ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe Review - Know Your SKU
by Ian Cutress on May 12, 2012 8:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Asus
- Z77
Certain words can convey many meanings. Luckily, for us, the word 'deluxe' has very few variations around a theme of being 'of a superior kind'. So when applied to a motherboard, such as the P8Z77-V Deluxe, we would expect a superior product. ASUS has kindly provided in kind.
Sweeping in at $275 is perhaps not the main price point for Z77, especially when there are motherboards that can run these processors for half the price. However, this is where the P8Z77-V excels - for your extra money, you get a plethora of enthusiast related features that a user would not dream of on a half-price product. Alongside the dual band WiFi, dual network controllers (one Intel, one Realtek), superior fan control and provision for a future Thunderbolt add-in card, we have the stalwarts of the ASUS arsenal, such as USB BIOS Flashback, Fan Xpert II, enhanced USB charging, USB 3.0 Boost, a well thought out BIOS and superior operating software.
ASUS clearly know the market, and they hire enthusiasts to help improve their product. On a recent trip to a UK iSeries LAN event, I was amazed at how many enthusiasts build their products as if price was not a concern - they want something that is good when they buy it, and something that will last for the next few generations. The Deluxe is a board that fits into this category very nicely.
The P8Z77-V Deluxe utilizes MultiCore Enhancement, a 'feature' on ASUS motherboards to boost multi-threaded performance. Combine this with what seem like a few tweaks native to the board and we have a product which single handedly takes the top position in almost every throughput benchmark we have, and comes near the top in ones that it does not.
The only features directly missing seem to be those that add a significant cost on board (PCIe PLX chip for >2 GPUs, a premium sound solution), where instead we would normally see products specifically focused for them in that price bracket. Perhaps it would have been beneficial to include a USB 3.0 bracket in the box to sweeten the deal.
The main contenders for this board come from ASUS products themselves - the Z77 Sabertooth arguably offers more control and a larger warranty (the Deluxe still qualifies for North America ASUS Premium Service, as does the Sabertooth), or a ROG product that is focused towards gamers/overclockers. The ECS Z77H2-AX and Gigabyte G1. Sniper 3 (both part of future reviews) utilize the PCIe PLX chip for >2 GPUs.
As part of a long term, stable build, it is hard to put a foot wrong if you choose the P8Z77-V Deluxe. If ever there was a time to use the phrase 'you get what you pay for', then surely this is it. I had no issues during testing and it sailed through the benchmarks with top honors. I have no hesitation in awarding the P8Z77-V Deluxe with an AnandTech Editors Choice Silver Award.
ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
Editors Choice Silver Award
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lbeyak - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
"The ECS Z77H2-AX and Gigabyte G1. Sniper 3 (both part of future reviews) utilize the PCIe PLX chip for >2 GPUs."Any time frame on when the review containing information on the G1. Sniper 3 will arrive?
Thanks for another good review.
nemt - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
Can you guys do a more thorough analysis of the plethora of other P88Z77-V boards available apart from the standard, Pro and Deluxe?Moogle Stiltzkin - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
Asus Q-Design does thishttp://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_deta...
Asus SSD quick cache is overlooked....
i'm curious to know what is the difference between this SSD caching vs asus z77 deluxe ssd caching (allows ahci) vs intel raid quick cache ssd.
Imho i would think that the asus mobo is the better deal because the premium comes with an msata already integrated and enough space just for caching. has 4 ssd quick cache ports for 4 hard drives (can work for ahci as well).
and that third pcie 2.0 slot in black, is actually going to be where the thunderbolt add on card will be using. i had to research online to find that out.
karagiosis - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
All graphs on the "Computation Benchmarks" say that they are ordered by "Score" but some of them should read "Time". I don't remember if there where any other errata...IanCutress - Monday, May 14, 2012 - link
Updated. Many thanks!Ian
AFQ - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
Dude you take amazing pics. Please share your setup.Awesome and well explained review!
etamin - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
I think I'm missing something. Can someone explain the purpose of this chip to me? Isn't this analogous to NF200 where two GPUs can run in x16 on a board with only 16 native lanes? I thought with PCIe3.0, bandwidths doubled, so is there really a need for such a chip still?IanCutress - Monday, May 14, 2012 - link
There are several PLX chips. There is one that acts like the NF200, which increases the PCIe 3.0 lanes to 32 (for x8/x8/x8/x8), and there are others which increase the number of PCIe 2.0 lanes for additional controllers (SATA, NIC). The latter is on this board, the former (the PLX PEX 8747, http://www.plxtech.com/products/expresslane/pex874... is on other boards (Sniper 3, Z77H2-AX) and incurs a bigger cost.Ian
etamin - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
Thanks for clearing that up. That's a pretty substantial list of chips for lane expansion.ggathagan - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
I'm mystified by the use of the Realtek NIC for LAN testing instead of the Intel NIC.It's generally stated that the Intel NIC is superior.
Were both tested and the Realtek the better performer?
If so, there's been a lot of FUD concerning the Realtek.
The inevitable grammer comment from the 3rd paragraph of page 1:
With this in mind, there are current two obvious answers...
Should be:
With this in mind, there are currently two obvious answers...