Asus P8Z77-V (Z77) Motherboard Review

Looking at this motherboard with the mainstream user in mind, which may seem a bit obvious, its a down to earth statement to say that you don’t have to pay the odds to get a board that hoas a ton of features, good performance and in the case of mainstream boards, but compatibility with older components and also the longevity for future upgrades. Okay so the PCB itself is not a sleek black colour but instead brown, but when it comes to the mainstream markets, this aspect is less of a selling point and we can leave that area of consideration for the enthusiast level of boards where colour is one of the factors that is considered.

Looking over the features, the P8Z77-V packs a lot into the list, with some that may not be expected, for example the on-board WiFi, USB 3.0 Boost, USB Charger+, Fan Expert 2 to name a few and for the everyday user, these are highly welcomed features. At the same time, what’s to say that an everyday mainstream user is not going to over clock? Granted this is not going to be done to the same extreme levels as found on a high end board that costs a whole heap more, but the ability to give the board and chip a reasonable boost and reap the benefits that come thereafter is something that most users welcome – especially as the extra performance is free!

Asus’ P8Z77-V range is quite a broad one at that and there are many options to consider, ranging from a mATX model through to the P8Z77-V DELUXE which gives even more options in terms of features and specification that seen here, but this means that based on the results seen here today, the prospects are even better as you go up the range. Because of the positioning within the range, its hard to say if there is anything else that I think this board needs, as anything extra is catered for by higher specified boards so in turn I’ll rate this board based on its price point and the features and performance that is given that that level. So with price in mind, ~£145 doesn’t just sound like a bargain, it is. I’ve seen across events such as Multiplay’s Insomnia LANs a number of gamers that don’t see the need to go for a top end board in a modest priced system build as even from their eyes, the performance on the whole is just as good. I couldn’t agree more, when you’re in the mainstream market where price has a lot to say on what you can get overall, a board like this that can give a bit more for its money and also give a few features that other similar offerings lack is highly welcomed, giving higher levels of performance to the masses.

Granted a number of readers are not going to consider short listing this board or other similar boards for a top end build and I can understand why, but if its a system where style is not a big issue and you want a reasonable amount of grunt for your money with a few extras then the P8Z77-V range of boards from Asus would be a good area to start building upon.