Asus P8Z77 VPRO motherboard: specifications, reviews

In 2012, ASUS released several motherboards based on the Z77 Express chipset, which were designed to take the entire market segment from a low price budget to a high one. As usual, the budget class had rather meager overclocking capabilities, which could not be said about the more expensive options, but they cost an order of magnitude more expensive.

The middle ground was the Asus P8Z77 VPro (V Pro) motherboard, which had not only good characteristics, but also good overclocking functions. Why, after so many years, the question about motherboards on socket 1155 becomes relevant again? Because not everyone who wants to assemble their own computer, especially a gaming one, has a budget for new and modern equipment. 1155 processors can easily be found at flea markets at affordable prices, but their basic characteristics may not be enough today, so they need overclocking. But in order to perform the same overclocking, you need a good motherboard .

The Asus P8Z77 VPRO motherboard is a great option today for the money. Of course, it’s impossible to find a new one anywhere , but in the secondary market it ’s no problem, although there are not so many of them. However, it is worth sorting everything out in order.

Description

Before you start the review of the Asus P8Z77 VPro, it is worth saying a few words about the board itself.

The socket with which the Asus P8Z77 VPro board works is LGA1155. This means that the board works with all processors of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge family. Due to the good overclocking (overclocking) capabilities, the most advantageous options for this model will be core i-7 2600 K , 2700 K and 3770 K. Among the core i-5 family, the legendary 2500 K , 2550 K and 3570 K are perfect . Of course , you can overclock other models of these two families, but the previously listed are in priority.

Another important innovation in the Asus P8Z77 VPro was the ability to control the rotation speed of coolers (fans) through a separate menu in the BIOS.

The changes also affected the USB 3. 0 system. In particular, the data transfer speed when using these connectors increased by as much as 170%. This was achieved through the introduction of support for the UASP protocol, for which it is necessary to thank the company's engineers .

It is also worth mentioning the support of the Asus P8Z77 VPro Thunderbolt interface. This model was one of the first in the ranks of the company, which came out with a new connector. More about it will be in a special section .

Well, and, of course, ASUS branded developments, such as TPU, MEM Ok, All Suite II and more , have not gone anywhere. We will try to tell about everything in the review.

Overview

We would like to start the review of the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard by considering its appearance and various elements.

The motherboard textolite is painted in dark color, which undoubtedly gives the board a more rigorous and “ serious ” look. Thanks to the standard format (ATX) and sizes, all the elements and connectors are located in their usual places, and not as is the case with mini-ATX . The socket for the central processor here, as mentioned earlier, is LGA 1155, and it supports working with both the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge generations, moreover, from the “ box ” , without the need to additionally flash BIOS.

Near the processor socket there are 4 slots for DDR 3 RAM slots. There is support for dual channel mode. To do this, the same memory modules should be located in the same color connectors. The maximum amount of RAM that the board allows you to install is 32 GB . As for the memory frequency, then, as indicated on the official website of the manufacturer, the motherboard supports modules with a frequency of 2400 MHz .

By the way, a little about the processor cooling system. If you plan to overclock, then you need a pretty good cooler, most likely a tower type. If it is too large, then it may well happen that he will block the nearest connector for RAM. If the modules are equipped with additional cooling, then the second connector may not be available. This is worth considering.

Below the processor socket are several expansion slots, painted in different colors. The two smallest are PCI 2.0 x1. Between them are PCI-E 3.0 X16 (top) and PCI-E 3.0 X8. There are also 2 regular PCI slots. Well, and closes all 1 slot format PCI-E 2.0 X4. The layout is quite successful, there is a margin in distance, so you can safely install 2 large-sized gaming video cards on the board.

As for the work of the slots, it is implemented here as follows. If there is only one video card on the motherboard, then it will work in 16x / 0 mode. Well, if 2 cards are inserted, then the work will take place in 8x / 8x mode. It is also important to remember that to ensure the operation of one video card in 16x mode , it must be inserted into the first PCI slot, that is, which is painted in dark blue.

In addition to all this, on the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard, you can find several controllers from a third-party manufacturer ASmedia, which are responsible for the operation of PCI slots. This fact can be safely added to the pros, because, unlike other controller manufacturers, ASmedia has no compatibility problems with some older PCI boards.

In the lower right part of the motherboard there is a cooling radiator for removing heat from the chipset, 8 SATA ports and ASUS branded switches for TPU and EPU modes. Next to them you can also find a small green LED. It is necessary so that in case of any malfunctions it is possible to establish the cause by the emitted light signal. By the way, there are 2 more such LEDs on the board - one near the processor, and the other near the memory slots .

If we talk about SATA ports, then they, like PCI slots, are painted in different colors. 4 blue and 2 white ports are based on the INTEL Z77 Express chipset . The former provide data transfer rates up to 3 Gbit / s., The second - 6 Gbit / s. Two more ports are controlled by a separate controller from the same ASMedia. The data transfer rate is 6 Gb / s.

In addition, the motherboard has 8 generation 3 USB ports. 0. Four of them are traditionally controlled by the 77th Intel chipset. The work of the remaining four is provided by another controller from ASMedia - ASM 1042.

An interesting fact: SATA ports and USB connectors that are controlled by ASMedia controllers may be inactive. This is directly related to which of the PCI slots are currently involved.

It is definitely worth mentioning the ASUS ' proprietary feature - USB BIOS Flashback. This technology allows not only to safely update BIOS firmware, but also protects it from possible problems. I especially want to highlight additional reinsurance in case something nevertheless went wrong - the BIOS chip can be safely removed from its connector, and when the problems are fixed, insert it into place.

For sound on the motherboard Asus P8Z77 VPro meets the well-known codec Realtek, which provides support for eight-channel sound. Nothing remarkable.

The network module also does not stand out anything special - this is Intel WG 82579 V.

The rear panel of the Asus P8Z77 VPro has many outputs and connectors. Here is a list of them:

• Combined PS / 2 mouse / keyboard connector .
• 2 USB 3.0 ports (next to P / S2).
• 2 USB ports 2.0 (located below and have a black color).
• Thunderbolt connector, HDMI and SPDIF optical audio output .
• Next comes the classic VGA connector and one DVI .
• Under them are 2 more USB 3.0 ports and an RJ-45 connector .
• Completes all the usual audio unit with six inputs.

Well, in conclusion, it's worth a little talk about the cooling system of the board itself. If you look, you can find 3 radiators:

1. On power circuits .
2. On the integrated graphics chip .
3. On the chipset.

The largest heatsink is installed on the power circuits (power elements) of the CPU Vcore. It is immediately clear that the engineers responsibly approached the matter, since power elements are one of the most important places on the board, and it is impossible to allow strong heating, and even more so overheating, in no case. As for the mount, it is reliable. The radiator is fixed using a pressure plate. A special gasket of approximately average thickness is used as a thermal conductor.

The radiator installed on the integrated graphics core is much smaller, which is logical in principle, because the heat dissipation from IGPU is not too strong. The thermal interface is used the same, and the mount is implemented through the pressure plate. Everything is exactly the same as with the first radiator.

Well, the last heat sink element is located on the Z77 Express chipset itself. At first glance, it may seem that the radiator is quite impressive in size, but this is not so. Here you can clearly see the desire of the developers to install something more beautiful in terms of design than effective in terms of heat dissipation . The only good news is that the 77th chipset itself is not very hot, so this radiator will completely cope with its task.

As for thermal padding, this is an ordinary paste, only very thick and viscous . Mounting, as in previous cases, is not satisfactory.

If we talk about heating, then all the heat-removing elements cope with their task without problems. On the radiator of the supply circuits, the temperature under maximum load did not exceed 76 degrees. On the graphics chip - 50, and on the chipset it’s 37 at all. And although the 76 degree indicator on power batteries is quite high, this can still be considered an acceptable result. But if you raise the question of more efficient cooling, it is best to use a cooler not of a tower type, but a low-profile one with a fan of 120 mm . Thus, the air flow will not only cool the central processor, but also the radiators of the power circuits and the integrated graphic core.

Important! Since the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard is currently only available at flea markets, immediately after the purchase you should check the condition of the thermal interfaces and be sure to change the thermal paste on the chipset heatsink.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of the Asus P8Z77 VPro are shown in the table below.

On this with the technical specifications completed, you can proceed to the next paragraph.

Main functions

Now, after considering the technical characteristics of the Asus P8Z77 VPro, you can move on to the main functions and features of the board. They will be discussed below.

Fan xpert 2

Fan speed control. Thanks to the FAN Xpert 2 technology, the user can independently adjust the rotation speed of coolers at various temperatures through BIOS. The most important thing is that the connected fans should have a 4pin connector, and not 3. This is important because such models have a PWM controller , which is responsible for the rotation speed. By the way, on the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard there are as many as 6 4pin connectors.

So, after entering the BIOS menu, just go to the Monitor tab, where, in fact, the temperature of the processor, motherboard, the number of connected fans and their rotation speed are displayed. Changing the parameters is easy, just scroll down the menu a little. In addition to manual settings, there are several presets , including automatic mode. In general, it makes no sense to go into details, everything is clear enough.

MEM OK for memory

MEM OK. Asus P8Z77 VPro got this function for a reason. It often happens that the user wants to “upgrade” his system a bit in terms of RAM and buys a few new larger bars. But what a surprise it is when an absolutely new memory bar is not detected by the system! The reasons can be different and the most common of them is the incompatible frequency of the memory and the motherboard. So, the MEM OK function allows you to automatically reduce the frequency of the new memory RAM to the most suitable, for example, 1333 MHz, and thereby " make " it work.

To use this function, just click on one small button, which is located next to the memory slots. There is also a signaling LED reporting errors.

Thunderbolt

Another of the main features of the motherboard is the presence of the Thunderbolt interface. Asus P8Z77 VPro was one of the first boards of the company in which this interface appeared. Its main feature is that it allows you to transfer information twice as fast as regular USB 3. 0, and 20 times faster than standard USB 2. 0. The maximum bandwidth of the new interface can reach 10 Gbit per second, which is simply amazing. In addition, if you have the appropriate adapter (adapter) , you can also connect an external monitor to the Thunderbolt connector, which has one of the connectors: DVI, HDMI, VGA, D-sub, etc.

BIOS

The Asus P8Z77 VPro BIOS deserves a separate section. First of all, I want to note the convenience of using the UEFI system (BIOS shell). Navigation is fast, there is support for the mouse cursor. You can select the interface language. It is also very convenient to engage in overclocking and monitor all temperature information in real time.

In general , Asus P8Z77 VPro BIOS is completely identical to more advanced models, for example, ASUS Sabertooth, which also works on the Z77 socket.

It is also worth mentioning the Asus P8Z77 VPro BIOS update, which was released in September 2013. It includes important corrections and improvements that can improve system stability, especially during overclocking.

Tests

Before you start testing, it is worth talking about the configuration. Since Asus P8Z77 VPro works on LGA1155 (socket), the processor on it was installed Intel core i-7 2600K. RAM - 2 strips of 2 GB 1600 MHz each , graphics card - GTX 580 1, 5 GB . The configuration as a whole is simple, but for tests it will do.

CPU overclocking

Since the board is prone to overclocking, it is worth checking its capabilities. The multiplier is set at 48, the voltage is 1,472V, and the bus frequency is increased to 100, 7 MHz - this is the most successful option that has been achieved. When the frequency is increased to 102 - 105 MHz, the computer starts and works, but when passing the test in the Prime program, it freezes, and in the first minutes. Raising the frequency even more makes no sense, but lowering , on the contrary, has borne fruit. Thus, the frequency of the i7 processor 2600 K was able to raise to 4834 MHz .

RAM overclocking

When overclocking the memory, there were no problems either. The best option, in which everything works well, is to set the multiplier to memory at x21.3. With this multiplier, the frequency increased from the standard 1600 MHz to 2235 MHz , which is good news.

Performance

Well, in conclusion, I would like to summarize the results of the performance test in some applications:

• CINEBENCH - 29720 points.
• LinX - 131. 6674.
• Photoshop - work with filters on a photo, with a resolution of 12000 for 9000 - 65 sec .
• WinRAR - 5245 points.
• 7-Zip - 21285 points.

In general , the results are very good and in no way inferior to more expensive boards (if you install the same configuration on them).

Problems

Often on forums or thematic communities you can come across the question of why the Asus P8Z77 VPro does not " start ". In fact, you should not be scared, because there is nothing wrong with that. In most cases, the problem is caused by RAM, which is not completely compatible with the motherboard. To solve the problem, you just need to click on the button MEM OK, located next to the memory slots.

If this does not help, then it may be worth trying to reset the BIOS settings first, and then reflash it. This is done quickly, and taking into account support for proprietary USB BIOS technology Flashback, it is also easy. It is enough to drop the latest firmware version for BIOS onto a USB flash drive, plug it into any of the USB ports, and then press and hold the corresponding button on the motherboard for 5 seconds. It is located among the PCI slots. In most cases, these manipulations help solve the problem.

Drivers

Another important point related to this motherboard is the driver for the Asus P8Z77 VPro. In most cases, many owners of motherboard ads no longer have any kits that came with the board from the start. This means that, most likely, no driver disks have been preserved, so the future buyer will have to search for them on the Internet independently. This is best done on the official website of the manufacturer .

Prices

So the turn came up one of the most interesting questions - prices. Today, the cost of the P8Z77 V Pro board at flea markets is approximately 5 to 8 thousand rubles. The spread is not small, but the problem is not even that, but that it is extremely difficult to find a board separately without a processor. Although, on the other hand, if you plan to purchase the “ mother + percent ” kit , then such a purchase will be even more profitable. The only thing - it is necessary to check everything for performance.

Reviews

As the reviews on the P8Z77 VPro board show, the main drawbacks that users notice are the inconvenient location of the SATA connectors, the problem with some SATA connectors, the high cost and the problematic WIFI module, which very often fails. Otherwise, most compatibility problems for some processors are treated by updating the BIOS firmware.

Conclusion

The characteristics of the Asus P8Z77 VPro motherboard today allow it to be used without problems to overclock the i-5 and i-7 processors, which cost a penny today. Performance indicators also do not give doubts about the relevance and good margin of potential for this board. Among the minuses, one can only note the extremely small number of motherboards at flea markets, the high price and the inability to buy a board separately if it is sold bundled with another processor.