Intel’s Xeon E3-1200 series processors were pretty popular since their performance is somewhat close to Core i7 processors, but cost way much less. However, earlier Intel has decided to make these new Xeon E3-1200 v5 processors exclusive to Intel C232 chipset platforms, meaning that it won’t work on your average Z170/H170/B150/H110 chipset motherboards. On the bright side, ASRock will release two Intel C232 chipset based motherboards after Christmas to match the CPU with the best value, Intel’s E3-1230 v5. The first one will be ASRock Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC for gamers, and the second one a workstation motherboard ASRock E3V5 WS.
Aside from lacking Intel onboard graphics, which game addicts with fancy graphics cards won’t miss a bit, ASRock Fatal1ty E3V5 Performance Gaming/OC makes a wonderful gaming rig. It’s fully equipped with Gaming Armor, Super Alloy features, ASRock Hyper BCLK Engine, and the rule breaking DDR4 Non-Z OC that enhances the system’s overall performance. Both ordinary DDR4 memory modules and ECC memory DIMMs are supported. And of course, features like Key Master, Fatal1ty mouse port and F-Stream aren’t missing either.
Meanwhile ASRock E3V5 WS is a workstation motherboard that is specifically designed for content creators. Akin to its gaming oriented counterpart, it also lacks support for Intel’s integrated graphics, but supports both ordinary DDR4 memory modules, ECC memory DIMMs, and also AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro high-end graphics cards instead. Moreover, the onboard Intel I219LM LAN chip provides server grade internet connections, plus it allows this workstation motherboard to support server operating systems.
