ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 Pro Reviews

Although it has loads of unusual extras, this motherboard’s features don’t justify its high price

The ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 is a top mid-range motherboard, meaning it is targeted to the user who wants more features than mainstream motherboards provide, such as three PCI Express x16 slots and six USB 3.0 ports. The plastic cover that hides most of the motherboard, as well as the slot covers, is a feature that will make its owner feel like he or she has a unique motherboard. However, the SABERTOOTH Z77 has some specs that make it closer to mainstream motherboards than to its sisters, the P8Z77-V PRO and the P8Z77-V DELUXE. It has a simpler voltage regulator circuit, no Wi-Fi, and lacks a PLX switch chip (that allows higher performance when several data transfers are being executed at the same time). The Realtek ALC892 audio codec is also a better option for mainstream motherboards than top-shelf ones. In summary, the SABERTOOTH Z77 is an excellent motherboard, but unless you really like the plastic cover, you should pick the P8Z77-V PRO, which is a little less expensive and has a few more features, or the P8Z77-V DELUXE, which costs a little more but offers a lot more.

Throughout our Asus Sabertooth Z77 review we pointed out its advantages and drawbacks. Now time has come for us to sum everything up and draw some conclusions. The mainboard has thought-through and very convenient layout, good set of features meeting all contemporary requirements. Numerous BIOS options allow very extensive system fine-tuning in broad ranges, and the proprietary software adds indisputable value and extends the mainboard’s functionality even further. Unfortunately, the board’s power consumption is a little above average, and it was unable to overclock our test processor to its maximum. But despite these facts, Asus Sabertooth Z77 is so fast that in some applications it clearly outperforms the competitors, which managed to achieve better overclocking results.

The Sabertooth Z77 motherboard is another extremely solid motherboard from ASUS that has support for the upcoming Ivy Bridge processors. There is little to be found wrong with the motherboard and if you like the Thermal Armor angle then figuring out if the board is for you should be pretty easy. It does not break the bank either at $240 from Newegg. Outside of needing support for Ivy Bridge though, the whole Z77 chipset sell is a tough go. ASUS has however made the Z77 boards alluring by putting together what amounts to the best series of motherboard software and features it has ever produced.

An overclocking beast and a fine physical specimen. Though sadly doesn't quite deliver on the Z77's full stock performance potential.