At $208 the ASUS P8Z77-Pro might surprise you, with three PCIe 3.0 16x slots (dual GPUs are limited to 8x speeds), two of both PCIe 1x and legacy PCI slots, four each of SATA2 and SATA 6Gbps ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, a half dozen USB 3.0 ports and built in WiFi it is not exactly a basic Z77 board. It does suffer from the common ailment of Z77/Ivy Bridge systems, the overclocking potential is good but not excellent, though it was rock solid at the 4.79GHz that [H]ard|OCP managed to push it to. ASUS does offer better Z77 boards at higher prices for the hard core enthusiasts which may be why this board didn't pick up an award. For those not looking to overclock much and would rather save a few dollars the P8Z77-Pro is a solid contender for your hard earned money.
"The P8Z77-V Pro is a perfect example of how powerful the ASUS P8xxx series is and what it has to offer. While many would consider it a stripped down model, it is anything but. While not as feature rich as some in the series, the P8Z77-V Pro does have a lot to offer, especially given its price point."
Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
- Biostar Hi-Fi Z77X Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
- Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 TH Z77 motherboard review: dual Thunderbolt @ Hardware.info
- Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH Intel LGA 1155 @ techPowerUp
- Two High-Quality LGA 1155 Mainboards from Gigabyte: GA-Z77X-UD3H and GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WIFI @ X-bit Labs
- ASRock X79 Extreme11 @ Kitguru
- ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard Review @ Legit Reviews
- BIOS Option Of The Week – PCI Master Bus TimeOut Control @ TechARP
On the better motherboards,
On the better motherboards, the SATA ports are all nicely stacked at right angles to the motherboard for better cable management.
So why do the motherboard manufacturers almost always have the ATX 24 pin power connector sticking straight up. It is at the edge of the board.