There’s something about a board with a single PCI Express slot that seems to make it weaker somehow. The fact is, the large majority of computer users out there only use a single video card. That makes spending the extra money on a board with features you’ll never use kind of a waste. And, given economic uncertainties, there are a lot of people looking to make the cheapest jump possible to new technology like INTEL’s Sandy Bridge. That’s where the new ASRock P67 Pro3 motherboard seems to excel. Let’s see if “super budget” means more or less performance.
Features and Specifications
The goal of the ASRock P67 Pro3 seems to be two fold. It’s made extremely affordable by cutting back on features that really aren’t needed by those on a budget. It’s also designed to make upgrading less financially painful, making the move to Sandy Bridge less expensive. Yet in all its cost cutting, it still provides the latest features which are signatures of the P67 chipset like SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0. It also supports the unlocked Intel K series processors that offer unlocked multipliers and overclocking potential.
To give you a really good idea of what the board looks like, and a quick overview of the key features, check out our video unboxing of this board below:
It is strange to see so many regular PCI expansion slots, but the board is built as an uprade solution, allowing you to take those expansion cards with you from your old platform. But one of the coolest features is the ability to use your old LGA 775 cooler, thus saving you even more money. Since Sandy Bridge uses lower power consumption than LGA 775 processors, the older coolers should be more than a match for the new hotness.
The P67 Pro 3 is also the most affordable motherboard we’ve seen that comes with an EUFI BIOS. Having onboard power and reset buttons is kind of a bonus as well and the Reset BIOS switch in the back is also a nice touch. The oddest thing we noticed on this board is the FDD or floppy disk drive port at the bottom opposite of the buttons. If you’re going to offer a FDD port, you might as well offer an IDE port. Given today’s advancements in flash drives, this is essentially an antiquated feature that should be omitted if not avoided on boards supporting the latest technology.
How much does the board cost? It’s been seen ranging from $139.99 to $129.99 depending on the retailer. At this price, there’s very little chance of seeing any extra rebates. Any cheaper and you’ll have to make the move down to an H67, Q67, or H61 series board. There’s very little in the way of overclocking when you go that route. Let’s take the Pro3 for a spin!
Test System and Setup
Since it doesn’t take two PCIe 2.0 slots to make a motherboard worthy of gaming, we’ll still be using one of the capable NVIDIA Geforce GTX 560 Ti video cards in our arsenal, which is a fantastic card at its price point. Here’s the break down.
- Processors: Intel Next Generation Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge
- CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
- Motherboard 1: ASRock P67 Pro3 (as tested)
- Motherboard 2: Intel DP67BG Barrage
- Memory: Kingston HyperX Genesis 4GB 2133MHz DDR3 @ 1333MHz
- Video Card: ZOTAC NVIDIA Geforce GTX 560 Ti
- OS Hard Drive 1: Seagate 500GB SATAII
- SATAII Test Drive 2: Kingston 128GB SSDNow V+ Rev 2.0
- SATAIII Test Drive: Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
- USB 3.0 Storage: Rosewill RX-358-U3B (WD 2TB Black Caviar)
- Operating System: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Except for the SSD and 2133MHz Kingston Genesis DDR3 memory which are used for confirmation of support, this is a pretty simple machine to duplicate at a modest budget. Especially when opting for some 1600MHz Genesis memory instead of the higher clocked versions. Tests are all performed at 1333MHz to represent an entry level system’s performance. Let’s get testing shall we?
BIOS and Overclocking
The P67 Pro3 isn’t unlike any of the other motherboards we’ve tested. The EUFI BIOS is pretty darn easy to figure out and more than smart enough to keep your system flying by default. It also seems that overclocking is hereditary within the P67 platform. The OC Tweaker software page contains all the settings needed to select automatic overclocks up to 4.2GHz and manual tweaking.
Using the preset options, our sample board liked the 4.2GHz setting justfine making three passes through Sysmark 2007 a breeze. Setting our CPU voltage limit to 1.45 volts afforded a bit more performance, approaching 4.4GHz. Granted, with 1.5 volts, users should hit 4.5GHz. We just don’t see the need to risk processors for a couple hundred megahertz. As with most every P67 motherboard, increasing the CPU Bus Clock (BClk) will most assuredly cause the system to lock up. Of course, your results will vary.
Benchmark Notes
To thoroughly sum up any performance benefits and validate perfect system stability, we’re using SYSMARK 2007, Cinebench R11.5, 3DMark11, Unigine Heaven 2.0 Demo, RightMarkAudio Analyzer, Input/Output performance. Each program was left to their default installation set up so that you can compare your system to our scores. The benchmarks were performed at stock and at our stable 4.2GHz overclock settings.
Quality Control inspections were performed utilizing both our spider like senses and a laser thermometer. We’re looking for any unusual noises and high component temps that could indicate implementation issues. Power Consumption was measured using a power meter from the outlet.
Sysmark 2007
This program benchmarks a computer’s overall performance rating the system in E-Learning, Video Creation, Office Productivity, and 3D Modeling. E-Learning uses Adobe Flash to execute rich image, video, and audio in a web page presentation of learning materials. Video Creation creates a video rendering using special effects and images from multiple sources that are HD in content. Office Productivity uses common office applications used in communication, data processing, project management, and file manipulation. And, 3D Modeling, creates a flyby animation and photo-realistic building image using a large architectural presentation.
We like to run Sysmark 2007 because it easily tells us when a system is unstable whether it’s stock or overclocked. The two platforms were comparable except where 3D was concerned as the Burrage supports AMD CrossfireX and NVIDIA SLI, whereas the Pro3 does not. But since we are not testing 3D performance in this test, the optimizations have to come from BIOS and implementation. But given the price point, the Pro 3 hangs in there.
CineBench R11.5
At stock frequencies, the Pro3 is just a tad more eager to perform in single core tests. During multi-core tests, the tables switch. This is usually due to better BIOS tuning and hardware implementation.
3DMark11
At stock speeds, the Pro3 pulled ahead just by a few points. It was always very close when running the benchmark. When overclocking to 4.2GHz, the Barrage was just a little leaner scoring just a bit higher. The main point to take away from here is that the Pro3 can provide equally useful performance. Expect video games to be extremely comparable as well.
RighMark Audio Analyzer
As you can see, RMAA provided us with a “Good” rating throughout. Users who plug in to the analog outputs will hear a pretty even volume level up to about 75% before distortion sets in which isn’t uncommon with Realtek ALC892 audio processors. If you’re looking for a really rich audio experience, you should consider a discreet audio card like an ASUS Xonar or Creative Labs X-Fi.
Input/Ouput Expansion Performance
There’s very little difference in regards to expansion ports and data transfers. Both the Burrage and Pro3 are already pretty cleanly arranged motherboards which limits most implementation problems. As long as the drivers are the latest, your results should be similar.
Power Consumption
Intel motherboards are pretty low consumers of power. In fact, the DP67BG was the one that gave us that odd cold boot issue with a 1000 and 1200 watt power supply simply because it draws so little power at startup. The PSUs just wouldn’t initialize the system because it was waiting for a higher load.
As you can see here, both boards are very comparable. They require little power in either case. If the DP67BG had another ZOTAC GTX 560 Ti graphics card in the second PCI express slot, its power consumption would easily be another 170 watts higher. Something to keep in mind if you don’t realistically need that extra slot.
Quality Control Observations
Now that this motherboard has been put through the paces, lets discuss its overall quality. Operational functions of the motherboard were all in working order at all times. In terms of EMF, or odd sounds during operations, you could only hear ever so slight noises when the system was at its highest load. The motherboard will be silent inside your computer case.
Using the trusty laser thermometer, the PWM heat sinks around the CPU socket sat at 38 C throughout most of the testing. The PCB averaged about 45 C at its hottest point. This is pretty typical for P67 and H67 motherboards under normal use. As with overclocking any motherboard, expect temperatures to increase. Your best solution as always is to use a computer case with decent cooling.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the ASRock P67A Pro3 motherboard is a standard Sandy Bridge experience, which we know is very good. We know the P67 platforms can perform well, remain stable, and offer a bit of overclocking. When it comes down to the enthusiast looking for a quick OC, ASRock’s Extreme Tuning Utility is a very easy way to go especially if you don’t feel like messing with the new UEFI BIOS. It’s nice to see some software doing what it should without fussing around for stability.
Performance is almost on par with just about any other P67 board we’ve tested. It’s not feature packed or sporting a whole lot of new extras, but that’s not the mission. The P67 Pro3 has the simple objective of giving consumers an extremely affordable solution, allowing the jump to Sandy Bridge to be affordable. Especially if you are still on an LGA775 based system as the ability to use your old cooler will also ave you a few bucks. Gamers will enjoy saving money to spend on more important things like a faster video card.
At a mere $139-129 US this is just about the most affordable LGA1155 P67 Sandy Bridge motherboard there is available. It definitely one “Value Added” offering.
Pros
- Tried-and-true P67 performance
- A little overclocking hidden inside
- Stable and reliable as required
- Very affordable price
- USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps expansion
- Reset BIOS button on back
Cons
- FDD (Floppy Disk Drive) port wasting space
- Theme may not satisfy enthusiasts
- Standard integrated audio quality
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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