Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe Review

1. Introduction2. Intel i7 3770K3. Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe4. Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe & Intel i7 3770K (Super High Res Gallery)5. Bios and Overclocking6. Testing Methodology7. Synthetic: PCMark 78. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage9. Synthetic: 3DMark 1110. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark11. Synthetic: HQV Benchmark 2.012. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra 201113. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit14. Synthetic: SSD Performance15. Real World: 3D Rendering16. Real World: Media Encoding17. Real World: HandBrake 9.518. Gaming: F1 201119. Gaming: Total War Shogun 220. Technical: Power Consumption21. Closing Thoughts22. View All Pages

The Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe ships in an attractively designed box with the name of the product on the front, and a list of specifications along the bottom.

The P8Z77-V Deluxe box is a gatefold design, which opens up nicely to list some key selling points.

The Bundle includes:

• User's manual
• ASUS Q-Shield
• 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s)
• 4 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)
• 2 x Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna(s)

The Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe follows a black/grey and dark/light blue colour scheme. It is attractively designed, although not the most eye catching board we have seen.

The two primary heatsinks cooling the VRM's have light blue backplates for additional support.

The blue heatsinks are a ‘staggered' design meaning that the heat from the components will dissipate from various heights above the PCB. They have left plenty of room around the socket to install oversized cooling solutions.

The Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe has four DDR3 memory slots, configured in two channels. One black, the other light blue. The board can support up to 32GB of memory at 2800(O.C.)/2600(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz speed. It takes non-ECC, unbuffered memory with full support for the Intel Extreme Memory Profile system.

There are eight SATA ports on the Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe. The four light blue SATA ports on the left (above) are SATA 3.0Gb/s rated, powered from the Z77 chipset. The two gray connectors are also powered from the Z77 chipset, however they are Sata 6.0GB/s rated. The final two ports on the right, coloured dark blue are powered from the Marvell chipset and they are SATA 6.0 Gb/s rated.

The Intel Z77 chipset has support for Raid 0, 1, 5 and 10. The Marvell controller supports Raid 0 and 1.

The Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe has two PCI 3.0/2.0 slots which operate at x16 bandwidth in single, or x8 when in dual mode (blue and white). There is also a single 1x PCIe 2.0 x 16 slot (black) which operates at x4 bandwidth. This is ideal for a sound card or similar device, and it slots in right at the bottom of the motherboard, out of the way. Finally there are four PCIe 2.0 x1 slots (blue). It has full support for both Quad SLI and 3-way Crossfire configurations.

Along the bottom of the board is a power and reset switch, next to a reset CMOS button. Additionally Asus include an EPU switch in this row which can automatically detect and monitor PC load and ‘intelligently moderate the power consumption'.

There are two USB 2.0 headers here which support front panel connection. Asus include a Q Code LED button, which is useful for troubleshooting potential issues. At the front right is a clearly labeled system panel connector.

Asus include a MEM OK button, which can used to resolve stubborn memory related post problems. We have never had to use this button, but it is a fallback option to help resolve timing post problems. The TPU switch is an automatic way to overclock the system, if you have a fear of messing with BIOS settings. We found that it worked reasonably well, but we focus on manual overclocking later in the review.

The rear I/O panel supports:

• 1 x DisplayPort
• 1 x HDMI
• 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
• 2 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
• 6 x USB 3.0
• 4 x USB 2.0
• 1 x Optical S/PDIF out
• 6 x Audio jack(s)
• 1 x Bluetooth V4.0 connector(s) for ASUS Wi-Fi GO! card
• 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s)

This board also supports Wi-Fi Go:

ASUS Wi-Fi GO! makes enjoying home entertainment easier than ever! Exclusive Wi-Fi functions provide DLNA streaming so you can enjoy a home theater PC, while also providing remote access to your PC with a smart device. ASUS Wi-Fi GO! leads the market by integrating Wi-Fi connectivity, DLNA access and all smart devices with a one-stop utility for a futuristic connected lifestyle.

• Wi-Fi hotspot setup for convenience: quickly set up and connect anywhere at home thanks to instant soft access point and device detection. Build your network without an extra router!

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