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<p><span style="font-size: small; ">Now that the exclusive license Apple had for Thunderbolt has expired, since Computex 2012 we have seen a number of motherboards destined for PCs with a Thunderbolt connector. Thunderbolt on a motherboard is still an added luxury, adding some $40 to the cost of the board to the user, though that can pale in comparison to the cost of Thunderbolt devices and storage. Despite all this, Gigabyte’s foray into the Thunderbolt world is initiated in part by the board we are reviewing today – the Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 TH. Using the Z77 chipset we get a motherboard with two Thunderbolt ports, but it also has the enhanced power delivery brought about by Ultra Durable 5.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6296/gigabyte-z77xup4-th-review-thunderbolt-times-two" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; ">As part of the Computex 2012 show, Gigabyte demonstrated to us their new version of Ultra Durable. This fifth iteration of their power delivery combines their previous features with a new phase from International Rectifier, which is marketed to offer up to a 60°C lower temperature than traditional MOSFET solutions. Initially this new design is being paired with six motherboards, all designated with UP rather than UD in the name. The first of these we have in is the X79X-UP5 WiFi, which combines Ultra Durable 5 with the C606 chipset. The C606 chipset is the server version of the X79 chipset, which enables increased IO and up to eight SAS ports. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6231/gigabyte-x79sup5-wifi-review-ultra-durable-5-meets-the-c606-chipset" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; ">The end of summer marks the start of the X79 refresh line. We are, at best estimates, coming up to half-way in the Sandy Bridge-E life as the top of the line processor range before Ivy Bridge-E comes to market. Both chips will be expected to run on X79 and the next chipset. But in the meantime, manufacturers are coming up with ways to reinvigorate their X79 line up. So insert ASRock, and the ASRock X79 Extreme11. This motherboard comes with two PLX PEX 8747 chips, making up to 72 PCIe lanes available. This are split into 64 for the PCIe slots (x16/x16/x16/x16 capable), and eight are directed to an LSI SAS 2308 PCIe 3.0 chip, which allows RAID 0, 1 and 10 on eight SATA ports, for a peak throughput of up to 4.0 GBps from eight drives in RAID-0.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6228/asrock-x79-extreme11-review-pcie-30-x16x16x16x16-and-lsi-8way-sassata" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
The functionality of this mainboard has been significantly expanded with additional onboard controllers that provide the board with such features as wireless, FireWire, additional PCI-E slots, SATA and USB 3.0 ports. This board could become the base for a high-end computer system, although there are a few things to keep in mind while doing that.
It turned out to be a pretty good board, although its every advantage was counter-balanced with some sort of a concern or limitation. Find out what we are talking about from our new review.
<p><span style="font-size: small; ">With only sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes available on a Z77 motherboard paired with an Ivy Bridge CPU, when we get to three or four-way GPU solutions these GPUs are itching to get more bandwidth. The Z77 specification limits us to three GPUs anyway, at x8/x4/x4. For some extra cost on the motherboard, we can add in a PLX PEX 8747 chip that effectively increases our PCIe 3.0 lane count, giving 32 PCIe 3.0 lanes overall. Today we discuss this technology, and look at four motherboards on sale today that utilize this PLX chip - the Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3, the ASRock Z77 Extreme9, the ECS Z77H2-AX and the EVGA Z77 FTW.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6170/four-multigpu-z77-boards-from-280350-plx-pex-8747-featuring-gigabyte-asrock-ecs-and-evga" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
These two mainboards are quite different, because they belong to the entry and the top segment of the Intel Z77 Express based series from Gigabyte. Yet, they both boast convenient layout, rich functionality, good overclocking potential and a number of proprietary technologies such as 3D Power, 3D BIOS and Ultra Durable 4.
<p><span style="font-size: small; ">In the car industry, there is a large variety of cars to choose from - both the cheap and the expensive will get you from A to B, but in various amounts of luxury, with different engines and features under the hood. In comparison the motherboard industry, we have nothing like this - products are built to specifications and have to remain price competitive. Very rarely do we get a price competitive motherboard with a ton of features that also stretches the wallet in the same way a luxury car might do. For this analogy, we have the P8Z77-V Premium from ASUS to review, which comes in at $450 MSRP, but features Thunderbolt connectivity, dual Intel NIC, an onboard 32GB mSATA SSD, a PLX chip for 4-way PCIe devices, onboard WiFi, Bluetooth, and extra SATA/USB ports.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6144/asus-p8z77v-premium-review-a-bentley-among-motherboards" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; ">The Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand has been on the radar for a good five years now. Initially in the form of motherboards, the ROG brand aimed to encapsulate everything that a gamer or enthusiast would need or require in a product. ASUS have since expanded this philosophy to ROG branded video cards, laptops, sound cards and even pre-built desktops. Today we are exploring ROG as a brand, probing the philosophies and testing some of the products - namely the range of X79 boards on offer: the mATX Rampage IV Gene, the gaming Rampage IV Formula, and the overclocker oriented Rampage IV Extreme.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6082/asus-republic-of-gamers-and-x79-rog-review-rampage-iv-gene-formula-and-extreme" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></p>
This mainboard based on the Intel Z77 Express chipset features numerous advantages including but not limited to high-quality electronic components, phenomenal functionality due to numerous onboard controllers, good performance and overclocking potential. As for the drawbacks, there are hardly any.