Techindustriya was invited by Asus to their Blue Print Open House event at the Picasso Bed and Breakfast in Makati. While the Open House demoed their Open Systems, they also took the opportunity to unveil their latest family of motherboards featuring Intel’s Z77 reference motherboards.
On hand were the P8Z77-V Deluxe and the TUF Sabertooth Z77 motherboards. The latest feature with the Intel Z77 motherboards is the native support for PCI Express 3.0 which should provide enough future-proofing when PCI Express 3.0 graphics cards arrive.
All Series 7 motherboards from Asus have Dual Intelligent Processors 3 with SMART DIGI+ Power Control. This allows enough headroom for enthusiasts to tweak the Series 7 motherboards providing maximum performance or maximum power efficiency. These boards have WiFi-Go which allows you to stream media content wirelessly similar to the DLNA works. It also allows for Remote Desktop functions so that you can control your desktop from most mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. Also included is USB BIOS Flashback which lets you easily flash the BIOS without having the CPU and RAM installed. All you need is a USB drive with the latest motherboard firmware and PSU.
Not only do both the P8Z77-V and Sabertooth Z77 motherboards have support for Nvidia’s SLI and AMD’s CrossFireX, both motherboards include Lucid’s Virtu technology which lets you switch between Intel’s integrated GPU and any discrete GPU.
The Sabertooth Z77 motherboard is for those that want the most stable platform for their workstation. Was with other motherboards in the TUF (The Ultimate Force) series from Asus, the Sabertooth Z77 includes Thermal Armor to keep the components of the motherboard cool and with Thermal Radar monitors the thermals on areas of the motherboard. The motherboard also includes Dust Defender which protects unused PCI and RAM slots as well as unused USB connectors.
The Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe will set you back PhP16,990 while the Sabertooth Z77 will set you back PhP14,990. These boards will be available soon.
While not present at the event, there is another member of the Asus Series 7 motherboards, the Maximus V Gene. The Maximus V Gene, from Asus’ ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand is specifically designed for gamers and enthusiasts that want to push their systems to the limit. Thus, while the board has most of the features in other Series 7 motherboards, the Maximus V Gene removes the Lucid Virtu technology but still retain SLI and CrossFireX. What is added is Supreme FX III audio to maximize the audio experience during heavy gaming sessions as well as Asus GameFirst technology for smoother and more immersive gaming.
