Objective ... Performance and Efficiency: I have built computers with mobos mfted by Abit, ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte, and Soyo. All good, but I have leaned to ASRock and ASUS (I loved my ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe (beautiful board) which will now go to another computer builder in the family). My most satisfying installation to date is this Z68 Extreme4/Generation3 (X4G3) mobo by ASRock. It scored well in layout, electrical goodies ... gold-coated capacitors, future proofing (PCIe 3.0, HDMI, etc.), and performance. Did I say attractive ... beautifully manufactured and sturdy. Layout is quite similar to the ASRock P67X4G3; which I built in another computer in 2011 (that installation had a lot to do with buying this Z68X4G3). This installation was straight forward with no issues; it had the latest bios, CD disc had the latest drivers (checked against ASRock's online downloads), and it fired up on the first try. This is my fourth ASRock MOBO and all I can say is they get better every time. This is also my fastest computer to-date ... Windows 7 - Home Premium 64-bit, two solid state drives (Kingston HyperX SATA III 120 GB and a OCZ Vertex SARA III 90 GB), and a single Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB data drive. The lowest score on Windows performance is 7.5 listed for calculations per second (Intel i5-2500K ... no slouch). The remaining scores are 7.8 (memory: G Skill Sniper 8 GB dual channel 1600/DDR3 set to XMP), 7.8 (desktop graphics: XFX 6870 HD Radeon/dual fans), 7.8 (gaming graphics ... board has slots for three video cards), and 7.9 (primary SSD drive: Kingston HyperX ... the 90 GB SATA III OCZ SSD would have scored the same). All I can say about SSD drives is don't buy one unless you're ready to get spoiled forever ... incredibly fast, fast, and fast! PSU is OCZ ZX Series 850W 80 Gold-Plus modular (no excess wires to deal with) with 90% efficiency at 50 percent capacity and 87% efficiency at 100 percent capacity (all modular connectors are gold-coated).
Although I have read where some complained that ASRock technical staff is lacking; that has not been my experience (a single event out of four previous MOBOs .. not bad record for a mobo company either). Last year ASRock and I worked hard to resolve an issue with the P67X4G3 board for not accepting Channel B memory and after a couple of board exchanges we resolved the issue (actually turned out to be the processor?). Also, look over their listing of approved memory before you build ... they're listed for a reason ... compatibility and less chances of problems. That's why I bought new memory for this build ... the G Skill Sniper is listed.
I purchased this ASRock at Amazon. Good MOBOs and good technical assistance spell success. Definitely recommend this mobo.