Buildzoid returns today on his Actually Hardcore Overclocking YouTube channel with a full examination of the ASRock X299 OC Formula motherboard. It’s obviously the company’s flagship offering in terms of overclocking capability so it’s interesting to see exactly what they have done in terms of the VRM and CPU cooling design.

According to Buildzoid ASRock are not afraid to splurge the cash when it comes to the electrical side of things, but do have a tendency to make odd decisions, for example the POST code reader is located in the bottom right-hand corner, not as one might prefer, in the top right corner where it could more easily be read. It also lacks an actual CMOS button on the board itself, another minor gripe.

The VRM however is described simply as gorgeous. Taking the VRM heatsink off the board it’s apparent how much mass it contains. In terms of surface area it may not be astounding, the fins are not cut as deep as they could be for example, but it should offer sufficient heat dissipation with LN2 overclocking. The VRM components are top notch. ASRock have elected to use a 12+1 phase design. The additional phase however will not be used when benching with Skylake-X chips due to the differences between how Kaby-Lake-X and Skylake-X work - Kaby-Lake-X has no Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator (FIVR), hence additional phase.

Component choices include high-end Intersil voltage controllers which are as good as you can get in Buildzoid’s opinion. Intersil are regarded as industry leaders in the high-end space so it’s good see that ASRock are going all out in terms of the power delivery components. If we’re being totally honest, I’d almost say that Buildzoid has a borderline unhealthy fondness for this VRM.

You can find the video from Buildzoid here on his Actually Hardcore Overclocking YouTube channel.