ASRock Z87 C2?

[Synomenon]

When will ASRock motherboards with the C2 stepping of the Z87 chipset be available for purchase in the USA?


I'm specifically interested in the Z87E-ITX, but only if it has the C2 chipset.

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

The Z87 C2 stepping chipset boards are supposed to be available in August or September.

IMO, the C2 stepping USB wake from sleep issue is not a big deal, none of the USB devices I use have any problems after waking from Sleep.

[Synomenon]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

In the short time I had a Z87E-ITX, I experienced the issue with three of my five USB3.0 drives...

[profJim]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

Hopefully the newer C2 motherboards versions will have an updated model name, such as Z87E-ITX-C2.
USB wake from sleep issues seem to be a problem with some systems and might be worse with some USB drives but not others.

[QuadrupleDeke]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

When will ASRock motherboards with the C2 stepping of the Z87 chipset be available for purchase in the USA?


I'm specifically interested in the Z87E-ITX, but only if it has the C2 chipset.

Spotted at the Microcenter in Cambridge, MA last night. There were three Z87E-ITX motherboards on the shelves, but only one had this sticker. They were all the same price.

[profJim]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

Thanks for the update.
If motherboard manufacturers don't add C2 to the full model name, it will be impossible when buying a motherboard from the web to know if they will receive the updated version.
Hopefully web vendors will add the C2 designation to the model name once they have sold out of their C1 motherboards.

[Synomenon]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

The model I want to buy (changed my mind, I want an ASRock Z87M OC Formula now) is listed at Amazon as "Usually ships within 2 to 4 weeks.". Hopefully when they get this model back in, they will all be C2s.

[profJim]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

A quick Amazon search shows that the 2 to 4 week wait model Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Is there any way that you can contact them to have them verify if it will be the C2 model before it is shipped to you?
Even though the C2 models are apparently available now, it's possible that the new stock might be the original C1 chipset.

[Synomenon]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

Amazon won't do that. When you call them, you speak to someone at a call center which is usually on the other side of the world of where their warehouse is.

[Jonathan Catuccio]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

I'm interested in this board but there is a report mSata doesn't work properly, and the person had (2) sep. motherboards. Has anyone here tested the mSata?

Also, it sounds like C2 won't be at Newegg until end of October.

cheers

[Jonathan Catuccio]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

Here is the report, hopefully this is fixed in C2?

"Got a new system setup with the Z87E-ITX. The mSATA slot isn't working properly though. If I screw the mSATA SSD down, the Z87E-ITX won't detect it. If I let the mSATA SSD unscrewed (flipped up) the Z87E-ITX does detect it.

I tried another mSATA SSD and it's exhibiting the same problem as the first mSATA SSD I tried using. The mSATA slot only worked intermittently. The mSATA SSD had to be inserted a certain way and angled a certain way for it to be detected and this happened on two separate Z87E-ITX boards. I have that 500GB mSATA SSD in a laptop now and it is working just fine.


Also on the Z77E-ITX, when a mSATA SSD was in the slot, the UEFI would show it in the system browser. In the Z87E-ITX, if a mSATA SSD is in the slot, the system browser will show the slot as empty, but SATA port 4 in use by the SSD. I guess this is because SATA port 4 and the mSATA slot share that port. If a mSATA SSD is in the slot, both the mSATA slot and SATA port 4 should show as being in use.


Another issue I'm have with the BIOS / UEFI is with the Power on w/ PS/2 Keyboard feature. With every other brand of motherboard I've had, there were options to power on w/ PS/2 Keyboard not with just the press of any key (as it is now with the Z77E-ITX / Z87E-ITX), but with key combos like Ctrl+Esc or Ctrl+Enter.


Also, when I connect an eSATA dock (with a drive inserted into it) to the board's eSATA port, the system browser does not show anything plugged into that port. When I go to the page that shows the SATA ports where you can configure each one as hot-swappable, the drive in the dock does appear there.




Anyone else experience these issues? I've already upgraded to the latest available BIOS / UEFI for the Z87E-ITX and these problems persist."

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

Here is the report, hopefully this is fixed in C2?

Got a new system setup with the Z87E-ITX. The mSATA slot isn't working properly though. If I screw the mSATA SSD down, the Z87E-ITX won't detect it. If I let the mSATA SSD unscrewed (flipped up) the Z87E-ITX does detect it.

I tried another mSATA SSD and it's exhibiting the same problem as the first mSATA SSD I tried using. The mSATA slot only worked intermittently. The mSATA SSD had to be inserted a certain way and angled a certain way for it to be detected and this happened on two separate Z87E-ITX boards. I have that 500GB mSATA SSD in a laptop now and it is working just fine.


Also on the Z77E-ITX, when a mSATA SSD was in the slot, the UEFI would show it in the system browser. In the Z87E-ITX, if a mSATA SSD is in the slot, the system browser will show the slot as empty, but SATA port 4 in use by the SSD. I guess this is because SATA port 4 and the mSATA slot share that port. If a mSATA SSD is in the slot, both the mSATA slot and SATA port 4 should show as being in use.


Another issue I'm have with the BIOS / UEFI is with the Power on w/ PS/2 Keyboard feature. With every other brand of motherboard I've had, there were options to power on w/ PS/2 Keyboard not with just the press of any key (as it is now with the Z77E-ITX / Z87E-ITX), but with key combos like Ctrl+Esc or Ctrl+Enter.


Also, when I connect an eSATA dock (with a drive inserted into it) to the board's eSATA port, the system browser does not show anything plugged into that port. When I go to the page that shows the SATA ports where you can configure each one as hot-swappable, the drive in the dock does appear there.




Anyone else experience these issues? I've already upgraded to the latest available BIOS / UEFI for the Z87E-ITX and these problems persist.

First, the C2 chipset has one fix that Intel identified, related to the USB 3.0 ports. Some, but not all, devices connected to the Intel USB 3.0 ports were not detected when the PC is taken out of Windows Sleep mode. That is the issue being fixed.

Next, this "report" you posted is the experiences of one user using that board that was posted in this forum. That is not an official statement by Intel regarding the issue leading to the C2 chipset update.

The first mSATA connection problem is purely a mechanical one, or the mSATA port itself is not designed correctly. That has nothing to do with the Z87 chipset.

The detection issues with the ASRock System Browser software, is purely a problem with that software. The mSATA drive worked correctly in that case, but was not detected correctly by the System Browser software. That is an ASRock issue since they provide that software, not an Intel chipset issue. The same is true for the eSATA detection issue. I've seen other issues with the System Browser software, but none of the associated hardware had any problems at all.

The "issue" with the power on via certain keystrokes is simply an option provided by the BIOS by the board's manufacture. In contrast to that user's experience, I've never had a board that allowed configuring keystroke combinations for a power on signal. So while I imagine that such an option exists, that is not a problem with the Z87 chipset.

I'm curious why you think these things are related to the C2 chipset update, when none of them are related to the USB 3.0 wake from Sleep issue?

[Jonathan Catuccio]

Re: ASRock Z87 C2?

I didn't mean to imply the mSata issue was related to C2, and I also never stated it was an official report from Intel. That's why I linked to what an owner of the board in question reported, and not an not an official statement. Where did I state otherwise?

I'm just a consumer who lives out of the USA 11 months a year any don't want to get shafted with a crummy board that I ship over here since booting from mSata is what I need.

First, the C2 chipset has one fix that Intel identified, related to the USB 3.0 ports. Some, but not all, devices connected to the Intel USB 3.0 ports were not detected when the PC is taken out of Windows Sleep mode. That is the issue being fixed.

Next, this "report" you posted is the experiences of one user using that board that was posted in this forum. That is not an official statement by Intel regarding the issue leading to the C2 chipset update.

The first mSATA connection problem is purely a mechanical one, or the mSATA port itself is not designed correctly. That has nothing to do with the Z87 chipset.

The detection issues with the ASRock System Browser software, is purely a problem with that software. The mSATA drive worked correctly in that case, but was not detected correctly by the System Browser software. That is an ASRock issue since they provide that software, not an Intel chipset issue. The same is true for the eSATA detection issue. I've seen other issues with the System Browser software, but none of the associated hardware had any problems at all.

The "issue" with the power on via certain keystrokes is simply an option provided by the BIOS by the board's manufacture. In contrast to that user's experience, I've never had a board that allowed configuring keystroke combinations for a power on signal. So while I imagine that such an option exists, that is not a problem with the Z87 chipset.

I'm curious why you think these things are related to the C2 chipset update, when none of them are related to the USB 3.0 wake from Sleep issue?