Great in so many ways!
review by
mxfreek09
The ASUS Sabretooth z77 is my favorite motherboard to date. First off right out of the box this motherboard is absolutely great looking with is green,black, and brown military themed colors. The "Thermal Armor" covering that is designed to keep the motherboard running cooler by allowing air to circulate with two small included fans. The "Thermal Armour" also does a great job for the aesthetics of the motherboard by hiding just about everything except the main slots. For the slots that are not being used ASUS has included various plastic dust caps that are designed to be added to any vacant slot to keep the dust out while they are not being used. The layout of the board is another check in the pros column. All of the connections such as fan headers, usb, sata, etc... are located around the edges of the board. this makes it very easy to keep the case clean by simply keeping the wires from running across the motherboard. These great features continue right into the first time you power up the board. ASUS provides a very impressive BIOS for this board by combining clean looks with easy to use features and a very simple navigation. BIOS includes everything for the experienced users and also adds some great features for the less experienced users and that can be seen on the main BIOS screen where it provides users the ability to set their system in a power saver mode, a balanced mode, and a performance mode. Once the user gets past BIOS, ASUS provides some really useful software with this board and most notably the thermal radar which gives the user the ability to monitor temperature of all of the main components and also the temperatures of different areas of the motherboard itself. Once of the downsides of the motherboard is that one of the included programs is the Network iControl. It is a tricky program to figure out and most users had an extremely hard time using it and while the control has some great possibilities it most likely is going to slow down your internet browsing and download speeds if the time is not taken to navigate and setup the program. One of the other bad parts about the motherboard also ties into the as before mentioned "Thermal Armor." As great as it is the covering provides and easy way to loose screws when putting the motherboard into the case if the user is not careful. To get them out takes a bit of shaking and patience. Another slightly bad design is how close the cpu socket is to the dimm slots, it makes for a tight fit for some aftermarket coolers so keep that in mind. Overall this is a great motherboard, I would highly suggest getting it for your next built. I will include some specs below.
CPU
Intel? Socket 1155 for 3rd/2nd Generation Core? i7/Core? i5/Core? i3/Pentium?/Celeron? Processors
Supports Intel? 22 nm CPU
Supports Intel? 32 nm CPU
Supports Intel? Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
* The Intel? Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types.
Chipset
Intel? Z77
Memory
4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 1866/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel? Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
* Refer to
www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).
Graphic
Integrated Graphics Processor
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort ports
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
- Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
Maximum shared memory of 1696 MB
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 LucidLogix? Virtu? MVP Technology *1
Expansion Slots
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) *2
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) *3
3 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Storage
Intel? Z77 chipset :
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), brown
4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), black
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Supports Intel? Smart Response Technology, Intel? Rapid Start Technology, Intel? Smart Connect Technology *4
ASMedia? ASM1061 controller : *5
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
LAN
Intel? 82579V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
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
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
USB Ports
Intel? Z77 chipset : *6
4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
ASMedia? ASM1042 controller : *6
2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)
Intel? Z77 chipset :
10 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black, 6 at mid-board)
Special Features
TUF ENGINE! Power Design :
- 8 +4 +2 Digital Phase Power Design
- TUF Components (Choke, Cap. & MOSFET; certified by military-standard)
- ASUS DIGI+ Power Control Utility
Ultimate COOL! Thermal Solution :
- TUF Thermal Armor
- TUF Thermal Radar
Safe & Stable! Guardian Angel :
- Dust Defender
ASUS Exclusive Features :
- USB BIOS Flashback
- MemOK!
- AI Suite II
- USB Charger+
- Anti-Surge
- ESD Guards
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
- Network iControl
- USB 3.0 Boost
ASUS EZ DIY :
- ASUS O.C. Profile
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
- ASUS MyLogo 2
- Multi-language BIOS
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 DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
4 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
6 x Audio jack(s)
1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s)
Internal I/O Ports
1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin, moss green)
3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 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 -pin)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
4 x Optional Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
2 x Assistant Fan connector(s) (3 -pin)
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) (Q-Connector)
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
Accessories
User's manual
Accessory Guide
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)
2 x Accessory Fan(s) ( 35 mm )
1 x TUF Certification card(s)
1 x TUF 5 Year Warranty manual(s) (by region)
1 x TUF Inside sticker(s)
1 x Accessory Package(s):
- 1 x 40mm I/O Cover fan lid(s)
- 3 x PCIe x16 slot dust cover(s)
- 2 x DRAM slot dust cover(s)
- 3 x PCIe x1 slot dust cover(s)
- 2 x Short fan screw(s)
- 4 x Long fan screw(s)
- 1 x Adhesive Sponge(s) for 35mm Fan
BIOS
64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS,
ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3, F12 PrintScreen Function, F3 Shortcut Function and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information
Support Disc Drivers
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS Update
ASUS Utilities
Form Factor ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )
Note
*1: LucidLogix Virtu MVP supports Windows 7 operating systems.
*2: PCIe 3.0 speed is supported by Intel? 3rd generation Core? processors.
*3: The PCIe 2.0 x16 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe 2.0 x1_1 slot, PCIe 2.0 x1_2 slot and PCIe 2.0 x1_3 slot. The PCIe 2.0 x16 slot default setting is in x1 mode.
*4: Supports on Intel? Core? processor family with Windows 7 operating systems.
*5: These SATA ports are for data hard drivers only. ATAPI devices are not supported.
*6-1: Supports ASUS USB 3.0 Boost UASP Mode.
*6-2: The USB 3.0 ports only support Windows? 7 or later versions.
*7: Due to Intel? chipset limitation, P8Z77, P8H77 and P8B75 series motherboards do not support Windows? Vista operating system.
Pros | Cons |
---|
Looks Amazing, Great Features, Included Dust Caps | Network iControll, Can be Tricky to Instal, Aftermarket Coolers Might Not Fit |
Ratings