ASUS Sabertooth Z77 motherboard review: description, specs and reviews

Gaming motherboards have always attracted the attention of potential buyers, who are interested not only in the potential for overclocking the basic components, but also in the constant stability of the entire system with convenient functionality. That's just the price of such solutions can not afford an ordinary buyer. Naturally, the market demanded a compromise, and it was found. Name it ASUS Sabertooth Z77. The motherboard for game lovers, the cost of which does not exceed the psychological barrier of 10,000 rubles. In this article the reader will get acquainted with this wonderful product, learn all its advantages and disadvantages, and also see the full description, characteristics and feedback of the owners.

To measure with series

Users have long been accustomed to the fact that elite products from the company ASUS are positioned under the logo of the Republic of Gamers (ROG), so many potential buyers certainly could assume that ASUS Sabertooth Z77 - a special motherboard from this series. In fact, things are somewhat different.

The ROG series is positioned as the best products from the best products on the world market. That is, there simply can not be anything higher by classification. But between the elite segment and the budget class there are several layers in which products of decent quality are located with affordable to many consumers.

First, we are talking about products with the logo Deluxe (the same marking WS or Gold). Motherboards of this classification are highly respected by all users who understand computer technology. The next, down the ladder, is the TUF (The Ultimate Force) class. It is in it and includes a series of Sabertooth motherboards.

First meeting

Fans of military games in their reviews note that the packaging of the motherboard, its design and interior design strongly resemble the interface of one interesting game that was popular at the dawn of the XXI century. Apparently, the designer of the company was not averse to taking part in the battles of the Second World War in his youth.

As for the design, it is quite informative and describes in detail the majority of functions and technologies. Confused only by the fact that in order to get acquainted with ASUS Sabertooth Z77, the user needs to open the box (there is no information on the main displays).

Judging by the feedback of users, everyone liked the proprietary protection of the motherboard from damage during transportation. The basic device not only has its own cardboard container, but also is equipped with additional protection in the form of plastic overlays, which the manufacturer managed to protect all the power elements of the board.

A set of young technicians

It is not surprising that the manufacturer provided a decent basic ASUS Sabertooth Z77 base card, the price of which is about 10 thousand rubles. On the contrary, the buyer's attention would be drawn to the fact that there is a shortage of some component or bolt for mounting.

In addition to the standard instruction, SATA cables and a stub to the back of the system unit, the customer will find in the box: a set of plugs for expansion slots, a number of adapters (for interfaces and power), a SLI bridge, two small fans (for cooling controllers), a huge set of screws And bolts for all kinds of fixtures.

One disadvantage is the lack of CrossFire bridge - this is very strange, given the fact that AMD products are often used to build a gaming platform based on several video cards. Also confuses buyers a small number of SATA-cables (only 4 pieces).

Design and ergonomics

Yes, when removing from the box, the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth Z77 is able to evoke delight from any user with its appearance. This is a plastic finish, which the manufacturer installed at the factory to protect the board from damage during transportation. However, the installation of the device in the system unit is impossible in this form, therefore it will be necessary to abandon the beautiful appearance.

Here comes the awareness to the user that before him the usual motherboard, which is not much different from 99% of the products presented on the computer market. Is that the inscription under the first PCIex16 slot reminds of the device's belonging to the upper class. And if we talk about the placement of elements on the motherboard and ergonomics, then there is simply nothing to surprise the potential buyer. Somehow it looks ugly and uncomfortable. Apparently, that's why the manufacturer decided to hide the elements of the board for plastic decoration.

Heart of the whole system

Overview of the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth Z77 is better to start with the processor socket. Yes, it has a nest reinforcement with the help of a metal plate, which is attached to the back of the system unit, but all the conveniences on this end. That's interesting, as the manufacturer of the gaming device thought, which is aimed primarily at overclocking, cluttering up the spare space near the 1155 socket with dozens of electrolytic capacitors.

Install a powerful cooling system will be quite difficult, and a passive radiator in general can be forgotten forever. A very strange and impractical approach was met negatively by all users, judging by their feedback in the media. The way out of this situation, of course, is, and it consists in the fact that the user will have to comprehend the science of metal processing by cutting (it will be necessary to modify the cooler). On the other hand, the crystals for this platform are quite economical, and the user has every chance not to acquire a huge size cooling system.

Memory solves everything

It's funny that around the four DDR3 slots, on the contrary, the user will not detect clusters of capacitors. Somehow it's even strange to see this, because memory modules are often supported by a lot of batteries. The ASUS Sabertooth Z77 motherboard supports the operation of 1.5V DDR3 modules. There are 4 slots on the motherboard for memory that can work in Dual mode and support a total platform capacity of up to 32 gigabytes. Almost one slot can only work with a memory module up to 8 GB.

As for the claimed frequencies of the DDR3 bus itself, there are also limitations - 1066-1866 MHz. Again, there are many questions that the manufacturer is unlikely to be able to answer to users. For example, the limitation on volume is unclear. After 32 gigabytes have long become the norm for many gaming platforms, respectively, very soon, after the release of another toy, the performance of the platform may not be enough. And with the bus frequencies it is not clear - what about support for superfast DDR3 memory of 2133-2400 MHz?

Power system

But the power supply is unlikely to find fault with the future owner of the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth Z77. The review, conducted by experts, proves to users that the platform is really stable and is not afraid of overloads and overheating. All expansion cards on the platform have their own power system (the manufacturer installed 12 phases on the board). Naturally, if some element fails or in an emergency situation, the other installed components will not suffer.

The cooling system of the motherboard deserves attention. All power elements are assembled in two separate units, and on top of them are installed passive radiators, which are connected together by a copper tube. On the south bridge there is a branded radiator made of copper, to which the user can install and a fan (included).

Triple Performance

It is the gaming capabilities that are most interested in buyers who paid attention to the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth Z77. In addition to overclocking capabilities, this product allows gamers to install up to three video cards in the system. As for the PCIex16 slots themselves, it is worth paying tribute to the manufacturer, which still managed to correctly place the three interfaces on the motherboard. The user does not need to worry that powerful video game adapters will interfere with each other's cooling system.

On the other hand, the installation of PCIex1 slots is not quite clear. Their location is just under the cooling system of the game video card. Perhaps the manufacturer needed to take up some space, but the ports in demand there are definitely not the place. Alternatively, the ports could be deployed 90 degrees down and provide the board with special extensions.

Pleasant trifles

The advantages include the presence of three SATA-controllers, two of which support RAID. Such a disk subsystem significantly improves platform performance. Pleases and the presence of built-in video output (integrated graphics depends on the processor). The plus here, of course, is the launch of the computer after an unsuccessful overclocking by the user.

With regard to improving the performance of the platform, it should be noted that the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth 1155 Z77 is equipped with a special shell, which is loaded with the BIOS and allows you to fine-tune the system before loading the operating system. The utility is very convenient and has great functionality. All installed components can be individually dispersed in both frequency and power.

Liked enthusiasts and "sandbox". A virtual environment on the basis of a built-in shell allows the owner to conduct tests of the overclocked platform on performance and stability, identifying shortcomings. And even if there is any failure, the problem can always be solved by resetting the BIOS by default, because there is a special button for this.

Finally

As a result, the product ASUS Sabertooth Z77 turned out very attractive: a decent functionality, excellent equipment, stability in operation and affordable price will unambiguously attract many users. The buyer can only understand for what purposes he needs such a motherboard, because often many owners who have only one video card at hand are not ready to answer, for which they are such a wonderful and multifunctional platform.