“Motherboard” that helps you save money. Review and testing of the ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard based on the Intel Z77 Express chipset. Review of the ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard review of the ASUS p8z77 vpro motherboard

The model ranges of most motherboard manufacturers have always included products with advanced functionality. In contrast to boards that make do with a minimum number of additional controllers and use exclusively the expansion capabilities of the system logic set, such models offer support for the maximum number of the most modern interfaces, as they say, “for all occasions.” Owners of such motherboards are always ready for future upgrades and connection of the latest peripherals. Often the design of such products has a significant margin of safety, which allows one to count on significant overclocking potential. The heroine of today’s review, ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt, belongs to this category of “motherboards”.

This motherboard, designed to work with Intel LGA1155 processors, has rich expansion capabilities, including the ability to work with wireless networks. The highlight of the model is its compatibility with the latest high-speed Thunderbolt interface, which provides simultaneous image output and two-channel duplex data transfer at a speed of 10 Gbps. The remaining technical characteristics of the P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt look no less interesting, we suggest you familiarize yourself with them from the corresponding table:

Contents of delivery

ASUS products stand out on store shelves thanks to their strict and memorable packaging design. The P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt board is supplied in a cardboard box of standard sizes, decorated in a single corporate style, on the front side of which the model name is printed, as well as logos of numerous proprietary solutions and technologies.

The set of new accessories includes:

• plug for the rear panel of I/O Shield;
• four SATA 6 Gb/s cables;
• set of Q-connectors;
• NVIDIA SLI bridge:
• a bracket for outputting two USB 3.0 and one eSATA ports to the rear panel;
• wireless network module Wi-Fi GO!
• Wi-Fi antenna;
• DVD with drivers and software;
• user guide;
• instructions for using Wi-Fi GO!
• a brochure describing the proprietary software.

Design

The ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt motherboard can be classified as a model with exceptional expansion capabilities. Because of this, the installation of components is very dense; there are practically no free spaces on the RSV, whose dimensions are 305x244 mm. However, the location of all components is convenient enough not to cause problems during self-assembly of the system unit. First of all, the massive radiators of the VRM cooling system catch your eye.

The disk subsystem of the motherboard is based on the capabilities of the Intel Z77 Express chipset, which provides two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s channels. Additional features include combining drives into RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays, as well as support for proprietary Intel Smart Response and Intel Rapid Start technologies, which are available only to SSD owners. Those users who find the chipset ports insufficient can connect two more devices to the SATA 6 Gb/s connectors, which are connected to the ASMedia ASM1061 chip. One of the channels of this controller can be used to output an eSATA 6 Gb/s port to the rear panel of the system unit using the bracket supplied in the kit.

On the rear panel of ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt you can find:

• one PS/2 combo connector;
• four USB 3.0 ports;
• video outputs D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI;
• optical output S/PDIF;
• RJ-45 connector;
• six analog audio outputs;
• one Thunderbolt interface.

The P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt power subsystem deserves special mention. This unit is designed with such a margin of safety that other “overclocker” models of competitors will envy it. Judge for yourself: additional power is supplied via an eight-pin EPS12V connector, and the voltage converter of the central processor is built according to a 12-channel circuit. In this case, eight phases power the computing cores, and the remaining four generate voltage for the integrated video card and the built-in north bridge. The node is controlled by a pair of digital PWM controllers: ASP1101 and ASP1000C. Alas, the markings do not allow us to accurately establish their models and characteristics; however, it is known that the voltage converter assembly supports switching frequency control of power elements, Loadline calibration voltage drop compensation and overheating protection, and during idle moments, some VRM channels can be turned off to increase Efficiency

Among the original design solutions of the new product, one cannot fail to note the presence of EPU and TPU hardware switches, with the help of which energy saving and automatic overclocking modes are activated. Next to them you can see the BIOS_FLBK button, which is responsible for enabling the ASUS BIOS Flashdack firmware update technology. To flash the control microcode, simply connect the drive to a free USB port and press the corresponding button; moreover, the update function does not require a central processor or RAM modules.

In general, getting to know the motherboard design left the most pleasant impressions. The design of the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt looks well thought out, and the workmanship is at the highest level. We especially liked the implementation of the CPU voltage converter and the design of the cooling system. The solid safety margin of these components allows us to count on good overclocking potential. As for expansion options, support for wireless networks and the latest Thunderbolt interface are among the undoubted advantages of the product. However, four USB ports, even of the third revision, seemed to us clearly not enough. This drawback can be partially compensated for by using the included bracket, which brings two additional USB 3.0 connectors to the rear panel.
UEFI Setup

The system firmware of the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt board is based on AMI microcode, as in most modern models, UEFI is used instead of the obsolete BIOS. A distinctive feature of the user interface of ASUS motherboards is the presence of EZ Mode, which allows you to control basic system parameters and manage basic firmware capabilities. Thus, the main window of EZ Mode displays the current date and time, brief information about the firmware version, parameters of the central processor and memory modules. The readings of system monitoring sensors are also displayed here, as well as controls for the energy saving mode and the order of initialization of boot devices.

For user convenience, the F3 hotkey is assigned to go to the shortcut menu, which provides quick access to fine-tuning the motherboard, and pressing the F8 button brings up the boot device selection menu. Undoubtedly, EZ Mode can be useful for visual monitoring of the system status, but for full control, users will be forced to use Advanced Mode.

Advanced Mode opens all possible motherboard settings. For example, the Main tab allows you to set the date and time, as well as set the menu display language, and Russian localization is included in the list of available ones.

The UEFI Setup of the participant in today's review has advanced capabilities for managing supply voltages on all main components of the motherboard. There are two ways to set Vcore for the central processor: dynamic, when the user sets an increase to the standard voltage, and fixed, when the value is specified explicitly. Note that only in the first case the full operation of energy saving technologies is maintained.

The rotation speed of the impellers can be tied to changes in the temperature of the central processor, and the user can select one of the preset profiles, or set the operating algorithm at their discretion.

The Boot tab contains options responsible for the boot process, and in the Tools menu the user has access to firmware update functions using the EZ Flash utility. In addition, the motherboard's UEFI Setup allows you to save up to eight profiles with custom settings, and you can use an external USB drive to store files.

As a result, the settings menu of the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt motherboard has all the necessary functions for successful overclocking, so fans of “hardware” experiments will not deny themselves the pleasure of spending many hours exploring all the intricacies of UEFI Setup. At the same time, the firmware has a simple and logical structure, so even beginners can easily configure all the necessary basic parameters. However, we have no doubt at all about the high quality and convenience of the control microcode of the ASUS motherboard.

Bundled software

Recently, motherboard manufacturers have been paying more and more attention to the software component of their products. This is not surprising, since many users prefer to perform most overclocking and performance fine-tuning operations directly from the operating system. It is for this category that the ASUS AI Suite II software package is intended, consisting of independent modules united by a single user interface.

To control the frequencies, voltages and multiplication factors of the computing cores, the TurboV EVO software is used. It is also responsible for activating the automatic overclocking function. Despite the good capabilities, the program is not without a serious drawback - the user cannot control the frequency and delays of the RAM modules.

The DIGI+ Power Control module is responsible for numerous parameters of the digital power supply subsystem, which allows you to configure the operation of the Load Line Calibration function, adjust the switching frequency of power elements, set an algorithm for turning off unused channels of the voltage converter, and much more.

The motherboard's power-saving settings are compiled into the EPU program, which not only allows you to set a performance profile, but also displays the current power consumed by the CPU and even shows the reduction in greenhouse gas CO2 emissions resulting from energy savings.

To configure the operation of fans, ASUS AI Suite II includes the FAN Xpert 2 module. First, the user is asked to identify and calibrate all installed “Carlson fans”. You can then select one of three preset performance profiles or manually set the control algorithm depending on the temperature of the components.

The Probe II utility is designed to control monitoring parameters and notify when they reach critical values.

This module also allows you to maintain statistics of hardware monitoring sensor readings with the ability to build graphs in real time.

The USB Charger+ function optimizes the charging process for mobile devices, and for the most common gadgets there are profiles that ensure the fastest possible process of restoring battery charge.

In addition, ASUS AI Suite II has the function of automatically updating the motherboard firmware and displaying detailed information about the main components of the system. Thus, the bundled software supplied with ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt allows you to solve a wide range of tasks for configuring the motherboard. However, the TurboV EVO overclocking control module lacks RAM control capabilities.
Overclocking potential

As we expected, there was not the slightest problem with overclocking the test Intel Core i5-2500K processor on the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt motherboard. First of all, we decided to evaluate the safety margin of increasing the base frequency. When using the new product, we were able to increase the BCLK value to 107 MHz. In practice, this means the possibility of an additional 7% increase in performance for CPU owners whose multiplication factor is blocked for increase.

Finally, we checked the correctness of the automatic overclocking function, which can be activated via the TPU microswitch, from the AI ​​Suite II program interface, or using the corresponding option in the motherboard firmware. Regardless of the method, the result remained the same: the processor frequency was 4240 MHz with a Vcore voltage of 1.352 V. At the same time, the RAM operated in 1346 MHz mode with timings of 9-9-9-24-1T.

As we can see, ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt demonstrated an excellent margin of safety, confidently coping with both increasing the base frequency and overclocking RAM modules and the central processor. The key to success, in our opinion, was the well-thought-out design of the power subsystem and the rich capabilities of the control microcode. At the same time, we understand perfectly well that for an objective assessment of the safety margin of a motherboard based on the Intel Z77 Express system logic, it is more appropriate to use the latest Intel Ivy Bridge, which is still in acute shortage in our laboratory.

Test bench

To evaluate the overclocking potential and performance level of the new product, a test bench with the following configuration was assembled:

• processor: Intel Core i5-2500K (3.3 GHz);
• cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Flex (fan 120 mm, 1800 rpm);
• memory: Silicon Power SP004GBLYU160S2B (2x2GB, PC3-12800, CL9-9-9-24);
• video card: MSI N480GTX Lightning (GeForce GTX 480);
• hard drive: Samsung HD502HJ (500 GB, 7200 rpm, 16 MB);
• power supply: Seasonic X-650 (650 W).

• ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt UEFI Setup 1406 from 07/31/2012;
• ASRock Z77 Extreme6 UEFI 1.70 from 06/11/2012;
• Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H UEFI Setup F8 05/31/2012;
• MSI Z77A-GD80 UEFI Setup 1.1 from 06/12/2012.

As usual, the test hardware ran the Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit operating system (90-day trial version), which was updated to SP1 via the Windows Update service. NVIDIA GeForce 285.62 drivers were installed for the video card, and Intel INF Update Utility 9.3.0.1019 dated 05/03/2012 and Intel Management Engine 8.0.10.1464 dated 05/21/2012 for the system logic and central processor, respectively. Pagefile and UAC were disabled and no further upgrades were made.

As for the measurement methodology, we still repeat each test at least three times, after which we calculate the arithmetic average. If any of the results differs significantly from the other two, we repeat the measurements until a normal value is obtained. The set of test programs is as follows:

• AIDA64 2.00.1700 (Cache & Memory benchmark);
• Futuremark PCMark 7;
• Futuremark 3DMark 11;
• Far Cry 2;
• Colin McRae: DiRT 3.

The standard set of test applications includes Cache & Memory benchmark from the AIDA64 information and diagnostic package, with which it is convenient to measure the low-level performance of the RAM subsystem of motherboards. This allows you to evaluate performance in real applications that are demanding on the speed of working with RAM.

Futuremark's comprehensive PCMark 7 performance benchmark provides insight into the performance of motherboards during everyday tasks, such as demanding 3D gaming, multimedia processing, office applications, and the Internet.

The synthetic test application Futuremark 3DMark 11 is designed to evaluate the speed of a personal computer in modern resource-intensive 3D games that use the DirectX 11 API and accelerate calculations of a realistic physical model. To reduce the impact of graphics accelerator performance on the overall score, we traditionally use the Performance settings profile.

Thanks to the confident passage of all scenarios, the new product won a well-deserved victory in this difficult synthetic test application. Of course, in real gaming applications, it can ensure victory in competitions where every “parrot” is important.

In addition to synthetic applications, we conducted tests in two 3D games: the first-person shooter FarCry 2 and the rally simulator Colin McRae: DiRT 3. To reduce the dependence of the frame rate on the performance of the video card, we set the resolution to 1680x1050 and high, but not maximum, image quality settings without activating full-screen anti-aliasing.

At first glance, we have fully completed the test program, which is quite sufficient for an objective assessment of the performance of the new product. However, at the end of today's review, we decided to test the speed of the Thunderbolt interface on the ASUS motherboard and compare the results with the data obtained during our review of the MSI Z77A-GD80. Since we once again had the Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo external data storage at our disposal, we used the same testing methodology. Using the built-in tools of Windows 7, the physical disks of the WD20EURS were combined into a RAID 0 array, after which the speed of operations specific to the external drive was measured in the Intel NAS Perfpmance Tollkit 1.7.1 software product.

conclusions

Surely, many of you are familiar with tourist services under the All Inclusive system, when from the entire list of services, each vacationer chooses exactly what best meets his needs. In this case, the cost of the service is paid in advance, but no one returns money for unused services. We had similar associations while reviewing the P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt. This board has a full range of all necessary interfaces, including support for the latest high-speed Thunderbolt and wireless networks, has a good level of performance and excellent overclocking potential. The UEFI Setup of the new product has a user-friendly interface and rich functionality, and the set of bundled software perfectly complements the firmware’s capabilities for controlling the motherboard from the MS Windows OS environment. In our opinion, the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt is perfect for use as part of a powerful gaming PC, as well as for building a productive workstation or a test bench for overclocking experiments. Against this background, the far from the most affordable price, which at the time of writing was about 245 US dollars, does not look overpriced.

In 2012, ASUS released several motherboards based on the Z77 Express chipset, which were designed to cover the entire market segment from low budget to high budget. As is usually the case, the budget class had rather meager capabilities for overclocking processors, which could not be said about more expensive options, but they cost an order of magnitude more.

The golden mean was the Asus P8Z77 VPro (V Pro) motherboard, which had not only good characteristics, but also good overclocking functions. Why, after so many years, does the question of motherboards become relevant again? Because not everyone who wants to build their own computer, especially a gaming one, has the budget for new and modern equipment. can be easily found at flea markets at quite affordable prices, but their basic characteristics today may not be enough, so they need overclocking. But to perform that same overclocking, you need a good motherboard.

The VPRO motherboard is a great value for money today. Of course, you can't find a new one anywhere. turn out to be, but on the secondary market - no problem, although there are not many of them there. However, it’s worth understanding everything in order.

Description

Before we start our review of VPro, it’s worth saying a few words about the board itself.

Socket, The Asus P8Z77 VPro board works with is LGA1155. This means that the board works with all processors of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge family. Due to good overclocking capabilities, the most advantageous options for this model will be core i-7 2600K, 2700K and 3770 TO. Among the core i-5 family, the legendary 2500K, 2550K and 3570 are perfect TO. Certainly However, other models of these two families can also be overclocked, but the previously listed ones are a priority.

Another important innovation in VPro is the ability to control the rotation speed of coolers (fans) through a separate menu in the BIOS system.

The changes also affected the USB 3.0 system. In particular, the data transfer speed when using these connectors increased by as much as 170%. This was achieved thanks to implementation support for the UASP protocol, for which we should thank the company’s engineers.

It is also worth mentioning the support of the Asus P8Z77 VPro Thunderbolt interface. This model was one of the first in the company’s ranks to come out with a new connector. More details about it will be in a special section.

And, of course, ASUS proprietary developments have not gone away, such as TPU, MEM Ok, All Suite II and more. We will try to talk about all this in the review.

Review

I would like to start our review of the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard by considering its appearance, as well as various elements.

The motherboard textolite is painted in a dark color, which undoubtedly gives the board a more strict and " serious" look. Thanks to the standard format (ATX) and dimensions, all elements and connectors are located in their usual places, and not as is the case with mini-ATX. The connector for the central processor here, as mentioned earlier, is LGA1155, and it supports work with both the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge generations, and from " boxes", without the need to additionally flash the BIOS.

Next to the processor socket there are 4 slots for DDR3 RAM sticks. There is support for dual-channel mode. To do this, identical memory modules should be placed in connectors of the same color. The maximum amount of RAM that the board can install is 32 GB. As for the memory frequency, as indicated on the manufacturer’s official website, the motherboard supports modules with a frequency of 2400 MHz.

By the way, a little about the processor cooling system. If you plan to overclock, then you will need a fairly good cooler, most likely a tower type. If it is too large, it may well happen that it will block the nearest RAM slot. If the modules have additional cooling, then the second connector may also be inaccessible. This is worth considering.

Below the processor socket there are several expansion slots, painted in different colors. The two smallest are PCI 2.0 x1. Between them are PCI-E 3.0 X16 (top) and PCI-E 3.0 X8. There are also 2 regular PCI slots. Well, everything is closed by 1 slot of PCI-E 2.0 X4 format. The layout is quite good, there is a margin for distance, so you can safely install 2 large gaming video cards on the board.

As for the operation of the slots itself, it is implemented here as follows. If there is only one video card on the motherboard, then it will work in 16x/0 mode. Well, if 2 cards are inserted, then the work will take place in 8x/8x mode. It is also important to remember that to ensure the operation of one video card in 16x mode, it must be inserted into the first PCI slot, i.e., which is painted dark blue.

In addition to all this, on the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard you can find several controllers from a third-party manufacturer ASmedia, which are responsible for the operation of the PCI slots. This fact can easily be considered a plus, since, unlike other controller manufacturers, ASmedia has no problems with the compatibility of some older PCI boards.

At the bottom right of the motherboard there is a cooling radiator to remove heat from the chipset, 8 SATA ports and ASUS proprietary switches for TPU and EPU modes. You can also find a small green LED next to them. It is needed so that in the event of any malfunction, the cause can be determined by the light signal given. By the way, there are 2 more such LEDs on the board - one near the processor, and the other next to the memory slots.

If we talk about SATA ports, they, like PCI slots, are painted in different colors. 4 blue and 2 white ports are based on Z77 Express. The former provide data transfer speeds of up to 3 Gbit/sec, the latter - 6 Gbit/sec. Two more ports are controlled by a separate controller from the same ASMedia. The data transfer rate is 6 Gbps.

In addition, the motherboard has 8 USB generation 3.0 ports. Four of them are traditionally controlled by the 77th chipset from Intel. The operation of the other four is provided by another controller from ASMedia - ASM 1042.

Interesting fact: SATA ports and USB connectors that are controlled by ASMedia controllers may be inactive. This is directly related to which PCI slots are currently in use.

It is definitely worth mentioning the branded " feature " ASUS - USB BIOS Flashback. This technology not only allows you to safely update the BIOS firmware, but also protects it from possible problems. I would especially like to highlight additional reinsurance in case something goes wrong - the BIOS chip can be safely removed from its connector, and when the problems are resolved, insert it back into place.

The well-known Realtek codec is responsible for the sound on the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard, which provides support for eight-channel sound. Nothing remarkable.

The network module also does not stand out as anything special - it is Intel WG82579 V.

The rear panel of the Asus P8Z77 VPro has many outputs and connectors. Here is their list:

• Combined PS/2 connector for connecting a mouse/keyboard.
• 2 USB 3.0 ports (next to P/S2).
• 2 USB 2.0 ports (located below and black).
• Thunderbolt connector, HDMI and SPDIF optical audio output.
• Next comes the classic VGA connector and one DVI.
• Below them are 2 more USB 3.0 ports and an RJ-45 connector.
• The usual audio unit with six inputs completes everything.

Well, in conclusion, it’s worth talking a little about the cooling system of the board itself. If you look, you can find 3 radiators:

1. On power circuits.
2. On the built-in graphics chip.
3. On the chipset.

The largest heatsink is installed on the power circuits (power elements) of the CPU Vcore processor. It is immediately clear that the engineers approached the matter responsibly, since the power elements are one of the most important places on the board, and in no case should strong heating, and even more so overheating, be allowed. As for the fastening, it is reliable. The radiator is secured using a pressure plate. A special gasket of approximately medium thickness is used as a thermal conductor.

The built-in graphics core has a much smaller heatsink, which is logical in principle, because the heat dissipation from the IGPU is not too strong. The thermal interface is used the same, and the fastening is implemented through a pressure plate. Everything is exactly the same as with the first radiator.

Well, the last heat sink element is located on the Z77 Express chipset itself. At first sight It may seem that the radiator is quite impressive in size, but it is not. Here you can clearly see the desire of the developers to install something more beautiful in terms of design than efficient in terms of heat dissipation. The only good thing is that the 77th chipset itself does not get very hot, so this heatsink will cope with its task.

As for the thermal pad, it is an ordinary paste, only very thick and viscous. The fastening, as in previous cases, does not cause any complaints.

If we talk about heating, then all the heat-dissipating elements cope with their task without any problems. On the radiator of the power circuits, the temperature under maximum load did not exceed 76 degrees. On the graphics chip - 50, and on the chipset even 37. And although the indicator of 76 degrees on power batteries is quite high, this can still be considered an acceptable result. But if we raise the question of more efficient cooling, then it is best to use a low-profile cooler with a 120 mm fan, rather than a tower type. Thus, the air flow will not only cool the central processor, but also the radiators of the power circuits and the built-in graphics core.

Important! Since the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard can currently only be purchased at flea markets, it is worth checking the condition immediately after purchase thermal interfaces and be sure to change the thermal paste on the chipset heatsink.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of the Asus P8Z77 VPro are shown in the table below.

At this point the technical characteristics are finished, you can move on to the next point.

Main functions

Now, after reviewing the technical characteristics of the Asus P8Z77 VPro, we can move on to the main functions and features of the board. They will be discussed below.

FAN Xpert 2

Fan rotation speed control. Thanks to FAN Xpert2 technology, the user can independently adjust the rotation speed of coolers at different temperatures through the BIOS. The most important thing is that the connected fans have a 4-pin connector, not 3. This is important because such models have a PWM controller, which is responsible for the rotation speed. By the way, the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard has as many as 6 4pin connectors.

So, after entering the BIOS menu, just go to the Monitor tab, where, in fact, the temperature of the processor, motherboard, the number of connected fans and their rotation speed are displayed. Changing parameters is easy, just scroll down the menu a little. In addition to manual settings, there are several presets, including an automatic mode. In general, there is no point in going into details, everything is quite clear.

MEM OK for memory

MEM OK. Asus P8Z77 VPro acquired this function for a reason. It often happens that a user wants to slightly “upgrade” his system in terms of RAM capacity and buys several new sticks of larger capacity. But what a surprise it is when a completely new memory stick is not detected by the system! There can be different reasons, and the most common of them is incompatible memory and motherboard frequencies. So, the MEM OK function allows you to automatically reduce the frequency of the RAM of the new stick to the most suitable one, for example, 1333 MHz, and by this " make it work.

To use this function, just press one small button, which is located next to the memory slots. There is also a signal LED that reports errors.

Thunderbolt

Another of the main features of the motherboard is the presence of a Thunderbolt interface. Asus P8Z77 VPro was one of the first boards from the company to feature this interface. Its main feature is that it allows you to transfer information twice as fast as regular USB 3.0, and 20 times faster than standard USB 2.0. The maximum throughput of the new interface can reach 10Gbps, which is simply amazing. In addition, if you have the appropriate adapter, you can also connect an external monitor to the Thunderbolt connector that has one of the connectors: DVI, HDMI, VGA, D-sub, etc.

BIOS

BIOS Asus P8Z77 VPro deserves a separate section. First of all, I would like to note the ease of use of the UEFI system (BIOS shell). Navigation is fast and there is mouse cursor support. You can select the interface language. It is also very convenient to overclock and monitor all temperature information in real time.

In general, the BIOS of the Asus P8Z77 VPro is completely identical to more advanced models, for example, ASUS Sabertooth, which also runs on the Z77 socket.

It is also worth mentioning the Asus P8Z77 VPro BIOS update, which was released in September 2013. It includes important fixes and improvements that improve system stability, especially when overclocking.

Tests

Before we start testing, it’s worth talking about the configuration. Since the Asus P8Z77 VPro runs on LGA1155 (socket), the processor was installed on it with an Intel core i-7 2600K. RAM - 2 sticks of 2 GB 1600 MHz, video card - GTX 580 1.5 GB. The configuration is generally simple, but quite suitable for testing.

CPU overclocking

Since the board is predisposed to overclocking, it is worth checking its capabilities. The multiplier is set to 48, the voltage is 1.472V, and the bus frequency is increased to 100.7 MHz- this is the most successful option that was achieved. When the frequency increases to 102-105 MHz The computer starts and works, but when passing the test in the Prime program, there is a freeze, and in the very first minutes. There is no point in increasing the frequency even more, but lowering it, on the contrary, has borne fruit. Thus, the frequency of the i7 2600K processor was raised to 4834 MHz.

Overclocking RAM

There were also no problems when overclocking the memory. The optimal option, in which everything works well, is to set the memory multiplier at x21.3. With this multiplier, the frequency increased from the standard 1600 MHz up to 2235 MHz, which cannot but rejoice.

Performance

Well, in conclusion, I would like to summarize the results of the performance test in some applications:

• CINEBENCH - 29720 points.
• LinX - 131.6674.
• Photoshop - working with filters on photo, with resolution 12000 to 9000 - 65 sec.
• WinRAR - 5245 points.
• 7-Zip - 21285 points.

In general, the results are very good and are in no way inferior to more expensive boards (if the same configuration is installed on them).

Problems

Often on forums or thematic communities you can come across the question of why the Asus P8Z77 VPro does not " starts." In fact, there is no need to be scared, because there is nothing wrong with this. In most cases, the problem is caused by RAM, which is not entirely compatible with the motherboard. To solve the problem, you just need to click on the MEM OK button located next to the memory slots .

If this does not help, then perhaps you should try resetting the BIOS settings first, and then flashing it. This is done quickly, and taking into account the support of proprietary USB BIOS Flashback technology, it is also easy. It is enough to download the latest version of the BIOS firmware onto a flash drive, plug it into any of the USB ports, and then press and hold the corresponding button on the motherboard for 5 seconds. It is located among the PCI slots. In most cases, these manipulations help solve the problem.

Drivers

Another important point related to this motherboard is the drivers for the Asus P8Z77 VPro. In most cases, many owners of advertisements for the sale of motherboards no longer have any kits that came with with board with from the very beginning. This means that most likely no driver disks have been preserved, so the future buyer will have to look for them on the Internet on their own. The best way to do this is on the manufacturer's official website.

Prices

Here he comes next one of the most interesting questions- prices. Today, the cost of the P8Z77 V Pro board at flea markets is approximately 5 to 8 thousand rubles. The spread is not small, but the problem is not even that, but the fact that it is extremely difficult to find a board separately without a processor. Although, on the other hand, if you plan to purchase a kit " mother+percent", then such a purchase will be even more profitable. The only thing is that you definitely need to check everything for functionality.

As a rule, ASUS motherboards, designated by the letter PRO, are intermediate solutions between the middle class and high-end products; this is also the case with the line of boards based on the Intel Z77 Express system logic set. On one hand there is the cheaper P8Z77-V, on the other there is the more expensive P8Z77-V Deluxe, and the P8Z77-V PRO is somewhere in the middle. The laboratory previously tested the P8Z77-V Deluxe and Sabertooth Z77 (the design of which is almost a copy of the P8Z77-V), so the “above average” product will have something to compare with.

Let's start the review, as usual, with packaging and delivery.

Packaging and accessories

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO comes in a medium-sized cardboard box. The packaging design is typical for most modern ASUS motherboards: dark colors prevail, there is contrasting text with the product name and advertising logos describing the main features of the model.

On the reverse side is a photograph of the board and its main characteristics are listed. The continuation of the advertising description of proprietary technologies has not gone away either: most of the back side was occupied by advertising of various kinds.

When you open the box, the first thing you see is the P8Z77-V PRO itself, packed in an antistatic bag on a separate cardboard pallet:

After removing it along with the motherboard, you can find the delivery kit at the bottom of the box:

It includes:

• Plug for the rear panel;
• Four SATA cables, two of which are stated as SATA 6 Gb/s, and two more - as SATA 3 Gb/s. All four trains are angular;
• Brief instructions for installing the board in several languages, including Russian;
• Detailed user manual in English;
• Instructions for setting up a Wi-Fi module;
• Wi-Fi module, as well as an antenna for it;
• Flexible SLI bridge;
• Q-Connector adapter set;
• Housing dongle with two USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA port;
• Disk with software.

The scope of delivery cannot be called meager: there are Q-Connector adapters typical for ASUS, a Wi-Fi module is available, and the rear panel cover is equipped with a soft gasket. But you can find fault: for a product costing ~6700-6800 rubles, I would like to see more SATA cables, not to mention a plug with USB 3.0 body ports (instead of USB 2.0). You can note the standard ignoring of bridges for CrossFireX.

Board design and features

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO is made in the ATX form factor (305x244 mm).

The fact that the model is not the highest in the line can be seen with the naked eye: there are bare pads with unsoldered controllers, the radiators of the cooling system are not connected by a heat pipe, and there are no power on/reboot buttons. Externally, the motherboard is still more similar to the P8Z77-V than to the P8Z77-V Deluxe, this is especially noticeable in the configuration of the expansion slots. Compared to the P8Z77-V, you can find a larger number of USB 3.0 ports and an enhanced processor power converter.

Even when looking at the front side of the board, it is noticeable that screw fastening of VRM cooling radiators is used, and from the photo of the back side it becomes clear why the screws were visible there: the radiators are attached through a pressure plate, and the screws are screwed to it, creating a kind of “sandwich” . Screw fastening is also used for the chipset heatsink, but there it is already more familiar. Thanks to the last photo, you can find out the manufacturer of the processor socket - this is Foxconn.

Arrangement of elements:

In the image of the layout of the ASUS P8Z77-V PRO elements, you can find the LEDs for the basic system start indication (CPU_LED, DRAM_LED, VGA_LED and BOOT_DEVICE_LED), which light up sequentially during POST and, in some way, can be a substitute for the POST code indicator.

There are four slots for DDR3 memory, which are equipped with latches only on the top:

Since the graphics PCI-E X16 is located at the height of the second expansion slot (the top/first one is PCI-E X1), the use of latches on only one side seems unjustified. If there were latches on both sides, access to the RAM slots would remain even with a video card installed in the system, but the memory modules would be fixed more tightly, and in general, double-sided latches would be more convenient.

The manufacturer has declared operating modes of DDR3 1066 / 1333 / 1600 / 1866 (overclocking) / 2133 (overclocking) / 2200 (overclocking) / 2400 (overclocking) MHz. The list of modes given is not complete (if we talk about Ivy Bridge processors), but in fact, the settings provide all the multipliers available to the processor for the memory operating frequency. The maximum capacity of 32 GB indicates that the board supports 8 GB DDR3 modules.

To activate the Dual Channel mode, you need to install the brackets in slots of the same color, that is, either in 1/3 or 2/4. To ensure the greatest compatibility of modules and stability during overclocking, the manufacturer recommends that you first use blue connectors, that is, 2/4.

The role of the system logic set is assigned to one chip - Intel Z77 Express:

At the moment this is a senior chipset for the LGA 1155 platform.

Expansion slot configuration:

Slots from top to bottom:

• PCI-E 2.0 X1;
• PCI-E 3.0 X16;
• PCI-E 2.0 X1
• PCI-E 3.0 X8;
• PCI-E 2.0 X4.

The motherboard has room for seven expansion slots, which is the maximum number for the ATX form factor.

The configuration of the expansion connectors is well thought out, coinciding with that of the P8Z77-V. One of the PCI-E X1 is located above the top graphics slot, which allows it to be used regardless of the size and number of video cards. The two graphics connectors are spaced at a sufficient distance, allowing the installation of a tandem of large cards.

Above the top graphics port there are four ASMedia ASM1480 switch chips:

They split the sixteen PCI-E lanes coming from the processor between the two graphics slots, allowing them to run either 16/0 or 8/8. These chips support the PCI-E 3.0 interface, although it is only available when using Ivy Bridge processors.

Also on the board are two ASMedia ASM1440 switch chips:

One chip is located above the south bridge, the second is located under the top graphics slot.

They are responsible for dividing the PCI-E lines coming from the system logic set. Four lines are divided between the lower PCI-E X4 port, two PCI-E X1 ports, as well as between additional USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s controllers. Three operating modes are available: Auto, X4 mode and X1 mode. In “Auto” mode, the PCI-E X4 slot is limited to one lane, both PCI-E X1 slots are disabled, additional USB 3.0 controllers (USB3_E34 ports) and SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA6G_E12 ports) are available. In “X4 mode” the PCI-E X4 slot receives four lanes, additional controllers and PCI-E X1 ports are disabled. In “X1 mode” the PCI-E X4 slot is limited to one lane, both PCI-E X1 are active, a USB 3.0 controller is available, while additional SATA ports remain inactive.

This confusing scheme is actually a consequence of the abundance of third-party controllers and the limited number of PCI-Express lanes. Perhaps it would be more reasonable to implement the scheme used on the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H, where all three full-size PCI-E slots originate from the processor and, if necessary, can operate in an 8+4+4 scheme. Then the lines from the Intel Z77 Express would be enough for other “piping”.

The situation when a new processor also requires a new motherboard with a new chipset has already occurred quite often. All motherboard manufacturers were rushing to introduce their new products, playing the chicken and egg game. However, as you already know, this spring everything is going differently - new Intel processors codenamed Ivy Bridge can be used on “old” boards. But this does not mean at all that the leaders of the components market need not worry - users who want everything new are the most active and very interested in financial terms, so everyone greeted the release of the seventh series chipset line with enthusiasm.

ASUS now has a dozen products in its arsenal based on the maximum version of the chipset line - Intel Z77. Honestly, in our opinion, this is overkill: it will not be easy for users to understand the differences and numerous suffixes if we are talking about ordinary “workhorses”. In this article we will look at the P8Z77-V Pro motherboard.

Among its distinctive aspects, the manufacturer mentions the use of the Digi+ chip to control power circuits, the ability to use four-chip SLI and CrossFireX, and the fan control system in the Fan Xpert 2 case.

Equipment and proprietary utilities

Traditionally, out of a dozen models on one chipset, only a few received original packaging. Our hero today was unlucky - an ordinary medium-sized cardboard box. Its design, at first glance, is almost no different from many other mass-produced devices. But upon closer examination, you can notice the texture (embossment) on the cardboard.

Noteworthy is the detailed description of the board's numerous features. It's a pity that it's only in English. Moreover, these are not just technical characteristics rewritten in beautiful words, but truly unique functions of the device. We will look at some of them in more detail below.

The scope of supply for this model is quite rich: a plug for the rear panel of the board with a black insert and connector labels, two SATA 6 Gb/s cables with latches (one straight connector, the other angled), two “just” SATA cables with the same connectors, flexible SLI bridge, special adapters for easy connection of connectors on the front panel of the case to connectors on the board (one for buttons and indicators, the second for USB ports), a bracket for the rear panel of the case with a pair of USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA, proprietary wireless Wi-Fi module Fi with external antenna, thick user manual (in English), DVD with drivers, programs and documents.

The motherboard comes with many utilities, some of which deserve special consideration in a separate article, and we will try to return to this issue in the near future. All of them are collected in a single AI Suite II shell to simplify both installation and work with them.

From the manufacturer's website you can download an updated version of the kit in the form of a single archive. The kit includes utilities for monitoring the system status, collecting system information, updating software and BIOS, managing the Wi-Fi controller (including organizing an access point), setting up USB ports, selecting power saving modes, setting up power management, overclocking the system, installing prioritization of network traffic, remote control from wireless mobile devices.

The TurboV utility is used to automatically overclock the system. We tested its performance in automatic mode with an Intel Core i5-2500K processor and a Corsair H100 liquid cooling system. Selecting the “Fast” profile made it possible to increase the processor frequency by a third in just a couple of seconds - to 4.3 GHz.

A longer process in the “Extreme” profile showed even more impressive results - the frequency exceeded 5.2 GHz. However, it should be noted that the second option turned out to be unstable under the load of the LinX program. In the “beautiful” 5 GHz mode (100 MHz × 50), the system coped with this test. We also mention the presence of an automatic reset system in case of unsuccessful overclocking

Features of the board

The motherboard uses black PCB, which allows it to look both strict and stylish. It has a standard ATX size (304x244 mm), so all configuration elements could fit freely. The LGA1155 processor socket can be used with both 32nm and new 22nm Intel processors (codenamed Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge, respectively). It cannot be said about most modern boards that there is a lot of free space near the socket and it will be easy to install a cooling system of any format. The product in question is no exception to this rule, but everything is arranged according to the standard, and boxed coolers will of course be installed without problems. And if you are planning to purchase something larger and more efficient, we recommend that you first make sure that it can be installed.

This model has four slots for DDR3 RAM. The manufacturer talks about the possibility of operating at frequencies up to 1200 MHz (DDR3-2400) inclusive in overclocking mode. XMP profiles are supported - in particular, Kingston test modules worked without problems in their “native” DDR3-2133 mode (it was enough to change only one parameter in BIOS Setup). The latches on the slots are “one-sided”, which is intended to simplify the installation of modules, although the efficiency can be argued. We didn’t forget about the MemOK! button, which will help start the system if “not very compatible” memory modules are installed.

The configuration of expansion slots is not simple. Differences in color markings do not help to understand. There are two x16 PCIe slots connected to the processor and capable of operating in x16 mode with one video card installed in the first slot, and in x8+x8 mode with two video cards. These ports support version 3.0 standard if the appropriate processor is installed (this is confirmed by the use of standard-compliant ASMedia switching chips). The location of these slots allows cards with three-slot cooling systems to work. The third slot of x16 format version 2.0 works through the chipset and supports the maximum x4 mode. According to the manufacturer, it shares chipset lines with other slots (both PCIe x1) and external controllers (internal USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s ports on ASMedia chips). So, when using all devices to the maximum, you can only expect x1 mode from it.

The last pair - PCIe x1 slots - are located on both sides of the “main” graphics slot. So one of them will be free in any configuration (unless a large processor cooler interferes), and the second in most cases will not be available when installing an external gaming video card, since most of them have a dual-slot cooling system. In addition, these ports share PCIe lanes with the third PCIe x16 slot, and the second of them also with an external SATA 6 Gb/s chip.

Numerous external controllers and a large set of expansion ports make full use of the 8 PCIe 2.0 lanes available in the chipset. We also note that this board supports the LucidLogix Virtu MVP technology (we wrote about LucidLogix Virtu), designed to increase the performance of graphics applications through the combined use of integrated and external video cards, although, in our opinion, it is more convenient to purchase a more powerful external video card than rely on this function.

An 8 MB BIOS chip is installed on the socket, but in most cases this is not useful - this board implements USB BIOS Flashback technology. It allows you to restore completely “dead” firmware from a flash drive with an image plugged into a dedicated USB port. For this, a specialized chip on the board is used. True, you will have to open the case to access the button to start the recovery process.

Like many other ASUS motherboards, the P8Z77-V Pro has special LEDs that can help identify the cause of boot problems. Moreover, this does not require a long study of documentation and codes - indicators are located near all critical elements (processor, memory, video card port).

Most of the motherboard's connectors are located along its bottom edge (left in the photo). Moreover, they occupy it almost completely (except for the two connectors missing in this modification of the board). This may make it difficult to access the BIOS emergency recovery button. The CMOS reset jumper is also not very conveniently located - too close to the connectors.

Power and cooling circuits

Connection to the power supply occurs using standard 24-pin and 8-pin connectors (working with a four-pin ATX12V connector is allowed). Several Digi+ chips are used to manage the power supply to system components. The manufacturer calls this “Dual Intelligent Processors 3” technology. In total, 12 phases are supplied to the processor, four to the graphics core (in this case we are talking about the operation of an eight-channel PWM controller with phase doubling), and two to the RAM.

The processor power circuit elements near the socket are covered with relatively small aluminum radiators about 25 mm high. Note that their design is complemented by plates on the reverse side of the printed circuit board. There are no heat pipes here, which is more good than bad. You can also see a heatsink with a complex shape of the upper surface on the chipset chip. Its height is only 12 mm and it will not interfere with the installation of expansion cards - except for access to the latches of the PCIe x16 slots. This cooling system configuration is more than sufficient for the model under consideration. In tests with an overclocked Intel Core i5-2500K processor, we directed the flow from a leisurely 120 mm fan to the power radiators, since the processor was equipped with a liquid cooling system. Under these conditions, their temperature did not cause any concern.

To connect fans, the board has as many as six connectors - “double” for the processor and four for the case. They are all four-pin and support automatic speed control, which will create an efficient and quiet system. Let us note the implementation of the new unique Fan Xpert 2 technology in this board. It is capable of providing the required temperature conditions while maintaining a low system noise level. To do this, after assembling the PC, installing and connecting all the fans, you need to run a special program that will automatically calibrate the operation of the fan system: it will be able to determine the effect of each fan on the temperature of the system components and suggest the optimal operating mode.

In this section we will also mention the presence of TPU and EPU switches and indicators on the board. The first activates the automatic system overclocking function using the chip of the same name. You can use it after loading the operating system through a proprietary utility. The EPU is designed to reduce system power consumption by dynamically managing power circuits.

BIOS

The BIOS is implemented using UEFI technology and is based on AMI code. It allows mouse control (although you can't do without a keyboard) and has several localization options. You can’t look at the Russian one without tears - as if in China there is only one version of the Russian font, which can often be found in “nameless” smartphones.

The first page that the user sees after entering BIOS Setup is an implementation of a simplified version of “EZ Mode”. Here you can check the configuration of the processor, memory, hard drives, view monitoring data from sensors built into the board (temperature, voltage, fans), change the boot order and select one of the “optimization” modes for processor parameters - “eco”, “normal”, “optimal for ASUS version".

To access the full set of settings, you need to switch to the “Advanced Mode”. It traditionally contains sections:

• Main - displaying the BIOS version, setting the time and date;
• Ai Tweaker - settings of frequencies, voltages and modes for overclocking and optimizing the system;
• Advanced - setting CPU/PCH/SA parameters, setting up SATA and USB, external controllers;
• Monitor - monitoring system sensors, setting up Q-Fan to control fan speed;
• Boot - OS boot parameters, device selection;
• Tool - access to the BIOS EZ Flash firmware utility, managing overclocking profiles, displaying information from SPD memory modules (including XMP).

We do not recommend that novice users go into Ai Tweaker; at first glance, there are about a hundred parameters there. Moreover, effective overclocking can be carried out using a proprietary utility from Windows. The remaining points are quite simple and do not cause any problems with finding the necessary options.

Functionality

The most space on the rear panel is occupied by video outputs - there are four of them for every taste: VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort. It is difficult to say whether such a configuration is really in demand, but the fact that no adapters are required to connect any monitor can be considered an advantage. The PS/2 connector should have been scrapped for a long time; it is better to install another pair of USB or eSATA instead. By the way, this board has none of the latter. This is slightly compensated for by the fact that 4 USB ports comply with version 3.0 of this interface. Moreover, two of them are chipset-based, and the second pair works from an external controller. USB 2.0 ports are implemented by the chipset controller.

Audio outputs and network are standard - analogue minijacks for 7.1 configuration, digital optical output S/PDIF-Out, RJ-45 port with built-in indicators. A separate place is given to the Wi-Fi controller for connecting an antenna and an operation indication LED.

Despite the use of the modern multifunctional Intel Z77 chipset, the board in question has many additional controllers that add new functions and expand existing ones. The complete list consists of:

• two USB 3.0 controllers based on ASMedia ASM1042 (PCIe x1) chips, each with support for 2 devices, two ports are located on the rear panel, two are on the connector of the bracket for connecting to connectors on the case;
• integrated audio based on the Realtek ALC892 HDA codec in 7.1 format, with an optical S/PDIF-Out connector on the rear panel of the board and an additional S/PDIF-Out connector on the PCB;
• gigabit network controller based on a MAC controller in the chipset and Intel PHY;
• PCI bus controller on the ASMedia ASM1083 (PCIe x1) chip for implementing two slots;
• SATA controller ASMedia ASM1061 (PCIe x1) with support for two internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports.

The motherboard has eight SATA connectors for connecting storage devices. Of these, six are chipset, two of which support interface speeds of 6 Gbit/s. The remaining two are implemented on an external ASMedia controller and also support 6 Gbps speed. The ports are located near the edge of the board at an angle, so that their cables will not interfere with expansion cards. Color coding makes it easy to identify the port type. An external eSATA port can be implemented by connecting the included bracket for the rear panel of the case (the connector from it is plugged into any port on the PCB of your choice, providing the speed and functionality of the eSATA port that you need “from the back”). The chipset controller supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, Matrix RAID and Intel technologies - Smart Response, Rapid Start and Smart Connect. By the way, ASUS decided to offer its own utility for using an SSD as a cache for a hard drive.

The built-in audio codec implements standard modes with connection to analog outputs up to 7.1, and also supports digital audio, including HD tracks in BD and output via standard HDMI.

The Z77, for the first time for Intel, has built-in USB 3.0 controllers (remember that they work as 3.0 today only in Windows 7, since only there are corresponding drivers for it). But ASUS decided to add a couple of external controllers. As a result, the user receives four version 3.0 ports and two version 2.0 on the rear panel, as well as connectors on the board for another four 3.0 ports and eight 2.0 ports. The board supports the USB 3.0 UASP standard (you can read more about this technology in the ASUS P9X79 Pro review) for ports based on ASMedia chips, as well as fast charging of mobile devices (USB Charger+).

One of the innovations in this line of motherboards is the inclusion of a wireless module. To be honest, the implementation, in our opinion, was chosen somewhat strangely. Today there are good USB controllers that provide high speed operation in the 802.11n standard. They are easy to select, connect and use. But ASUS went its own way - a standard half mini-PCIe format card is installed in a proprietary adapter, which is placed on the motherboard in a special slot between the rear panel connectors and secured with a screw on the reverse side. The antenna (or several) also uses microconnectors of its own, original format. As a result, the user faces many restrictions - you cannot install another board, it is difficult to replace the antenna, you cannot use this product with other devices. Perhaps it was the last point that caused this design. The P8Z77-V Pro uses a single-channel, single-band Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 chip that supports a maximum connection speed of 150Mbps. Note that other motherboards in this series also have more productive solutions.

The presence of two standard PCI slots on the board will be of interest to users who need to use expansion cards of the old standard.

Conclusion

The announcement of a new chipset and a new line of processors has once again spurred manufacturers to update their products. Wanting to maintain the high status of one of the market leaders, ASUS immediately released a dozen models based on the Z77 chipset. Choosing the right one is not an easy task. And even the presence of a product comparison function on the company’s website helps little in this situation. So we recommend that you write down the exact requirements and “try” them on the solutions presented on the market.

The ATX format made it possible to implement on the P8Z77-V Pro a rather interesting configuration of expansion slots, allowing the simultaneous operation of three video cards. This model also has two PCI slots available, which may be of interest to users who did not have time or were unable to replace the equipment with more modern ones. We note the use of Intel's own network controller, which is considered exemplary, although more expensive, and the presence of an 802.11n wireless adapter (but the lowest configuration). Other additional controllers add four USB 3.0 ports and a pair of SATA to the chipset's capabilities. The remaining parameters of the product are quite consistent with a modern solution for building a high-performance computing system based on Intel Core processors of the past and latest generations. Among proprietary programs and technologies, we mention TurboV for system overclocking and Wi-Fi Go! for working with mobile devices.Medium current price (number of offers) of this model in Moscow retail: N/A()

Preface

Packaging and accessories

four Serial ATA cables with metal latches, two of them are specifically designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb/s devices (distinguished by white inserts on the connectors);
flexible bridge for combining two video cards in SLI mode;
a set of “Asus Q-Connector” adapters, including modules to simplify the connection of buttons and indicators on the front panel of the system unit and the USB 2.0 connector;
Wi-Fi GO! module;
Wi-Fi ring antenna;
plug for the rear panel (I/O Shield);
user guide;
“Exclusive Features” brochure with guide to “Wi-Fi GO!”, “Fan Xpert 2”, “Network iControl” and “USB Charger+” utilities;
"Exclusive Boot Features" brochure with guide to "Fast Boot", "Asus Boot Setting", "Direct BIOS Access" and "Windows 8 BIOS Boot Settings" features;
manual for the Wi-Fi GO! module;
a brochure with quick assembly instructions in several languages;
DVD with software and drivers;
“Powered by ASUS” sticker on the system unit.

Design and Features

universal PS/2 connector for connecting a keyboard or mouse;
four USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors), two of them are based on the ASMedia ASM1042 controller, and two more, as well as one internal connector that allows you to output two additional USB 3.0 ports, appeared thanks to the capabilities of the Intel Z77 Express chipset;
two USB 2.0 ports, and eight more can be connected to four internal connectors on the board;
Wi-Fi GO! module;
video outputs D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort;
local network connector (the network adapter is built on a gigabit Intel 82579V controller);
optical S/PDIF, as well as six analog audio connectors, which are provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC892 codec.

BIOS Features

Test system configuration

Motherboard - Asus P8Z77-V rev. 1.02 (LGA1155, Intel Z77 Express, BIOS version 1805);
Processor - Intel Core i5-3570K (3.6-3.8 GHz, 4 cores, Ivy Bridge rev. E1, 22 nm, 77 W, 1.05 V, LGA1155);
Memory - 2 x 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9R, (1866 MHz, 9-10-9-27, supply voltage 1.5 V);
Video card - Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD (AMD Radeon HD 7970, Tahiti, 28 nm, 1000/5500 MHz, 384-bit GDDR5 3072 MB);
Disk subsystem - Crucial m4 SSD (CT256M4SSD2, 256 GB, SATA 6 Gb/s);
Cooling system - Noctua NH-D14;
Thermal paste - ARCTIC MX-2;
Power supply - Enhance EPS-1280GA, 800 W;
The case is an open test bench based on the Antec Skeleton case.

Features of operation and overclocking

Performance Comparison

Energy consumption measurements

Afterword