ASUS P8-Z77V Pro Sandy Bridge Review
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Published: 8th April 2012 | Source: ASUS | Price: £169 |
Introduction
The lesser of the Intel range has had a somewhat rocky period in its short life. We had the P55 LGA1156 based socket for a very short period of time, and that was quickly replaced by the P67 based LGA1155. That itself came with a few niggles which forced a B3 revision rerelease and within a small time scale we had the Z68 chipset which settled things down to a far more reasonable level. Indeed once Intel had got things worked out we really enjoyed some excellent performing motherboards and CPUs, all for a sensible price.
Now a year after the Z68 we're girding our loins for the 3rd Generation of Intel Socket 1155 processors and Intel have brought us the Z77 chipset in preparation.
Firstly what is new with the Z77? We have support for the 22nm 3rd Generation Intel Processors. Built in support for PCI Express 3.0, SATA 6Gbp/s and USB 3.0 are the main charms, and any time you can integrate connectivity options into the main chipset it is one less thing that you need to go hunting potentially conflicting drivers for. The other major change is the inclusion of the latest Lucid Virtu MVP technology which conceivably brings both the latest VSync improvements we've seen from the current flagship GPUs, alongside some performance improvements.
So the big question is, if you're a current owner of a Z68 does the Z77 supply enough new features to make it worthy of an upgrade, or are you better off awaiting the CPUs to go alongside them?
Technical Specifications
As always with ASUS motherboards you're getting a wealth of extra features. One of the most obvious choices is the use of an Intel Gigabit LAN which makes a big change from the standard Realtek solution we see. The other two standout features are things we looked at a while ago, namely the ASUS TPU and EPU dipswitches. The EPU helps improve your energy efficiency, and the TPU helps the AI overclocking.
| CPU | Intel® Socket 1155 for 3rd/2nd Generation Processors Supports Intel® 22 nm CPU Supports Intel® 32 nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2 * The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types. |
| Chipset | Intel® Z77 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) |
| Graphic | Integrated Graphics Processor Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI/RGB/DisplayPort ports - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz - Supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz - Supports RGB with max. resolution 2048 x 1536 @ 75 Hz - Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz Supports Intel® HD Graphics, InTru™ 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider™ |
| Multi-GPU Support | Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ MVP Technology |
| Expansion Slots | 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 2 x PCI |
| Storage | Intel® Z77 chipset : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray 4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), blue Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology ASMedia® PCIe SATA controller : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), navy blue |
| LAN | Intel® 82579V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) Intel® LAN- Dual interconnect between the Integrated LAN controller and Physical Layer (PHY) |
| Wireless Data Network | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Supports single band frequency 2.4GHz |
| Audio | Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : - Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound - DTS Ultra PC II - DTS Connect - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel |
| USB Ports | ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) Intel® Z77 chipset : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) Intel® Z77 chipset : 10 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, black, 8 at mid-board) |
| Overclocking Features | Overclocking Protection : - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Special Features | ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 3 - SMART DIGI+ Power Control : SMART DIGI+ : - Smart DIGI+ Key- quickly delivers higher VRM frequency, voltage and current for superior CPU/iGPU/DRAM overclocking performance with one switch. - Smart CPU Power Level (Intel® VRD 12.5 Future Power Design)- provides the best digital power saving conditions. ASUS TPU : - Auto Tuning - TurboV - GPU Boost - TPU switch ASUS EPU : - EPU - EPU switch ASUS Digital Power Design : - Industry leading Digital 16 Phase Power Design (12 -phase for CPU, 4 -phase for iGPU) - Industry leading Digital 2 Phase DRAM Power Design - CPU Power Utility - DRAM Power Utility ASUS Wi-Fi GO! - Wi-Fi GO! Function: DLNA Media Hub, Smart Motion Control, Remote Desktop, Remote Keyboard & Mouse, File Transfer, Capture & Send - Wi-Fi GO! Remote for portable Smartphone/Tablet, supporting iOS & Android systems - Wi-Fi Engine for network sharing and connection: Client Mode, AP Mode ASUS Exclusive Features : - USB BIOS Flashback - MemOK! - AI Suite II - Ai Charger+ - USB Charger+ - Anti-Surge - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface - Network iControl - USB 3.0 Boost - Disk Unlocker ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - Stylish Fanless Design Heat-sink solution - ASUS Fan Xpert 2 ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS O.C. Tuner - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 - ASUS EZ Flash 2 ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-Shield - ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) - ASUS Q-Slot - ASUS Q-DIMM - ASUS Q-Connector |
| Back I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x DVI-D 1 x D-Sub 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x WLAN connector(s) for ASUS wireless module |
| Internal I/O | 2 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin) 4 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 8 USB 2.0 port(s) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x Optional Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 1 x MemOK! button(s) 1 x TPU switch(es) 1 x EPU switch(es) 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s) 1 x USB BIOS Flashback button(s) |
| Accessories | User's manual ASUS Q-Shield 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s) 2 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi GO! card(s) 1 x Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna(s) |
Most Recent Comments
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Also looking forward to seeing if these boards give any benefit over SB with an IB CPU, from what I have read Z77 boards are better for overclocking IB at lower voltages than P67 and Z68.Quote
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