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Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard Review (with OC GTX680)

CyberLink MediaEspresso 6 is the successor to CyberLink MediaShow Espresso 5.5. With its further optimized CPU/GPU-acceleration, MediaEspresso is an even faster way to convert not only your video but also your music and image files between a wide range of popular formats.

Now you can easily playback and display your favourite movies, songs and photos not just on your mobile phone, iPad, PSP, Xbox, or Youtube and Facebook channels but also on the newly launched iPhone 4. Compile, convert and enjoy images and songs on any of your computing devices and enhance your videos with CyberLink’s built-in TrueTheater Technology.

New and Improved Features

  • Ultra Fast Media Conversion – With support from the Intel Core i-Series processor family, ATI Stream & NVIDIA CUDA, MediaEspresso’s Batch-Conversion function enables multiple files to be transcoded simultaneously.
  • Smart Detect Technology – MediaEspresso 6 automatically detects the type of portable device connected to the PC and selects the best multimedia profile to begin the conversion without the need for user’s intervention.
  • Direct Sync to Portable Devices – Video, audio and image files can be transferred in a few easy steps to mobile phones including those from Acer, BlackBerry, HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Palm, as well as Sony Walkman and PSP devices.
  • Enhanced Video Quality – CyberLink TrueTheater Denoise and Lighting enables the enhancement of video quality through optical noise filters and automatic brightness adjustment.
  • Video, Music and Image File Conversion – Convert not only videos to popular formats such as AVI, MPEG, MKV, H.264/AVC, and FLV at the click of a button, but also images such as JPEG and PNG and music files like WMA, MP3 and M4A.
  • Online Sharing – Conversion to video formats used by popular social networking websites and a direct upload feature means posting videos to Facebook and YouTube has never been easier.

For our testing today we are converting a 3.3GB 720p MKV file (2h:12mins) to Apple Mp4 format for playback on a portable device. This is a common procedure for many people and will give a good indication of system power. We are using the newest version which has been optimised for Sandybridge processors.

For testing today we are disabling graphics acceleration.

Media Espresso doesn't fully load all cores to 100%, so the overclocked cores on the 2600k processor help boost performance past even the 3960X EE at reference clock speeds.

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22 comments

  1. I love the heatsink idea with the cover, but it looks like it might block some of the bigger CPU coolers, hard to tell going on the information but it looks tight near the top of the board.

  2. Great review. So, it did or didn’t OC stable to 5Ghz with the H100?

  3. Thanks for a great review!

    I have a couple of questions about this motherboard with a Noctua NH-D14 cooler – firstly if it fits and secondly if the motherboard is able to control the Noctua fan speeds (they are 3 pin fans, not PWM).

  4. yeah 5ghz is stable with one of the samples I have, but they all vary. 4.8ghz is best all round spot with less voltage and a cheaper cooler (for most people anyway).

  5. If you give me a few days ill try with a D14, didnt for the review, but I have one in another drawer.

  6. Great! Thanks =)

  7. Zardon. Any new about the D14, with this board? Its compatible?

  8. I’m getting this board and want to know, would the Thermalright Silver Arrow cpu cooler fit above the TUF Armor? With two 140mm fans attached?

  9. Hi there, the NH D14 fits – but its close. As for the question on the Silver Arrow CPU cooler, I dont have one here, but ill try and get hold of one.

  10. Thanks for the quick answer. Hopefully it will since the D14 fits. But this pic has me really concerned:
    http://www.overclockers.ru/images/lab/2010/11/25/391_thermalright_silver_arrow_onmobo_big.jpg

  11. Actually looking at that, it looks as if it would fit. I can’t guarantee it, but I have the board at the same angle on the desk here and it looks as if it would fit fine.

    Remember, I know its not ideal, but you can remove the protective shell in a worst case scenario, so the board isnt redundant if there are some fitting issues.

  12. Since the looks of TUF armor are one of the reasons why I want that mobo It would be a waste to remove it. Also I heard that it cools well with the 2 small fans, and I don’t mind a little bit of noise. If the Silver Arrow wouldn’t fit, I’d get a Corsair H100 and normal RAM with heatsinks, so that’s why I wanted to know in advance. According to reviews the H100 is behind by a few degrees and is also more expensive, so I wanna have the Silver Arrow which is currently the best no-maintenance cooler, if it would fit.

  13. Quote: “Quad GPU AMD CrossfireX – a flawless architecture accommodating the power of up to four graphics cards” /Quote

    So where do Install the 4 graphics cards?

    I see 3 slots

  14. I think they do that, saying quad is possible with two cards, but its actually tri crossfire

  15. did you downclock your RAM to OC? page 4 bottom pic. RAM speed=800 mhz…

  16. Thats 1,600mhz. its how DDR3 memory is reported in those programs Matt.