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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Time does not stand still and technologies are constantly being improved, getting cheaper and moving into mass production. This trend is noticeable in all industries, and ASUS has not escaped it. First, some innovative solution is used in the high-budget segment, and then it becomes available in mass products. This article will discuss the ASUS P8Z77M-PRO motherboard, which is an ordinary mATX format model, but with support for all the latest technologies, including multigraphic ones, such as SLI, 3-WAY CrossFire and Lucid Virtu MVP.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:
|
Manufacturer |
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Intel Z77 Express |
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Processor socket |
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Supported processors |
Intel Core i7/ Core i5 / Core i3 2nd and 3rd generation |
|
Used memory |
DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066MHz |
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Memory support |
4 x DDR3 DIMM dual-channel architecture up to 32 GB |
|
Expansion slots |
1 x PCI Express x16 3.0/2.0 |
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Disk subsystem |
The Intel H77 chipset supports: |
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Sound subsystem |
Realtek ALC887, 8-channel High-Definition Audio codec with optical S/PDIF output |
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LAN support |
Realtek 8111F Gigabit Network Controller |
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24-pin ATX power connector |
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Fan Connectors |
1 x for CPU cooler |
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External I/O ports |
1 x PS/2 |
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Internal I/O ports |
2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s 1 x COM |
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64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM 2.0, ACPI v2.0a, SM BIOS 2.5, |
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Proprietary technologies |
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution |
|
Equipment |
Instruction and manual SATA 6 Gb/s cable SATA 3 Gb/s cable |
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Form Factor Dimensions, mm |
mATX |
|
Products webpage |
The latest BIOS and drivers can be downloaded from the support page |
The packaging of the ASUS P8Z77-M motherboard has a familiar design in dark colors. On the front of the package is the name of the motherboard, and Bottom part occupied by pictograms denoting 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 a box with motherboard can be found:
DVD with software and drivers;
user manual on English language 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 a positive note, the slots for random access memory devoid of latches on the underside, this will greatly facilitate the replacement or addition of 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 port 3.0, which is quite 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 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 to connect to local network Realtek 8111F gigabit network controller is used. Such controllers are installed by most motherboard manufacturers, which guarantees that there are no problems with drivers.
Since the Intel Z77 Express chipset does not support PCI bus, then 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:
|
Parameter |
Menu name |
Range |
|
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Processor technologies |
C1E, Intel Adaptive Thermal Monitor, Virtualization Technology, |
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System bus frequency |
BLCK/PCIE Frequency |
80 - 300 MHz |
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RAM frequency |
800, 1067, 1334, 1601, 1868, 2135, 2402 |
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RAM delays |
DRAM Timing Control |
CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, RAS PRE, RAS ACT, COMMAND Mode, RAS to RAS, REF, Cycle, DRAM Refresh, WRITE Recovery, READ to PRE, FOUR ACT WIN, WRITE to READ, CKE Minimum, CAS Write, RTL ( CHA), RTL (CHB), tWRDR, tRWDR, tRWSR, tRR, tRRSR, tWW(DD), tWW(DR), tWWSR |
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Power limitation during continuous acceleration |
Long Duration Power Limit |
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Duration of long acceleration |
Long Duration Maintained |
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Power limitation during short-term acceleration |
Short Duration Power Limit |
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Basic current limit |
Primary Plane Current Limit |
0.125 - 1023.875 V |
|
|
Secondary current limit |
Secondary Plane Current Limit |
0.125 - 1023.875 V |
|
|
Fixed Frequency Power Circuit |
CPU Fixed Frequency |
200 - 350 kHz |
|
|
CPU supply voltage |
CPU Manual Voltage |
||
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Voltage on memory modules, V |
1.185 - 2.135 V |
||
|
0.61 - 1.560 V |
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Northbridge voltage |
0.8 - 1.685 V |
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 automatic control of the CPU cooler CPU Q Fan Control and case fans that have various modes intensity.
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 the ASUS TurboV EVO utility.
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 an unlocked Intel Core i5-2500K processor.
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:
|
CPU |
Intel Core i5-2500K (LGA1155, 3.3GHz, L3 6MB) |
|
Scythe Kama Angle Rev.B |
|
|
RAM |
2x DDR3-2000 1024MB Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3T1K3/3GX |
|
video card |
MSI R4850-2D1G-OC (Radeon HD 4850, 1 GB GDDR3, PCIe 2.0) |
|
HDD |
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS, 500 GB, SATA-300, NCQ |
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optical drive |
ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA |
|
Power Supply |
Seasonic SS-650JT Active PFC (650W, 120mm fan) |
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CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120mm fans for intake / exhaust) |
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 sound path based on 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 workmanship. 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.
Alexander KornienkoWe 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 the equipment provided for the test bench.
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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 features 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. FROM technical specifications You can find new items in the following table:
| Model | |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 Express |
| Processor socket | Socket LGA1155 |
| Processors | Core i7, Core i5, Pentium, Celeron (Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge) |
| Memory | 4 DIMM DDR3 SDRAM 1066/1333/1600/1866*/2000*/2133*/2200*/2400* (*—OC), 32 GB maximum |
| PCI slots | 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16 1 PCI Express 2.0 [email protected] 1 PCI Express 2.0x1 |
| PCI slots | 1 (ASMedia ASM1083) |
| Integrated video core | Intel HD Graphics |
| Video connectors | HDMI, DVI-D and D-Sub |
| Number of connected fans | 4x4pin |
| PS/2 ports | 1 (combined) |
| USB ports | 4 x 3.0 (2 connectors on the rear panel, Intel Z77) 10 x 2.0 (4 x rear, Intel Z77) |
| ATA-133 | - |
| Serial ATA | 2 lanes SATA 6 Gb/s (Intel Z77) 4 lanes SATA 3Gb/s (Intel Z77) |
| eSATA | - |
| RAID | 0, 1, 5, 10 (Intel Z77) |
| Built-in sound | Realtek ALC887 (7.1, HDA) |
| S/PDIF | Optic |
| Built-in network | Realtek RTL8111F (Gigabit Ethernet) |
| firewire | - |
| Thunderbolt | - |
| COM | + (on board) |
| LPT | - |
| BIOS/UEFI | AMI UEFI |
| Form Factor | microATX |
| Dimensions, mm | 244x244 |
| Additional features | MemOK! USB BIOS flashback |
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.
The back side lists the main specifications of ASUS P8Z77-M, as well as extended information about the key features of the motherboard. Among them is the LucidLogix Virtu MVP technology, which allows you to combine the resources of an integrated and discrete video card.
The set of accessories of the heroine of today's testing consists of:
- 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.
Given the low cost of new items, we can forgive her meager delivery and let's hope that the engineers wisely disposed of the allocated budget and put the maximum margin of safety into the design of the motherboard.
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 unsupported, so care must be taken when connecting the front panel connectors and SATA cables.
Thanks to the use of the Intel Z77 Express chipset, the novelty supports any Intel LGA1155 processors, including models with a free multiplier. Four DIMM slots are used to install DDR3 RAM, the total amount of RAM is 32 GB with a frequency of up to 2400 MHz inclusive.
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.
The power elements are protected from overheating by a modest-sized radiator, which is in contact with field effect transistors through a rubber-like gasket, and not very reliable spring-loaded plastic caps are used for its fastening.
An eight-pin EPS12V connector is used to supply voltage to the ASUS P8Z77-M power subsystem, but the VRM unit does not have a significant margin of safety, since the radiator cools only three of the six channels of the voltage converter. It is already obvious that the novelty is hardly suitable for serious overclocking experiments.
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.
Despite a modest margin of safety, the design of the P8Z77-M has a number of solutions that will come in handy during overclocking. First of all, this concerns the MemOK! function, which makes it possible to boot the system after setting inoperable RAM parameters. The button that launches the function of the same name is located next to the RAM slots.
In the event of a failure of the control microcode, the USB BIOS Flashback function will help, allowing you to restore and update the firmware from a removable USB drive even when the board does not have a processor and RAM.
ASUS P8Z77-M has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot to install a graphics card. The second connector connected to the chipset always works in PCI mode Express 2.0 [email protected], but this does not interfere with organizing the AMD CrossFireX configuration.
The motherboard has one PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot and one PCI slot, which works through the ASMedia ASM1083 adapter bridge. For connecting disk devices, the novelty has two ports SATA 6 Gb / s and four SATA 3 Gb / s. Drives can be combined into RAID arrays, and if the system has an SSD, use of the Intel SRT caching feature is available. The layout of the SATA ports is such that even large video cards will not interfere with connecting interface cables.
On the back of the P8Z77-M there was a place for:
- 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 layout can be considered successful, with the exception of a small number of analog audio outputs. But, there is full set video connectors, thanks to which Ivy Bridge owners can connect three monitors at the same time. In general, the expansion capabilities of the novelty are mainly based on the characteristics of the chipset, so what about support wireless networks or the Thunderbolt interface is a dream. Of the additional controllers, there are only a couple of Realtek chips: the ALC887 HD audio codec and the RTL8111F gigabit network interface. UEFI Setup
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 the current date and time, firmware version, and also displays information about the operating mode CPU and RAM modules. The readings of hardware monitoring sensors are also displayed here.
For ease of navigation through the setup menus in EZ Mode, shortcuts are provided to navigate to desired section firmware, as well as a menu for selecting boot devices.
Thus, EZ Mode is good for visual control of operation and system monitoring readings, but it is not suitable for fine-tuning the motherboard. There is an advanced mode for this.
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.
The Ai Tweaker section contains settings that are responsible for overclocking and performance, including controlling the BCLK frequency and processor core multipliers, Intel Turbo Boost mode and the Internal PLL Overvoltage function, as well as adjusting the clock frequency of RAM modules. It also includes a proprietary option ASUS MultiCore Enhanced, which improves performance in multi-threaded applications. Activating the EPU Power Saving Mode starts the power saving mode, and OC Tuner enables automatic overclocking.
The ASUS P8Z77-M firmware capabilities for voltage regulation are not as rich as in older models.
Users can control five main voltages, the range and adjustment step of which are shown in the following table.
| Parameter | Voltage range, V | Step, B |
| CPU Manual Voltage | 0,8-1,99 | 0,005 |
| CPU Offset Voltage | -0,685…+0,685 | 0,005 |
| DRAM Voltage | 1,2-2,135 | 0,005 |
| PCH Voltage | 0,8-1,685 | 0,005 |
| VCCSA Voltage | 0,925-1,0255 | 0,1 |
| CPU PLL Voltage | 1,8-1,9 | 0,1 |
Two adjustment modes are available for CPU Voltage: Manual and Offset. The first method is more convenient, since the required value is set explicitly, but in the second, which indicates the increase to the nominal value, the work of energy saving technologies is preserved. To overclock the RAM, the firmware provides modes up to 3200 MHz inclusive.
In the DRAM Timing Control tab, you can find the control of the timings of the RAM subsystem.
Fine-tuning the Intel Turbo Boost mode is located in the CPU Power Management submenu, and in the DIGI + VRM section, control of the digital power subsystem is concentrated. It is possible to adjust the CPU Load-line Calibration option, the frequency of switching power elements and overload protection, as well as turn off unused VRM channels during idle periods.
The Advanced firmware section contains controls for the processor, chipset, and additional controllers.
The CPU Configuration menu is responsible for configuring specific processor technologies, such as hardware virtualization or virus protection, and in the CPU Power Management Configuration tab, you can manage the power saving functions of the central processor.
In the System Agent Configuration subsection, in addition to the function of redistributing the RAM address space, there are options for the built-in video card.
The USB Configuration menu is responsible for the peripheral connection subsystem, while on the USB Single Port Control tab, you can selectively disable USB ports.
To configure the LAN controller, audio codec and serial port, you will have to go to the Onboard Devices Configuration firmware section.
System monitoring readings are displayed in the Monitor menu, which displays two temperatures, four fan speeds, and four main voltages on the processor and power rails.
As for the possibilities of adjusting the speed of the impellers, the firmware of the budget ASUS P8Z77-M will give odds to the flagship models of competitors. Each of the four Carlsons has an individual control channel that offers one of three basic profiles, as well as the ability to manual setting depending on the readings of the system temperature sensors.
Also, in the UEFI Setup of the novelty, a utility is built in to update the EZ Flash 2 control microcode.
O.C function available. Profile to save up to eight profiles with firmware settings, and the SPD Information option, which displays detailed information about the parameters of the RAM modules.
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 core multipliers.
The automatic overclocking function is also turned on here, the effectiveness of which we will definitely check a little later.
To control the parameters of the digital power subsystem, the DIGI + VRM program is used, and the EPU module is responsible for setting up energy-saving technologies.
The speed settings for each of the four fans are entrusted to the Fan Expert+ program, designed to achieve the best ratio of cooling efficiency and minimum noise level.
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.
As always, we have the same questions about the functionality of AI Suite II related to the inability to control the frequency and timings of the RAM subsystem. Overclocking potential
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 both for a budget class model, and, to positive moments should include the preservation of the efficiency of energy saving technologies.
During overclocking, the G.Skill TridentX F3-2400C10D-8GTX RAM modules operated at a frequency of 2400 MHz with timings of 10-12-12-31-2T at a voltage of 1.65 V, and to ensure stability, the voltage on the “system agent” was increased by 0, 1 V relative to the nominal value.
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.
Finally, we decided to test the automatic overclocking capabilities of ASUS P8Z77-M, for which the OC Tuner option was activated in the firmware. The result of her work was to increase the processor frequency to 4220 MHz at a voltage of 1.184 V, and the RAM modules worked in 1922 MHz mode with delays of 10-12-12-31-2T.
test bench
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.
Another small heatsink removes heat from the system logic.
It is also made of aluminum alloy and painted blue. It's strange, but usually it shows the manufacturer's logo, but there is nothing like that here. The thermal interface has changed, if not the consistency, then the color. Instead of a pink “thermo-gum”, a bright green one is used. Apparently, the batch of strawberry chewing gums has ended at the factory and now mint ones are being issued to pickers. A protective frame made of soft porous material is placed along the perimeter of the contact point. The radiator is fastened with plastic clips with springs.
Under the heatsink is an Intel Z77 chip.
advertising
On the this moment this is the best chipset for the LGA 1155 platform in terms of functionality. In addition to overclocking functions, it provides support for the integrated processor graphics core. For these purposes, the manufacturer provides the output of three video connectors on the rear panel. These are D-Sub, DVI and HDMI. In the specifications for the latter, 3D support is declared.
If this is quite typical for an mATX board, then three PCI-e slot x16 with this form factor is not often seen.
Declared official support for SLI, CrossFire and Lucid Virtu MVP technologies. Of course, all slots are not full speed. The top one, when one video adapter is installed, gets honest sixteen lines. The middle one, in case of adding the second one, divides them in half and x8+x8 is formed. The bottom one gets four lines stably from the processor.
ASUS P8Z77-M today is a motherboard of compact dimensions, which has a set of all necessary functions. This solution is based on a somewhat outdated platform based on the LGA 1155 socket.
However, its capabilities will be quite enough to create a compact productive computer system. Who is this product intended for?
ASUS P8Z77-M: technical features
First of all, it should be noted that this motherboard is perfect for those cases when you need to assemble a system that demonstrates the maximum level of performance in one compact case. 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 system block, disk with drivers and software. This should be enough to assemble a personal computer. In this case, there is no need to purchase any additional elements.
ASUS P8Z77-M: location of components on printed circuit board
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 to cool the south bridge of the system logic set. 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 maximize the potential 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. Graphics ports on the motherboard are presented HDMI ports, 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. The board provides two eSATA ports for connecting external drives. 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 overview of technical specifications this extension you can see complete absence 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 with a similar USB adapter. This computer component has four RAM slots. All DDR3 sticks are supported. The maximum amount of RAM that this motherboard model can address 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. It's 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.