Very happy with this purchase. Some of it's highlights. Supports 2nd & 3rd generation i7, i5, i3 CPU's. PCIe 3.0. SMART Digi+ power, and japanese capacitors throughout. The z77 chipset supports 6 sata devices, 2 are SATA 6.0, and 4 SATA 3.0. Marvell Controller supports a single internal SATA 6.0 Data only storage device and includes a eSATA connection on the back of the case. USB 3.0 support is provided by intel and Asmedia chipsets. I have an Asmedia controller on my z68 board and it has functioned flawlessly with every device I have connected to it. Both USB controllers support high speed charging function. Includes 3 4pin chassis fan headers managed by Asus QFAN in BIOS or through Asus Probe II Desktop Utility. Lowers power consumption and keeps your work environment quiet. Onboard EPU and TPU switches can also be controlledmanually or in BIOS. AHCI/RAID supports 0, 1, 5, 10. HD Audio / AC'97, Realtek Gigabit NIC.
Board layout is executed well. This particular board is intended for multi GPU SLi as cross-fire set ups. Slots are positioned evenly and you won't run into fitment issues with larger cards unless your case is small or has a larger tha normal drive cage. All connectors are easy to reach, even if you have larger hands. This model does not come with an Asus Q Connector block, so you'll need to connect these directly to the pins/header yourself.
The real beauty of this board lies in it's BIOS. It includes a comprehensive set of features with Auto or Manual configuration. Want to overclock your memory or processor, no problem. Asus also inclues it's TPU feature which can automatically OC your CPU and memory safely. My z68 has been a solid performer, but this z77 platform has picked up where it left off, adding more options and configurable features. The BIOS flashback feature alone is wonderful, and allows recovery from a failed BIOS flash in the majority of cases. You hope you never have to use it, but it's there if you need it.
Things you may want to pick up with this board. A 2 port USB 3.0 header for the front of your case if it doesn't support it. Adding it will give you 3.0 support on the front of your case in addition to 2.0. Helpful for charging your phone or tablet, also great for 3.0 disks.
This is a fantastic, mid priced, feature rich board. My experience with it and other Asus products has been stellar. System build was for my mother. She couldn't be happier.
| Processor | pa_8200 |
|---|---|
| RAM | 32 GB DDR3 |
| Memory Speed | 1333 MHz |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
