C front and rear & bootable NVMe M.2 3.0 4X . No MB's or cases support all these specs now.
    Reply
  • mapesdhs
    Hmm, not keen on a top-end board without a debug post LED.

    Btw, Filippo's SLI article implies 3-way SLI at x8/x4/x4 would likely work,
    since his tests showed no limitations with 2-way at x8/x8, but of course
    NV doesn't support it. See the section entitled, "How Many PCIe Lanes
    Do You Need?".

    Ian.

    Reply
  • logainofhades
    This board, to me, would only be useful for a non overclocking workstation rig, that doesn't need more than 32gb of ram. Otherwise, spend a little more and get at least the extreme 4.

    Edit* After looking at the prices on PCpartpicker, this board is pointless, unless it becomes much cheaper.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
    Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    Total: $174.99
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when availableGenerated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-28 13:52 EDT-0400

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
    Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($192.98 @ Newegg)
    Total: $192.98
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when availableGenerated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-28 13:53 EDT-0400
    I really hope the MSI X99S SLI Plus gets reviewed soon. It looks to be a promising budget board for X99.
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    It's not time to be buying. We need X99 & Z97 motherboards with NVMe enabled EUFI BIOS, USB 3.1 Type A & C front and rear & bootable NVMe M.2 3.0 4X . No MB's or cases support all these specs now.

    That will be a very expensive system, life is too short to wait until all that hits the market and becomes somewhat affordable.
    Reply