Review and testing of the motherboard ASUS P8Z77-M. Features of work and overclocking

The situation when a new processor requires a new motherboard with a new chipset has already occurred quite often. All motherboard manufacturers were in a hurry to introduce their new products, playing chicken and egg. However, as you already know, things are different this spring - the new Intel processors, codenamed Ivy Bridge, can be used on "old" boards. But this does not mean at all that the leaders of the component market need not worry - users who want everything newest are the most active and very interesting financially, so the release of the seventh series chipset line was received with enthusiasm by everyone.

A dozen products based on the maximum version of the chipset line - Intel Z77 - appeared in ASUS' arsenal at once. To be honest, in our opinion, this is too much: it will not be easy for users to understand the differences and numerous suffixes if we are talking about ordinary “workhorses”. In this material, we will consider the motherboard of the P8Z77-V Pro model.

Among its distinguishing features, the manufacturer mentions the use of a Digi + chip to control power circuits, the ability to use four-chip SLI and CrossFireX, and a fan control system in the Fan Xpert 2 case.

Bundle and branded utilities

Traditionally, out of a dozen models based on one chipset, only a few were awarded original packaging. Our today's hero is not lucky - an ordinary cardboard box of medium size. Its design, at first glance, almost does not differ from many other mass devices. But upon closer examination, you can notice the texture (embossing) on ​​the cardboard.

Draws on itself detailed description numerous board features. Too bad it's only in English. And these are not just technical specifications rewritten in beautiful words, but really unique device functions. We will discuss some of them in more detail below.

The delivery package for this model is quite rich: a cover for the back panel of the board with a black insert and connector labels, two SATA 6 Gb / s cables with latches (one straight connector, the second angled), two "simple" SATA cables with the same connectors, flexible SLI bridge, special adapters for easy connection of the connectors on the front panel of the case to the connectors on the board (one for buttons and indicators, the second for USB ports), bracket for the rear panel of the case with a pair of USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA, proprietary wireless module Wi- Fi with external antenna, thick user manual (in English), DVD with drivers, software and documents.

The motherboard comes with a lot of utilities, some of which deserve special consideration in a separate material, and we will try to return to this issue in the near future. All of them are collected in a single AI Suite II shell to simplify both installation and work with them.

You can download from the manufacturer's website updated version set in the form of one archive. The kit includes utilities for monitoring system status, collecting system information, updating software and BIOS, managing a Wi-Fi controller (including organizing an access point), setting up USB ports, selecting power saving modes, setting up power management, overclocking the system, installing prioritizing network traffic, remote control from wireless mobile devices.

For automatic overclocking system uses the TurboV utility. We tested its performance in automatic mode with processor Intel Core i5-2500K and Corsair H100 liquid cooling system. Selecting the "Fast" profile made it possible to increase the processor frequency by a third in just a couple of seconds - up to 4.3 GHz.

A longer process in the "Extreme" profile showed even more impressive results - the frequency exceeded 5.2 GHz. True, it should be noted that the second option turned out to be unstable under the load of the LinX program. In the "beautiful" 5 GHz mode (100 MHz × 50), the system passed this test as well. We also mention the presence of an automatic reset system in case of unsuccessful overclocking.

Board Features

The motherboard uses black textolite, which allows it to look both strict and stylish. It has a standard ATX size (304×244 mm), so that all configuration elements can fit freely. The LGA1155 socket can be used with both 32nm and new 22nm Intel processors (codenamed Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge, respectively). About the majority modern boards it cannot be said that there is a lot of free space near the socket and it will be easy to install a cooling system of any format. The product in question is no exception to this rule, but everything is arranged according to the standard, and boxed coolers Of course they will install without problems. And if you are going to purchase something large and more efficient, we recommend that you first make sure that it is possible to install it.

This model has four slots for random access memory DDR3 standard. The manufacturer talks about the possibility of operating at frequencies up to 1200 MHz (DDR3-2400) inclusive in overclocking mode. XMP profiles are supported - in particular, Kingston test modules worked without problems in their "native" DDR3-2133 mode (it was enough to change only one parameter in BIOS Setup). The latches on the slots are “one-sided”, which is designed to simplify the installation of modules, although one can argue with efficiency. We didn't forget about the MemOK! button, which will help you start the system if "not very compatible" memory modules are installed.

The configuration of expansion slots is not easy. Differences in color marking do not help to understand. There are two x16 PCIe slots connected to the processor and capable of operating in x16 mode with one video card installed in the first slot, and in x8 + x8 mode with two video cards. These ports support the version 3.0 standard if the corresponding processor is installed (this is also confirmed by the use of ASMedia switching chips corresponding to the standard). The arrangement of these slots allows cards with three-slot cooling systems to work. The third x16 format slot version 2.0 works through the chipset and supports the maximum x4 mode. According to the manufacturer, it shares the chipset lines with other slots (both PCIe x1) and external controllers (internal USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s ports on ASMedia chips). So with the maximum use of all devices, only x1 mode can be expected from it.

The last pair - PCIe x1 slots - are located on both sides of the "main" graphics slot. So one of them will be free in any configuration (if a large processor cooler does not interfere), and the second in most cases will not be available when installing an external gaming video card, since most of them have a dual-slot cooling system. In addition, these ports share PCIe lanes with a third PCIe x16 slot, and the second one also shares an external SATA 6Gb/s chip.

Numerous external controllers and big set expansion ports fully utilize the 8 lanes of PCIe 2.0 available in the chipset. We also note that this board supports LucidLogix Virtu MVP technology (we wrote about LucidLogix Virtu), designed to increase performance graphic applications thanks to the combined use of integrated and external video cards, although, in our opinion, it is more convenient to purchase a more powerful external video card than rely on this feature.

An 8 MB BIOS chip is installed on the socket, but in most cases this will not be useful - this board implements USB BIOS Flashback technology. It allows you to restore a completely “killed” firmware from a USB flash drive with an image connected to a dedicated USB port. For this, a specialized microcircuit is used on the board. True, the case will have to be opened - to access the button to start the recovery process.

Like many other ASUS motherboards, the P8Z77-V Pro has special LEDs that will help you identify the causes of boot problems. Moreover, this does not require a long study of documentation and codes - the indicators are located near all critical elements (processor, memory, video card port).

Most Connectors motherboard collected along its lower edge (left in the photo). Moreover, they occupy it almost completely (except for the two connectors missing in this modification of the board). This can make it difficult to access the button. emergency recovery BIOS. The CMOS reset jumper is also not very conveniently located - too close to the connectors.

Power and cooling schemes

Connection to the power supply unit is carried out with standard connectors for 24 pins and 8 pins (it is possible to work with a four-pin connection with an ATX12V connector). Several Digi+ chips are used to manage the power supply of the system components. The manufacturer calls it "Dual Intelligent Processors 3" technology. In total, the processor receives 12 phases, four for the graphics core (in this case, we are talking about the operation of an eight-channel PWM controller with phase doubling), and two for RAM.

The elements of the processor power supply circuits near the socket are covered with relatively small aluminum radiators about 25 mm high. Note that their design is complemented by plates on the reverse side of the printed circuit board. There are no heat pipes here, which is more good than bad. You can also see a heatsink with a complex shape of the top surface on the chipset chip. It's only 12mm high and won't get in the way of installing expansion cards, except for accessing the PCIe x16 slot latches. This configuration of the cooling system is more than enough for the model under consideration. In tests with an overclocked Intel Core i5-2500K processor, we directed a flow from a leisurely 120mm fan to the power radiators, since the processor was installed fluid system cooling. Under these conditions, their temperature did not cause any concern.

There are six connectors on the board for connecting fans - a “double” one for the processor and four for the case. All of them are four-pin and support automatic rotation speed control, which will allow you to create an efficient and quiet system. We note the implementation of a new unique Fan Xpert 2 technology in this board. It is able to provide the required temperature regime while maintaining low level system noise. To do this, after assembling the PC, installing and connecting all the fans, you need to run special program, which will automatically calibrate the operation of the fan system: it will be able to determine the effect of each fan on the temperature system components and suggest the optimal mode of operation.

In this section, we will also mention the presence of TPU and EPU switches and indicators on the board. The first activates the function of automatic overclocking of the system with the participation of the chip of the same name. You can also use it after downloading operating system through a proprietary tool. The EPU is designed to reduce system power consumption by dynamically managing power circuits.

BIOS

The BIOS is implemented using UEFI technology and is based on the AMI code. It allows mouse control (although you can't do without a keyboard) and has several localization options. One cannot look at Russian without crying - as if China has a single version of the Russian font, which can often be found in "nameless" smartphones.

The first page that the user sees after entering BIOS Setup is an implementation of a simplified version of "EZ Mode". Here you can check the configuration of the processor, memory, hard drives, view the monitoring data of the sensors built into the board (temperatures, voltages, fans), change the boot order and select one of the "optimization" modes of the processor parameters - "eco", "normal", "optimal for ASUS version.

To access the full set of settings, you need to switch to the "Advanced Mode". It traditionally contains sections:

• Main - displaying the BIOS version, setting the time and date;
• Ai Tweaker - settings for frequencies, voltages and modes for overclocking and system optimization;
• Advanced - setting CPU / PCH / SA parameters, configuring SATA and USB, external controllers;
• Monitor - monitoring system sensors, setting Q-Fan to control fan speed;
• Boot - OS boot options, device selection;
• Tool - access to the BIOS EZ Flash firmware utility, manage overclocking profiles, display information from the SPD of memory modules (including XMP).

For novice users, we do not recommend going into Ai Tweaker, at first glance there are about a hundred parameters. Moreover, effective overclocking can be carried out with a proprietary utility from Windows. The remaining points are quite simple and do not cause any problems with finding the right options.

Functionality

Most of the space on the rear panel is occupied by video outputs - there are four of them for every taste: VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort. It is difficult to say whether such a configuration is really in demand, but the fact that no adapters are required to connect any monitor can be considered a plus. The PS / 2 connector should be written off for a long time, it is better to install another pair of USB or eSATA instead. By the way, this board has none of the latter. This is slightly offset by the fact that 4 USB port correspond to version 3.0 of this interface. Moreover, two of them are chipset-based, and the second pair is powered by an external controller. USB ports 2.0 are implemented by the chipset controller.

Audio outputs and network are standard - analog minijacks for 7.1 configuration, digital optical S/PDIF-Out, RJ-45 port with built-in indicators. A separate place is given to the Wi-Fi controller for connecting the antenna and the operation indication LED.

Despite the use of the modern multifunctional Intel Z77 chipset, the board in question has many additional controllers that add new features and expand existing ones. The complete list consists of:

• two USB 3.0 controllers based on ASMedia ASM1042 (PCIe x1) chips, each supporting 2 devices, two ports are routed to the rear panel, two - to the bracket connector for connecting to the connectors on the case;
• integrated audio based on the Realtek ALC892 HDA codec in 7.1 format, with an optical S/PDIF-Out connector on the rear panel of the board and an additional S/PDIF-Out connector on the PCB;
• Gigabit network controller based on the MAC controller in the chipset and Intel PHY;
• PCI bus controller based on the ASMedia ASM1083 chip (PCIe x1) to implement two slots;
• ASMedia ASM1061 (PCIe x1) SATA controller supporting two internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports.

The motherboard has eight SATA connectors for connecting drives. Of these, six chipset, two of which support the interface speed of 6 Gb / s. The remaining two are implemented on an external ASMedia controller and also support 6 Gb / s. The ports are located near the edge of the board at an angle, so that their cables will not interfere with expansion cards. Color coding makes it easy to determine the port type. An external eSATA port can be implemented by connecting a complete bracket for the rear panel of the case (the connector from it is plugged into any port on the PCB of your choice, providing the speed and functionality of the eSATA port that you need "on the back"). The chipset controller supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, Matrix RAID and Intel technologies - Smart Response, Rapid Start and Smart Connect. By the way, ASUS decided to offer its own utility for using SSD as a cache for a hard drive.

The built-in audio codec implements standard modes with connection to analog outputs up to 7.1, and also supports digital audio, including HD tracks in BD and output via standard HDMI.

Z77 for the first time for Intel has built-in USB 3.0 controllers (recall that they work exactly like 3.0 today only in Windows 7, since there are corresponding drivers only for it). But ASUS decided to add a couple of external controllers as well. As a result, the user gets four version 3.0 ports and two version 2.0 ports on the rear panel, as well as connectors on the board for four more 3.0 ports and eight 2.0 ports. The board supports the USB 3.0 UASP standard (you can read more about this technology in the ASUS P9X79 Pro review) for ports based on ASMedia chips, as well as fast charging mobile devices (USB Charger+).

One of the innovations in this line of motherboards is the complete set with a wireless module. To be honest, the implementation, in our opinion, is chosen somewhat strangely. Today there are good USB controllers that provide high speed operation in the 802.11n standard. They are easy to select, connect and use. But ASUS went its own way - a standard half mini-PCIe card is installed in a proprietary adapter, which is placed on the motherboard in a special slot between the rear panel connectors and secured with a screw on the back side. The antenna (or several) also uses micro connectors of its own, original format. As a result, the user is faced with many restrictions - you cannot install another board, it is difficult to replace the antenna, you cannot use this product with other devices. Perhaps it was the last point that became the reason for such a design. The P8Z77-V Pro uses a Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 single-band single-band chip, supporting a maximum connection speed of 150Mbps. Note that other motherboards in this series also have more productive solutions.

The presence of two standard PCI slots on the board will be of interest to users who need to use the old standard expansion boards.

Conclusion

The announcement of a new chipset and a new line of processors once again spurred manufacturers to update their products. Wishing to maintain the high status of one of the market leaders, ASUS released a dozen models at once based on the Z77 chipset. Choosing the right one is not an easy task. And even the presence on the company's website of the product comparison function does little to help in this situation. So we recommend that you write down the exact requirements and "try on" them on the solutions on the market.

The ATX format made it possible to implement a rather interesting configuration of expansion slots on the P8Z77-V Pro, which allows simultaneous operation of three video cards. Also, this model has two PCI slots, which may be of interest to users who did not have time or could not replace the equipment with a more modern one. We note the use of the network controller by Intel itself, which are considered exemplary, although more expensive, and the presence wireless adapter 802.11n standard (but the lowest configuration). Other additional controllers add four USB 3.0 ports and a pair of SATA to the chipset's capabilities. The other parameters of the product are quite consistent modern solution to build a high performance computing system based on past and latest generation Intel Core processors. From proprietary programs and technologies, we will mention TurboV for overclocking the system and Wi-Fi Go! to work with mobile devices.Medium current price (number of offers) of this model in Moscow retail: N/A()

The times when microATX motherboards were an attribute of budget or office system units are gone forever. To date, almost all vendors have compact products in their assortment, the functionality and safety margin of which are in no way inferior to full-size models of medium and high levels. These motherboards use older chipset modifications, enhanced power supply units and powerful cooling systems. On the other hand, manufacturers continue to saturate their product lines with inexpensive microATX motherboards that combine basic capabilities expansion and overclocking at a relatively low cost. ASUS P8Z77-M belongs to such models intended for economical and not too exacting users.

The mainboard is based on the older Intel Z77 Express chipset, which makes ASUS P8Z77-M interesting for overclockers, and also provides decent functionality for a budget product. WITH technical specifications You can find new items in the following table:

Contents of delivery

As befits an inexpensive model, the P8Z77-M comes in a small cardboard box designed in the style of the latest ASUS products. The front side, in addition to the name of the modification, bears many logos of proprietary technologies, among which the central place is occupied by DIGI + Power Control, which means the use of a digital power subsystem that provides stability and high energy efficiency in any mode of operation.

• plugs for the back panel of the I/O Shield;
• two SATA 6 Gb/s cables;
• a set of connectors Q-Connectors;
• user manuals;
• quick assembly instructions;
• manuals for working with ASUS proprietary technologies;
• DVD with drivers and software.

Design

Design features of ASUS P8Z77-M are dictated by the compact dimensions (244x244 mm) of the printed circuit board. At the same time, the engineers managed to arrange all the main components in the usual places. Eight mounting holes are used for mounting, but the lower left edge of the PCB is left unsupported, so care must be taken when connecting connectors front panel and SATA cables.

The P8Z77-M power subsystem is made according to a six-channel scheme, of which four phases feed the computing cores, and two separate channels are responsible for the formation of voltages on the integrated video card and the “system agent”. The VRM module is controlled by a digital PWM controller labeled ASP1102. It is known that this chip supports dynamic shutdown of unused phases, protection against overheating and overcurrent, as well as control of the frequency of PWM modulation. Traditional MOSFETs are used as power elements.

A small light alloy radiator is responsible for cooling the system logic chip, the efficiency of which does not cause concern, regardless of the operating mode. There are four connectors for connecting fans - all four-pin and with PWM support.

• PS/2 combo port;
• four USB 2.0 connectors and two chipset USB 3.0;
• optical S/PDIF;
• video outputs HDMI, D-Sub and DVI-D;
• RJ-45 network port;
• three analog audio jacks.

The ASUS P8Z77-M firmware is based on the UEFI control microcode developed by AMI, and the setup menu of ASUS motherboards is very familiar to us from numerous previous reviews. In the case of the heroine of today's testing, after entering UEFI Setup, the user is prompted to work in EZ Mode, which displays current date and time, firmware version, as well as information about the operating mode CPU and RAM modules. The readings of hardware monitoring sensors are also displayed here.

On the Main tab, date and time are set, extended information about the version of the control microcode is displayed, and there is an option to select the language.

Complete software

The software designed to manage and control the monitoring parameters of the mainboard is combined into the AI ​​Suite II software package, which consists of many independent modules. We have repeatedly described the possibilities of this software product in previous reviews of ASUS motherboards, so today we will only recall its main features. So, software module TurboV EVO is responsible for managing performance parameters such as BCLK frequency, supply voltages and multipliers of computing cores.

The automatic overclocking function is also turned on here, the effectiveness of which we will definitely check a little later.

The Probe II module is used to display the hardware monitoring parameter, set alarm thresholds and record critical events in the log, while the Sensor Recorder program performs the function of recording the history of sensor readings.

In addition to the above, AI Suite II contains USB3.0 Boost routines, which speeds up removable drives, and Network iControl, which is responsible for managing network connection priorities and bandwidth.

The design of the ASUS P8Z77-M power subsystem does not have a significant margin of safety, so you should be careful during overclocking experiments. Nevertheless, our test Core i5-3570K worked at a frequency of 4500 MHz with a voltage on the computing cores of 1.275 V. Alas, we were not able to achieve a better result, because with an increase in Vcore, the protection system worked, and the motherboard turned off. The final result can be considered quite good for a budget-class model; also, the preservation of the efficiency of energy-saving technologies should be attributed to the positive aspects.

I was very pleased with the margin of safety of increasing the base frequency, which amounted to exactly 109 MHz, which will certainly be appreciated by owners of inexpensive Intel processors with a locked multiplier.

test stand

To test the performance and overclocking potential of ASUS P8Z77-M, we used a test stand with the following configuration:

• processor: Intel Core i5-3570K (3.4 GHz, 6 MB L3 cache);
• cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow (fan 140 mm, 1300 rpm);
• Memory: G.Skill TridentX F3-2400C10D-8GTX (2x4 GB, DDR3-2400, CL10-12-12-31);
• video card: ASUS HD7950-DC2T-3GD5 (Radeon HD 7950);
• hard drive: Intel SSD 320 Series (300 GB, SATA 3Gb/s);
• power supply: Seasonic X-650 (650 W).

• ASUS P8Z77-M UEFI Setup 1908 from 03/14/2013;
• ASRock Z77 Extreme6 UEFI Setup 2.60 from 01/23/2013;
• Gigabyte GA-Z77P-D3 UEFI Setup F7 from 08/24/2012;
• MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming UEFI Setup V25.29B2 from 03.29.2013;
• MSI Z77IA-E53 UEFI Setup V10.3B1 from 02/07/2013.

The measurement technique remained the same: each test was repeated at least three times, after which the arithmetic mean was calculated. In the event that the result of some iteration differs significantly from the other two, testing continued until a normal value was obtained. Performance evaluation was carried out using the following software:

• AIDA64 2.80.2300 (Cache & Memory benchmark);
• Futuremark PCMark 7 (v1.4.0);
• Futuremark 3DMark 11 (v1.0.3);
• Batman: Archam City
• F1 2012;
• Sleeping Dogs.

The motherboard considered in this review is a representative of the middle price range and is designed to build productive and reliable work or home PCs with a wide range of tasks. The motherboard is made in the mATX form factor and is based on the Intel Z77 Express chipset, thanks to the latter, it provides the ability to overclock the processor with an unlocked multiplier. Let's go directly to the motherboard review and take a closer look at its features.

Motherboard specification ASUS boards P8Z77-M:

The packaging of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard has a familiar design in dark colors. The name of the motherboard is given on the front of the package, and the lower part is occupied by pictograms indicating the technologies used.

The reverse side of the box is more informative. Here you can see a photo of the motherboard and its specification, as well as a description of the most interesting technologies from the point of view of the marketing department.

The complete set of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is sufficient to assemble the system. In the box with the motherboard you can find:

DVD with software and drivers;

user manual in English and brief installation instructions;

two Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s cables;

ASUS Q-Connector set;

plug on the back of the case.

Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-M is made in the form factor mATX, and has dimensions of 244 x 244 mm. The layout is done quite well, all connectors are in accessible places. The only exception is some crowding of USB 3.0, ATX and SATA connectors. But if you follow a certain connection sequence, then such an arrangement of connections will not cause any particular inconvenience. On the positive side, the RAM slots are devoid of latches on the underside, which will make it much easier to replace or add RAM modules with a video adapter installed. The board has 8 mounting holes, while the lower right corner was left without a hole, which is the reason for its "sagging", so you need to connect to the ports located here more carefully.

The cooling system is passive and includes two stylized radiators: one removes heat from the heating elements of the processor power converter, and the second cools the Intel Z77 Express PCH. During testing, a temperature of 42.2°C was recorded on the heatsink, which is a typical indicator among similar boards.

The disk subsystem of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is implemented exclusively by the Intel Z77 Express chipset. The board has four SATA 3 Gb/s ports and two SATA 6 Gb/s ports. There is support for RAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 10.

In addition to the ports displayed on the interface panel, the following connection blocks are present on the motherboard:

3 x USB 2.0 (up to 6 additional ports);

1 x USB 3.0 (up to 2 additional ports);

In total, the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard has ten USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports, which is enough to connect various devices.

There are four slots for installing expansion cards on the motherboard:

• 1 x PCI Express x16 3.0/2.0;

  1 x PCI Express x16 2.0 (x4);

  1 x PCI Express x1;

It is allowed to install two video adapters in AMD CrossFireX mode, but due to the low bandwidth of the second PEG connector, this will not be the most rational solution. Note the presence of a PCI slot, which can still be useful for installing outdated expansion cards.

The motherboard in question has four 240-pin dual-channel architecture DIMM sockets for working with DDR3 memory. The maximum total memory can be up to 32 GB when four 8 GB modules are installed. The maximum frequency of RAM is 2400 MHz in overclocking mode. To organize memory operation in dual-channel mode, it is necessary to fill the connectors of the same color.

As with most ASUS motherboards, there is a MemOK! button next to the memory slots, which will be useful if there are errors in the system memory.

The processor supply voltage converter is made according to the 4+1+1 phase scheme. One phase is used to power the "system agent" and the video core, and the remaining four are used to power the processor cores. The ASP1102 chip manufactured by CHiL Semiconductor Corp is traditionally used as a PWM controller. Cooling of the power unit has been improved through the use of a stylized heatsink with sufficiently large fins. Power is supplied to the processor through an 8-pin EPS12V connector, which is designed to handle more current than a regular 4-pin ATX12V connector.

The ASMedia ASM1442 chip is responsible for switching the HDMI and DVI video outputs.

The audio subsystem of the motherboard is based on the Realtek ALC887 HDA 8-channel audio codec, and a Realtek 8111F gigabit network controller is used to connect to the local network. Such controllers are installed by most motherboard manufacturers, which guarantees that there are no problems with drivers.

Since the Intel Z77 Express system logic set does not support the PCI bus, the manufacturer added a PCI Express to PCI bridge to implement it. The ASMedia ASM1083 chip acts as such a bridge.

The Nuvoton NCT67790 chip controls the PS/2 and COM ports, system fans and provides temperature monitoring.

The following ports are displayed on the interface panel of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard:

• 1 x PS/2 for mouse or keyboard;

• optical S/PDIF;

  RJ45 connector for network connections;

  three 3.5mm audio jacks.

Noteworthy is the presence of the most common monitor connectors, there are both analog D-Sub and two types of digital video outputs. But the presence of only three audio connectors can cause some inconvenience when connecting multi-channel acoustics.

The ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard has four fan headers. One four-pin connector is for connecting a processor fan, and the rest are for connecting case fans.

UEFI BIOS

The ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard, like many other solutions based on the Intel 7x Express system logic, uses UEFI with a graphical interface as a preloader.

Having entered the “AI Tweaker” section with settings for overclocking and optimizing the system, one can note a rather long list of options that are responsible for the frequency, supply voltage, and even the operating mode of the processor power converter, and this despite the fact that ASUS P8Z77-M is not positioned as overclocking solution.

The settings required for overclocking are summarized in the table:

The memory frequency multiplier allows you to set the frequency from 800 MHz to 2400 MHz.

You can also set the timings (latencies) and sub-timings (secondary delays) of the RAM manually in the "DRAM TimingControl" section.

There is also a separate monitoring section where you can monitor:

temperature of the motherboard and processor;

the speed of rotation of the processor and case fans;

voltage on the processor core;

voltage on the power lines + 12V, + 5V and + 3.3V.

The section is very informative, the only thing missing is the readings of the RAM supply voltage.

In addition, in this section, you can enable the function automatic control CPU cooler CPU Q-Fan Control and case fans that have different intensity modes.

Separately, we note the ability to select the Russian language in the language settings.

Utilities

Overclocking the system and changing the supply voltage of various components can be done using ASUS utilities Turbo VEV.

An interesting feature, which is typical mainly for ASUS motherboards, is the ability to adjust the operating mode of the processor power stabilizer.

Overclocking options

Overclocking capabilities were tested using Intel processor Core i5-2500K with unlocked multiplier.

When using the automatic overclocking function, a fairly good result was achieved - 4.3 GHz.

IN manual mode the result was slightly higher, and amounted to 4.4 GHz.

As you can see, despite its modest dimensions, the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is quite capable of unleashing the potential of an unlocked CPU.

Testing

To test the capabilities of motherboards, the following equipment was used:

Test results:

The performance level of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is the same as that of other solutions, which indicates a high level of board performance and good BIOS optimization.

Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC892 codec

Overall Results (RightMark Audio Analyzer)

16-bit, 44.1 kHz

The audio subsystem received an average rating of "Very Good". That means she'll get enough good quality sound without purchasing a discrete sound card.

conclusions

The motherboard is a balanced solution made in mATX format, which is distinguished by a competent layout of elements and high quality manufacturing. This board can be recommended to users who want to get an up-to-date motherboard based on the older set of system logic and equipped with all the connectors a modern user needs, which will work for a long time and stably. At the same time, there is a desire to minimize the space occupied by the system unit, as well as experiment with overclocking. As for the cost of the product, at the time of writing the review, it was about 100 USD, which is fully justified, and the motherboard deserves a medal for its excellent price/features ratio.

We are grateful to the companyMTI , the official distributor of productsASUS , for the motherboard provided for testing.

We are grateful to companies Intel , Kingston , MSI And SeaSonic for provided for test stand equipment.

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ASUS P8Z77-M today is a motherboard of compact dimensions, which has a set of all necessary functions. At the core this decision lies a somewhat outdated platform based on the LGA 1155 socket.

ASUS P8Z77-M: technical features

First of all, it should be noted that this motherboard is great for those cases when you need to assemble in one compact body system for maximum performance. The reliability of such a computer will not cause any complaints. The ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is made in a miniature MicroATX format. However, it is based on the most functional set of system logic. This allows for the most flexible configuration of all parameters. All elements installed on the board have only passive cooling. However, it is possible to install four coolers in such a computer system at once. One of them is intended directly for installation in the central processing unit, and the other three - for installation on the case. For this reason, there should be no problems with cooling during overclocking in this situation.

ASUS P8Z77-M: delivery package

The ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is bundled as follows. In the box with the device, the user will be able to directly find the motherboard itself, cables for connecting SATA drives, a metal plug for the rear panel of the system unit, a disk with drivers and software. This should be enough to assemble personal computer. In this case, there is no need to purchase any additional elements.

ASUS P8Z77-M: PCB layout

ASUS P8Z77-M has overall dimensions of 244 by 244 mm. If we consider appearance of this component, we can conclude that the board has three passive cooling systems at once, built on the basis of aluminum radiators. Two of these systems are used to remove excess heat from the central processing unit's electrical system. The third cooling system is used for cooling south bridge set of system logic. The processor socket is displayed in the center of the top of the board. To the left and above it are the previously mentioned cooling systems for the processor batteries. On the right side, there are slots for installing RAM sticks. Further in this direction is the power supply connector. A little lower above the socket there are expansion slots that can be used to install additional external controllers and graphics adapters. On the right side of the expansion slots, ports for installing SATA drives are displayed. With the installation of any component of this kind should not be a problem, since the expansion and RAM slots are located correctly.

ASUS P8Z77-M: chipset

As you might guess from the name, the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is based on an advanced system logic set designed for the LGA 1155-Z77 computing platform. This product consists of only one microcircuit, namely the south bridge, which is responsible for processing information from the ports for connecting drives and expansion slots. In this case, the northbridge, which could be found in earlier products of this company, was moved to the CPU. The northbridge provides interaction with RAM and peripherals.

ASUS P8Z77-M: socket and semiconductor chips

As noted earlier, the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is equipped with an LGA 1155 socket. This processor socket can accommodate 2nd and 3rd generation Core chips. As a result, you can install Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Celeron and Pentium sips in the socket, which belong to the above generations of semiconductor crystals. Given that the system logic set in this case is Z77, it would be optimal to use a CPU with an unlocked multiplier. At the end of the designation, such devices have the letter "K". This will make it possible to maximize the potential of the computer system.

ASUS P8Z77-M: set of interfaces

ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard is equipped with the following ports for connecting external devices: one PS / 2 port for connecting a keyboard and mouse, six USB ports, four of which are 3.0 and two 2.0. The graphics ports on the motherboard are HDMI, DVI and D-Sub. When connected to these monitor ports, only the graphics adapter integrated in the central processing unit will be used during operation. To connect external drives The board has two eSATA ports. ASUS P8Z77-M also has a set of inputs and outputs for the sound card.

ASUS P8Z77-M: expansion slots

It should be noted that ASUS P8Z77-M PRO has a fairly large set of expansion slots. In the review of the technical specifications of this extension, you can see the complete absence of a PCI slot. However this standard today can already be considered obsolete. Such boards today mostly remain only after upgrading an outdated computer system and are transferred to a new PC when upgrading. In this situation, it would still be better to use a full-format ATIx board with this connector. However, it should be understood that the presence of this component in a PC can significantly reduce the level of performance. So there is nothing to worry about in the absence of such an expansion slot. In practice, it can be replaced by a similar USB adapter. This computer component has four RAM slots. All DDR3 sticks are supported. The maximum amount of RAM that can be addressed this model system board is 32 GB. The ASUS P8Z77-M PRO motherboard has only one PCI Express 1X slot for installing an additional internal controller in a PC. In this case, three PCI Express 16X slots are allotted for installing graphics adapters. With this, you can make a choice. If you install an advanced video card in the first slot, then it will no longer be possible to put a controller in the PCI-Express 1X slot. It should be noted that the miniature dimensions of the motherboard in this case impose certain restrictions.

ASUS P8Z77-M PRO: BIOS

The "BIOS" of this computer accessory includes many different parameters. This allows for flexible configuration of the computer system in the process of overclocking the central processing unit. Ultimately, this allows you to get a solid performance boost. This board also has UEFI. This is a special software component with similar functionality, but unlike the BIOS, its interface is Russified.

ASUS P8Z77-M PRO: reviews

The ASUS P8Z77-M PRO board turned out to be an almost perfect solution. She really has excellent performance and a large set of interfaces. It is also worth noting that the board turned out to be quite tiny. At the same time, the cost for a computer component of this level turned out to be very democratic. There is only one drawback: when a powerful graphics accelerator is installed in the slot, an additional controller cannot be installed in the PCI-Express 1X slot. However, the level of functionality of this motherboard is quite high, so the lack of such a possibility in this case is not critical.

ASUS P8Z77-M PRO: cost and relevance

In the middle of last year, the ASUS P8Z77-M PRO motherboard was available for $110. Today it is rather problematic to find such motherboards on sale. At the same time, their cost can range from 50 to 100 dollars. Everything will depend on the state of the device. It makes little sense to buy such a board to create a new computing system. However, there are also more recent and advanced platforms from this manufacturer, which today it is recommended to pay attention to when assembling a new PC.

Our readers could already be convinced by the example of the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 motherboard that the functionality does not depend much on the dimensions. On the contrary, it becomes possible to assemble a system of more compact dimensions, while not limiting yourself in anything. This means that the myth that mATX boards are always budget solutions for office typewriters is a thing of the past. Now almost every manufacturer has one or several small models in its lineup, which are in no way inferior to full-format ATX solutions.

Until recently, large boards had the advantage of supporting multi-graphics technologies such as SLI and CrossFire. The first to blur the line between the two standards (mATX and ATX) in terms of functionality ASUS started by releasing several gaming-oriented models in a special ROG (Republic Of Gamers) line with the GENE prefix.

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