![]() ![]() Remember earlier when I mentioned this board was packed to the brim with USB ports? That’s evidenced at the back, with ten in total to choose from. In this same area, two more 4-pin fan headers can be found, along with the MemOK! switch (helps with booting if a kit of RAM is being stubborn) and the TPU switch (disabled, it doesn’t auto-OC your CPU enabled, it does). Like all other Z77 boards with four DIMM slots, this one supports up to 32GB of DDR3 memory. One thing that should be pointed out here are the convenient fan headers two 4-pins at the top and another above the top-most PCIe 1x slot. Compared to the MSI board we looked at last week, things are a bit more crowded here, but all large coolers should still be able to be installed without issue. In this same area, the power / reset on-board buttons can be found.Īround the CPU socket we can see a large collection of power phases and a clean-looking heatsink towering over them all. If you do want to go the tri-GPU route, you’ll want to have a chassis that leaves ample room at the bottom of the board. ![]() ASUS’ product page touts quad-GPU being possible on those board, but I’m not quite sure how that’s possible with only three slots, and I haven’t seen a 1x GPU recently. In the shot below we can see all seven PCIe slots, four of which are 1x. Also at this corner of the board is a BIOS LED code readout, useful in the event of frustrating boot/POST issues. An additional two 6Gbit/s ports are found at the back in the form of eSATA (driven by ASMedia’s controller). The P8Z77-V DELUXE includes 8x SATA ports, 4 of which are SATA 6Gbit/s (two driven by Intel’s chipset, the other by the Marvell 9128 controller). All of this can be fine-tuned with the included Windows software and EFI, so if you’re a cooling or noise nut, you’re going to be in heaven.Īlright, let’s get back to a look at the board itself. With it, you’re able to keep your PC as quiet as possible, helped by the “Auto Tuning” mode which ramps up each fan individually in order to monitor its full RPM range. ![]() The other feature I wanted to touch on here is Fan Xpert 2, responsible for the best fan control on the market. ASUS states that because of its SMART DIGI+, you’ll be able to run your processor at a given frequency with less voltage, in turn keeping temperatures cooler and your power bill smaller. Both work in conjunction with other board components to accomplish two goals: be as energy-efficient as possible, and enable the best possible performance (overclocking included). I’d also recommend checking an article we published a few months ago where we discussed some of the biggest features.Ī feature that ASUS is quite proud of is SMART DIGI+, one comprised of two separate chips on the board one being TPU (TurboV Processing Unit), the other EPU (Energy Processing Unit). For those looking for a lot more detail, I recommend checking out the official product page as it does a good job of covering it. Our phones, tablets and other mobile devices are equipped with it, and with this board, you’ll be able to connect them to your PC without the use of an add-in card or adapter.Īs packed as this board is with various components, the actual feature list itself is much longer and would require its own article to exhaust. While WiFi is a need-it-or-don’t solution given nothing beats a wired connection, the lack of Bluetooth on desktop boards has long baffled me. Two things this board includes that most others don’t is built-in WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth (4.0). First and foremost, it offers support for tri-GPU CrossFireX and SLI, so right out of the gate this is a gamers’ board as much as it is a multi-media board. But for those who desire an “ultimate” desktop board, this looks to be it.īefore we tackle our tour of the board, let’s talk about some of the P8Z77-V DELUXE’s biggest features. While not as expensive as some of ASUS’ top-end offerings, at about $275 this isn’t going to be snatched up en masse. The option we’re taking a look at here is ASUS’ P8Z77-V DELUXE. If only there were such a board to accommodate all these wants, right? You might want a dual or tri-GPU setup, so keeping those PCI slots clean is imperative. When you build your PC, you want to know that you won’t run out of SATA and USB ports. You have an insatiable appetite for media, gaming and perhaps even overclocking. For a price of about $165, we judged that the MSI Z77A-GD55 we took a look at last week is a great solution for those who want a lot of functionality but have a budget to adhere to (let’s admit it, that Ivy Bridge CPU you’re looking at isn’t cheap).īut you feel like splurging. ![]()
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