Today we are looking at the ASRock K8 Combo-Z. Like the ASRock K8 Upgrade 760GX board we reviewed not long ago, the K8 Combo-Z touts the ability to support both Socket 754 and Socket 939. But unlike the K8 Upgrade 760GX, the K8 Combo-Z has both sockets onboard!

The ASRock K8 Combo-Z is a full size ATX motherboard that uses the ALi M1689 chipset and comes with a decent set of features.

In addition to being a review of a unique product, today's article will be an interesting experiment to see how performance improves when a Socket 754 CPU is replaced with a Socket 939 CPU. How much extra performance do you get going to an FX-53 with dual-channel? Does game performance improve at all? What are the cost-performance benefits? Is the K8 Combo-Z worth buying over the competition?

Let's get on with it!

Specifications