Asus P8Z77-V LK Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. Asus P8Z77-V LK: Packaging and Bundle3. Asus P8Z77-V LK: Board Layout and Features4. Asus P8Z77-V LK: BIOS5. Asus P8Z77-V LK: Overclocking6. Testing Methodology7. System: PCMark 78. System: 3DMark Vantage9. System: 3DMark 1110. System: 3DMark11. System: Unigine Heaven Benchmark12. Processor: SiSoft Sandra13. Processor: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit14. Processor: Super Pi15. Processor: WinRar16. Processor: MKV 1080P Performance17. Processor: Media Encoding - MediaEspresso18. Processor: Media Encoding - HandBrake19. Motherboard: SATA Performance20. Motherboard: USB 3.0 Performance21. Gaming: Battlefield 322. Gaming: Crysis 223. Gaming: Metro 203324. Technical: Power Consumption25. Closing Thoughts26. View All Pages

With excellent overclocking potential and a balanced set of features, the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard packs a punch which makes it a very competitive option against higher-priced, mid-range competitors.

Using a 4+1+1 phase power design, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Asus P8Z77-V LK's overclocking performance is limited; it's not. We had no problems pushing our Core i5 3570K chip to 4.7GHz with a voltage setting that is perfectly safe for daily usage.

The board may have been able to push our processor to a higher frequency with a greater voltage. We weren't comfortable going past 1.300V, however, especially when a section of the motherboard's power phase is un-cooled.

Memory overclocking performance was truly excellent. The P8Z77-V LK pushed our memory modules to a frequency of 2666MHz – 66MHz greater than what our higher-priced P8Z77-V board could achieve.

We were very impressed with the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard's UEFI BIOS. The interface is sleek, modern, and very easy to use. A help and explanation section located to the right of the main page is also very useful for less-confident overclockers. A total of eight OC profiles give practising overclockers an opportunity to tinker with settings without having to worry about sacrificing their previous configuration.

For us editors, as well as users trying to troubleshoot problems, the UEFI BIOS' screenshot function is a very convenient feature. Equally convenient is the P8Z77-V LK UEFI BIOS' compatibility with mice – a function that many motherboard manufacturers cannot employ correctly.

Asus has employed a sensible set of expansion slots with a wise layout. Dual card CrossFire and SLI configurations are possible with worthwhile slots remaining accessible and usable. The right-angled SATA ports are situated in the board's bottom corner – a location which puts them away from long, interference-causing graphics cards.

The P8Z77-V LK does have some inconvenient layout choices, however. The CPU fan header is positioned above the uppermost PCI-E x1 slot, rather than the perfectly-adequate upper edge of the motherboard. Cable management is made more difficult due to the 8-pin CPU connector's position which isn't along the board's edge.

We were pleased to see the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard using a high-quality – Realtek ALC892 – audio CODEC, and an add-on Asmedia ASM1042 controller which provides two additional USB 3.0 ports. The main disappointment to some users will be the board's scarce amount of SATA 6Gb/s ports.

Available for £90.92 from Scan, the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard is priced appropriately to make it a tough competitor in the intermediate segment between the entry-level and mid-range Z77 motherboard markets. It is around £10 more expensive than the entry-level Asus P8Z77-V LX, but is more feature-rich, and is around £10 cheaper than Gigabyte's Z77X-D3H and MSI's Z77A-GD55, but offers a very similar set of features.

For users wanting a capable Z77 motherboard which has the features of a mid-range product, but with a price tag which is closer to the entry-level parts, Asus' P8Z77-V LK motherboard is an excellent choice which has the ability to compete with higher-priced options.

Pros:

• Excellent UEFI BIOS interface.
• Very good overclocking potential.
• Dual card CrossFire and SLI support at x8/x8.
• Six USB 3.0 ports.
• Competitive price.

Cons:

• No Q-connector.
• Some slightly irritating layout decisions.

KitGuru says: A feature-rich motherboard with excellent overclocking potential. Asus' P8Z77-V LK offers a large chunk of performance for its sub-£100 price tag.

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