ASUS Intel Z87 Motherboard Lineup Preview

Date: May 16, 2013

Manufacturer: ASUS

Tagged: z87, tuf, ROG, Intel Z87, haswell, asus

Introduction

Today, ASUS introduces their Intel Z87-based motherboard lineup with board refreshes across all of their product lines: ASUS (mainstream), Republic of Gamers (ROG), The Ultimate Force (TUF), and Workstation (WS). With the exception of their TUF and ROG board lines, ASUS decided to introduce a new and improved color scheme for their boards - black and gold. The motherboard surfaces are black with gold colored heat sinks. While black and gold may not seem like the best match-up, don't judge the boards until you have seen them first hand - the black and gold go very well together.

ROG Motherboards

ASUS Maximus VI Gene
Courtesy of ASUS

Their ROG line will include the Maximus VI Extreme, the Maximus VI Formula, the Maximus VI Gene, and the Maximus VI Hero. All ROG boards feature the standard red and black color scheme common to that brand. Additionally, ASUS includes SupremeFX audio standard with all ROG boards and their Sonic Radar on-screen overlay technology. Sonic Radar is an in-game overlay that can be used to accurately pinpoint game-based sound sources. For powering these boards, ASUS includes 60amp-rated blackwing chokes and NexFET MOSFETS with 90% power efficiency operation. Use of these power components was seen to reduce on-board temperatures in the ASUS labs by as much as 5 degrees Celcius.

ASUS Maximus VI Extreme
Courtesy of ASUS

ASUS upped the ante even more with their Maximus VI Extreme board by including the ASUS OC Panel. This panel includes a display and can be mounted in a 5.25" drive bay or used externally for real time voltage and temperature monitoring as well as tweaking of various frequency and voltage BIOS settings. The ASUS OC Panel is supported on all ROG boards and will be available for after-market purchase for the non-Extreme boards.

ASUS Maximus VI Hero
Courtesy of ASUS

The Maximus VI Hero motherboard is the newest member of the ROG line, branded as a more affordable solution for the gamer. This board is marketed as a head-to-head competitor for MSI's MPOWER board.

Continue reading our preview of the ASUS Z87 motherboard lineup!

Panthers do travel in groups, just look at all these Z77 boards

Subject: Motherboards | April 24, 2012 - 02:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, Sabertooth Z77, panther point, tuf

Now that so much of the functionality that used to be on the motherboard is now handled by the CPU, for instance the memory controller, motherboard releases are not what they used to be. Motherboard manufacturers have come to terms with this and now it is extra features such as distinctive heatsinks, large amounts of extra ports and other addons that distinguish one board from another. For instance the ASUS Sabertooth Z77 is a member of their TUF series which means that solid electrolytic capacitors and alloy chokes are used on the board and that it has gone through rigorous testing that goes far beyond electrical verification and includes physical abuse. As you can see below it also sports a protective shroud over the majority of the components. See how well it performs and what extras ASUS included on this board at [H]ard|OCP.

"ASUS brings us another gem in the form of the Sabertooth Z77. It is one of the first in a new generation of Z77 Express chipset based motherboards which many will no doubt consider when Intel’s next generation Ivy Bridge processors drop soon. The beauty of it is, being LGA 1155, Sandy Bridge will work just fine, if not downright well."

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Motherboards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

The tough get tougher - meet the ASUS Sabertooth P67

Subject: Motherboards | May 23, 2011 - 05:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, Sabertooth, p67, tuf

[H]ard|OCP took a look at the ASUS Sabertooth P67, which is a member of ASUS' armour plated TUF series. The two PCIe 16x slots, three PCIe 1x slots and two SATA 6Gb/s ports do not look unusual the TUF Thermal Armour does not. Almost all of the components are covered by the heatsink, don't worry though as ASUS' Thermal Radar can see them. That feature will keep an eye on your components temperatures, which is good thing as the TurboV EVO software makes overclocking a breeze. The review was not barren of complaints, there are several improvements that [H] felt were necessary but that was not enough to spoil the overall stellar performance of the board.

"The Sabertooth P67 motherboard is the latest member of ASUS' TUF series of products. The board is built to be champion, with some of the best performance we have seem to date out of the Intel P67 platform."