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The ASUS UEFI BIOS is our favourite, especially when it comes to overclocking. We hope that the Sabertooth Z77 will be as good as other ASUS motherboards we have tested in recent months.
The main home page shows the processor installed and the clock speed, in this case a 2600k @ 3.4ghz. The motherboard didn't pick up the correct 1,600mhz speed from the DDR3 memory, instead configuring the speed to 1,333mhz. This was easily rectified however.
The advanced panel offers control over various CPU and SATA and network settings. The monitor panel is self explanatory and the first place we normally check immediately after building a system.
The boot menu controls full screen logo display and hard/optical drive priority. The tool menu is used to flash to a new revision of the bios and to save and load overclocking configurations.
The board in default mode, showing 9-9-9-24 1T timings via the 1,600mhz memory. We wanted to try the ‘OC Tuner' option in this section of the bios which ‘automatically overclocks' the board.
The Z77 motherboard rebooted several times and we were presented with the automatic overclock settings above. The Sabertooth board overclocked the 2600k to 4,429mhz via a 43×103 frequency. The voltage was not increased, however the board automatically tweaked the current capability to 140%.
The 2600k we are using today will run at 4.8ghz with only 1.42 volts so we wanted to manually push the Sabertooth Z77 board further.
We adjusted the board to a 48 x 100 frequency and increased the core voltage to 1.42. The system wasn't 100% stable however, so we moved into the DIGI+ Power control section of the bios.
I changed the Load Line calibration from ‘auto' to ‘high', which improves the Vdroop for added stability. I also changed the CPU Power Duty Control to ‘extreme'.
Above, CPU validation at 4.8ghz. This processor can run at 5ghz, but it would need more voltage and therefore a more powerful cooling solution. Very good results however, especially when paired with the modest £20 Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 air cooler.
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.
Great review. So, it did or didn’t OC stable to 5Ghz with the H100?
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).
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).
If you give me a few days ill try with a D14, didnt for the review, but I have one in another drawer.
Great! Thanks =)
Zardon. Any new about the D14, with this board? Its compatible?
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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
I think they do that, saying quad is possible with two cards, but its actually tri crossfire
did you downclock your RAM to OC? page 4 bottom pic. RAM speed=800 mhz…
Thats 1,600mhz. its how DDR3 memory is reported in those programs Matt.