Conclusion

On the surface, it looks like Asrock has a winner on their hands with the 4Core1333-eSATA2. Throughout our testing, it was stable, had user-friendly installation instructions and a seriously cut down BIOS which will appeal to novices (more on that later). It even features Crossfire support (albeit on a 4x interface for the second card) which will garner it more than a few second glances from the enthusiast community but what really sets this motherboard apart is its broad-reaching compatibility. Being able to use current quad cores and upcoming Wolfdale 1333Mhz FSB dual core processors on a budget board will give budget-minded consumers peace of mind that their investment will not be obsolete right away.

All of the above-mentioned high-points are ones we come to expect from ASRock; however what is unexpected is the price. This board looks, feels and acts like a budget “entry level” board yet it is priced higher than one would expect. Other P31 boards can be found in the $85 range, and while that is only $15 difference it does place this board into a different price and performance category. It is a category furnished with p35 chipsets and non-restrictive BIOS’s while the 4Core1333-eSATA2 has a P31 chipset and a VERY restrictive BIOS. The majority of ASRock's boards are a lot less expensive than this one and that business model has been a successful one for ASRock in the past so it is hard to understand what justification they used for a 30% to 40% price increase. Add to this the downright confusing terminology in the BIOS itself and horrible static in the audio among other things and this motherboard becomes less and less appealing for even more budget-consious users.

If you are looking for a good stable board that is capable of handling just about any 775 socket CPU and you do not plan to overclock at all then this board is worth considering. It does have a lot features usually found on more expensive boards yet still has everything most people would need. Overall, it is a nice rock solid budget board, just with a non-budget price tag.


PROS:

- Stable motherboard
- 1394a connectivity
- e-SATA built in
- Crossfire ready
- 7.1 HD sound


CONS:

- Price
- e-SATA uses 25% of internal SATA ports
- Restrictive BIOS
- Imprecise terminology in BIOS
- Noisy audio
- Only 4 SATA ports
- Second PCI-E slot is 4x only