In case you haven’t noticed, there are Z77 motherboards for sale ahead of the launch of Intel’s 3rd generation Core processor. In line with the release of this new CPU, our friends at ASUS are stopping by the PC Perspective offices to give our readers a chance to see the company’s entire Z77 lineup and their impressive new feature set demonstrated and explained on camera.
You will hear about features like Wi-Fi GO!, Digi+ Power Control, SupremeFX III audio technology, GameFirst networking technology, the mPCIe Combo Card, Fan Xpert 2 software and a whole lot more! Stay tuned for our full Ivy Bridge processor and launch review!!
We also want to use this opportunity to solicit questions from our readers and fans that they might have about the Intel Z77 chipset, the Ivy Bridge processor and the new line of ASUS Z77 motherboards. You submit these questions in one of several ways:
- Leave a comment on this news post.
- Send me a questions via Twitter, to @ryanshrout.
- Leave a question on our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/pcper
To make things better, on launch day, we’ll be giving away a few ASUS Z77 motherboards as well so be sure you submit your questions SOON! We are recording the content for this on Sunday, April 15th, so hurry!!
Is USB 3.0 only supported
Is USB 3.0 only supported natively with the Z77 chipset when using an Ivybridge CPU?
Thanks
Why was the Maximus V Formula
Why was the Maximus V Formula not available at launch?and BTW, who are the geniuses that come up with such great design features such as the mPCIe Combo Card and its ideal and convenient location on the Formula and Gene , the SupremeFX III audio technology with SupremeFX Shielding and the so awesome and TUF looking Sabertooth Z77?
Maximus V formula will be
Maximus V formula will be announced a month from initial Z77 launch. I loved the mPCI-e combo solution on these ROG boards. A good job from Asus as usual.
Asus Z77 motherboard
Asus Z77 motherboard questions
1) What went into deciding which Z77 motherboards would receive Intel Thunderbolt support?
2) The new ASUS P8X79-V Deluxe has a “TB_Header” between the reset switch and CMOS switch which seems to be for Intel Thunderbolt support. Why was this omitted from the users manual documentation.
3) The new ASUS Sabertooth Z77 board also has a “TB_Header” next to the CMOS jumper, what other ASUS motherboards have this Intel Thunderbolt support?
4) why is it that Z77 motherboards are the first to receive Intel Thunderbolt support? one would think X79 boards would have been a good platform for Intel Thunderbolt support as well. Will there be a new revision of ASUS X79 motherboards that support Intel Thunderbolt?
5) Was there some sort of agreement preventing earlier implementation of Intel Thunderbolt?
6) Is there a companion card necessary for Intel Thunderbolt support on Asus motherboards with the TB_Header. If so will they ship with some ASUS motherboards or will they be sold seperitly?
7) why not simply place the thunderbolt port on the motherboard itself, why use a header?
Intel didn’t release the
Intel didn’t release the thunderbolt license to mainboard manufacturers until January 2012, the chipset and/or most X79 boards had already been produced.
What if any are the benefits
What if any are the benefits of PCIe 3.0 over 2.0? Will we only see the benefits when using a IB series CPU?
Thank you
How many PCIe lanes with Z77?
How many PCIe lanes with Z77?
Asus Z77 motherboard
Asus Z77 motherboard questions follow up:
8) What Intel controller is used on the new ASUS Z77 motherboards that support Thunderbolt? “Cactus Ridge” DSL3310 (2x lanes PCI Express bandwidth 2.1W), DSL3510 (4x lanes PCI Express bandwidth 2.8W) or something else?
9) Is the Intel Thunderbolt controller directly on the supporting ASUS Z77 motherboards in question or does it instead reside on the companion card which interfaces with the TB_Header?
10) Some competing motherboards with Thunderbolt support have been reported as being delayed due to a new Intel Thunderbolt controller. If the Intel Thunderbolt controller is not directly on supporting ASUS motherboards was this design due to availability of this new Intel Thunderbolt controller?
11) When will these ASUS companion cards for the “TB_Header” be available and at what price?
Asus Z77 motherboard
Asus Z77 motherboard questions follow up:
12) I’ve heard that ASUS Z77 motherboards have both Intel SRT and an ASUS proprietary form of SSD caching. If so, what was the thinking that went into providing both?
How much of an overclock can
How much of an overclock can we expect from the tweaks ASUS did to the memory subsystem.
Quote from Anandtech: “If you happen to purchase ASUS for Ivy Bridge, there is also a little treat in store, as they have reworked the memory sub-system. Their new method stunned Intel engineers, but should provide distinct memory speed advantages. Simply put, instead of memory banks being read consecutively, the memory is read in parallel. We are awaiting more detail regarding how this feature works.”
With the z77 virtue mvp
With the z77 virtue mvp enabled, do you only connect your monitor up to the onboard graphics? Does it then use your dedicated card in conjunction with the onboard? Or how does that work?
If I’m a gamer with a P67
If I’m a gamer with a P67 motherboard and an i5-2500k is it really worth it to upgrade to the Z77? No plans for SSD also at the moment.
Not worth upgrading. You are
Not worth upgrading. You are better off just upgrading your current video card.
On the sabertooth what type
On the sabertooth what type of bearing does the fan have? Im worried about it wearing out after a couple years and becoming super noisy, and not being able to find a replacement fan the right size. Speaking of size what size are the 2 thermal armor fans?
I honestly see no true
I honestly see no true advantages of Z77 over Z68. I own the Asus Maximums IV Extreme – Z. I’ve already flashed the BIOS to support Ivy Bridge.
Z68 already supports USB 3.0
Z68 already supports SSD Smart Response
PCI Express 3.0 doesn’t matter for graphics cards because even the newewst 28nm GPU’s do not saturate PCI-E 2.0 bandwidth.
Ivy Bridge CPU’s are not much of an upgrade over Sandy Bridge. Tri-gate transistors, barely lower power consumption, no much improvement in gaming performance.
I’m one of those weird people
I’m one of those weird people that use a reverse ATX case. A lot of manufacturers have an error code read out on the motherboard for detecting problems during post. But because my motherboard is rotated 180 degrees this number is always upside down. Will Asus have anything in the UEFI BIOS or on the motherboard itself that will allow this read out to be flipped for users that prefer a Reverse ATX layout?
How smart is Intel’s SRT?
How smart is Intel’s SRT? Could i get a 120gb SSD, and partition off 64gb of it for caching and use the rest to install OS on? Would it create redundancies then? As in caching OS files even though they are already on an SSD?
If I have a Z68 socket 1155
If I have a Z68 socket 1155 motherboard, what incentive do I have to upgrade to a Z77 based motherboard?
None. Not one reason to
None. Not one reason to upgrade.
Earlier in question “2” I
Earlier in question “2” I said “ASUS P8X79-V Deluxe” when I meant to say ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe. Just wanted to clear that up.
What would be the best Z77
What would be the best Z77 Motherboard right out of the gate for gaming? Would it be worth waiting for boards like the ASUS Maximus V Formula to come out? What would be the advantage of a later released board?
Intel is pretty much deciding
Intel is pretty much deciding when all the Thunderbolt mainboards are released. Notice NONE of the 4 announced manufacturers have released their T-bolt boards this first round!
Just moved down a mobo size
Just moved down a mobo size from ASRock Extreme7 Gen3 to Maximus V Gene. Gotta say so far the MVG is impressive in that zero config was needed to get things going. Transferred components, hit power, and voila everything runs. Haven’t had a chance to play with the riser card but a 30gb OCZ Nocti mSATA and an Intel half-height wifi will go in when I feel like monkeying antennae into the case.
I second Mechromancer’s question, what is this fancy memory change we’ve been hearing about??
My only questions also
My only questions also pertain to the Thunderbolt header. I assume it will support 2nd generation Cactus Ridge controllers in the near future, and if so;
1. Why is more PCI-E bandwidth important if available video cards aren’t even saturating PCI-E 2.0 lanes?
2. I couldn’t buy a high-end Nvidia PCI-E 3.0 video card if I tried, everyone is “out of stock”, so will it be the same with “Thunderbolt” video cards and controllers, limited quantity releases, outrageous prices, etc.?
3. Why is there no real information available? Never mind, I know the answer to that one. Intel is the ringmaster of this circus, and if they choose to add a little drama to our lives, who are we to complain? You have to love them anyway, they’re the best and always will be.
I have reviewed in depth over 100 motherboards in the last year (+ uncounted chipsets, cases, PSUs, CPUs, heatsinks, DIMMs, video cards, fans, SSDs, HDDs, etc). Asus boards consistently top my list, for reliability, features, performance, and ease of use. I expect nothing less from the new line of Z77 boards. I’m torn between the Sabertooth and Deluxe boards; both have features that weren’t available in Z68 boards. Keep up the good work!
Asus Z77 motherboard
Asus Z77 motherboard questions follow up:
13) What if any differences pro or con will there be with the ASUS implementation of Intel Thunderbolt support with respect to Thunderbolt on Apple hardware seen today?