ASUS P8Z68-V PRO Review: Our First Z68 Motherboard
by Ian Cutress on May 11, 2011 3:13 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Asus
- Z68
Final Words
Looking back on the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO, I can come up with a variety of conclusions. It's a great little board in terms of performance, features and add-ons, even for the $210 asking price. Though at this price, we'd perhaps ask for a little more to be in the boxed product—a few more SATA cables perhaps, or a full USB 3.0 3.5" bay. As much as this was a review about the ASUS board, it's also a first impression of the Z68 chipset through the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO.
The ultimate combination of P67 and H67 was inevitable—if Intel were going to market a series of processors with integrated graphics, it would seem odd not to include connectors on every chipset for those graphics. That's what happened with P67, when Intel decided that enough people wanted discrete GPU performance that the integrated GPU wouldn't get a look-in. Though with the virtues of Quick Sync, there had to be a way of providing one chipset that tried to do everything—overclocking the CPU, overclocking the integrated GPU, multiple discrete GPU setups, the works.
There was a sigh of relief when Lucid developed a software solution to allow them all to work together—the integrated GPU for low throughput graphics, a discrete GPU for gaming, and any situation to be able to use the integrated GPU for highly specialized applications. Virtu is a nice bit of kit, but in terms of power saving, if you're not using Quick Sync, there isn't much to be saved as graphics card manufacturers are pretty good on low power states.
The ultimate question is—should I upgrade to Z68? You may have realized I haven't talked about SSD caching yet—I've left that up to Anand to discuss and report on, but it's a feature worth considering. From my perspective, if you want an all-round computer that plays games and uses Quick Sync and the other specialties that the iGPU can provide, then Z68 is a logical upgrade. However, if you already have a discrete GPU and P67, unless you're really big on video transcoding there's no point in replacing your current board.
I know that prices for Z68 boards will be as low as $120 from some manufacturers, and as high as $350. The price difference in all these boards is similar to that of the P67—stability at high overclocks, features such as more and more SATA ports, increased support for better cooling, etc. Does that mean that the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO is a good buy? At $210, our only comparison so far in the P67 space that we've reviewed is the ASRock P67 Extreme6, which has 10 SATA ports, but minimal RAID, a lot more IO panel USB connectors, more in the box to come with the motherboard, arguably a worse BIOS, better USB performance, and a shorter warranty. It's a tough decision—people will like the ASUS board, of that I have no doubt. It's just a case of if it's got the right features for you as a consumer.
We can't come to any final conclusion with only one Z68 board, of course. I expect to have more Z68 boards to review in the near future, so watch this space. Right now, the ASUS board is a good Z68 offering, but if you're in no rush, wait a few weeks to see if another board can rise to the top—and let's be honest, if you've been waiting for Z68 you can probably wait a bit longer.
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cybersans - Saturday, June 4, 2011 - link
if you need us to write a proper english language to reply a posts, i think you reach at the wrong place, because this is not a classroom or english language test at the school ;)as long as a people around the world understand the message, thats fine for me.
BaCh - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
Is ASUS P8Z68-V PRO compatible with Intel Xeon E3-1275 processor?cybersans - Saturday, June 4, 2011 - link
xeon e3-1275 is based on socket 1155, so yes, it is compatible. but why you want to use server processor into workstation motherboard since it is lack of some features?mattmc61 - Friday, May 13, 2011 - link
I 'm sorry if this sounds like nit-picking, but after the fifth gramatical error on the first page of this article, I feel it necessary to point out the poor grammer, model number mistakes, and what seems like a lack of editing. I would think an article on such a high caliber tech site would be more careful.austonia - Saturday, May 14, 2011 - link
Anandtech, I am disappoint. You didn't even benchmark the Quick Sync video transcode function, which is the main reason I'm getting a Z68. Trading in my P67 (recall) for it.I know Anand has covered this feature before in a previous article (Jan. 31) but it would be reassuring to see the results of tests run on retail hardware. As did Tom's:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-z68-expr...
Googer - Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - link
Looks like my favoritism for ASUS has just swung in the favor of Gigabyte.As a die hard keyboard fanatic, the complete lack of PS/2 support is a complete deal killer for me. I have tried USB PS/2 adapters and find they are loaded with problems, input latency, and incompatibilities (keystroke combinations, stops working after holding W down for 15 seconds, etc). I can sort of understand dropping PS/2 mouse support (even though I prefer a PS2 mouse). but keyboards just work much better on PS2 since its using dedicated hardware vs software for USB keys and mice.
-Long Live PS2 and Good OLD Quality Clicky Keyboards.
Googer - Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - link
*I've tried nearly all PS/2 to USB keyboard adapters, including the expensive ones from PI Engineering.cybersans - Saturday, June 4, 2011 - link
agree, switching to this motherboard from previous p8p67 caused me to get ps2 - usb converter. seems like the conversion give some problem, when i type seems like some words is mistype, not because of my broken fingers, but i suspect because of the conversion. another thing when i play a game for example need for speed undercover, the up arrow use to accelerate the car is not continously accelerating. when i press the up button on the keyboard, the car accelerate until several seconds, it stops. seems like i press the fuel paddle and several seconds the fuel stops.ruzveh - Thursday, May 19, 2011 - link
When these motherboard builders will wakeup and understand? We dont want to see those VGA ports on motherboards. AIt is of no use for anyone. Today whoever is buying a $150+ boards have monitors which support HDMI DVI or DP. We actually dont want to see limited resolution VGA port which is now really outdated like ur brains. If you want to provide with VGA option then do so via a DVI to VGA connector accessory. Dont waste the unnecessary space on the mdb. It can be used to provide us with that extra space for USB ports or eSATA.Googer - Sunday, May 22, 2011 - link
Many gamers and photoshoppers out there still use Analog CRT monitors. As far as connectivity goes, the VGA port is the most common denominator and almost any monitor can accept it's input.If you are a system builder, a board like this would be a good basis for a value added system and vga is ideal for that situation.