ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 Pro Reviews

The ASUS Sabertooth Z87 is built to be the workhorse in the ASUS stable. It is not likely to be the pick for those of you looking for edge of the envelope overclocking, but again, it is not sold as such. It is built like a brick house and is built to be tough, hence the "TUF" branding. Should I move to Haswell in the near future, which I have been contemplating, the Sabertooth Z87 will likely be the motherboard in that system. Worth mentioning also is that ASUS looks to be committed to BIOS maturation with its Z87 products. We think it offers a very great value to those [H]’ers looking stability, security, and permanence.

Would the likes of MSI's yield a slightly higher maximum frequency courtesy of extensive hand tuning by somebody who really knows their overclocking oats? Very likely. If that's you, the MSI is probably the better choice. But for everyone else, the Sabertooth offers quick, painless overclocking that anyone will be able to achieve. All of which brings us to the one and only significant issue we have with the Sabertooth Z87: pricing. Sure, it's much cheaper than a true enthusiast-class mobo, but it still feels like a lot for what is, ultimately, a jazzed up mainstream board.

Asus has jumped on top of the Z87 chipset and gone heavy with all manner of motherboards, including regular, Republic of Gamers and TUF models. The transition between chipset generations has enabled the manufacturing giant to subtly update the Sabertooth model while not inflating the price. Reporting and thermal monitoring remain a cut above most other boards and there's enough scope in the BIOS to push components to the absolute limit, though overclocking potential is likely to be hamstrung by the inherent quality of the LGA1150 chip rather than the ability of the board. The Z87 Sabertooth is a board for enthusiasts who want something a little different from the norm. We'd encourage Asus to take another look at some of the component positioning and perhaps include some form of onboard debugging system, but that's our gripes done and dusted. Asus' Z87 Sabertooth remains a board whose impressive monitoring and reporting excites the geek in us. If you happen to be of the same disposition then it's a fine choice for a high-end build.