Asus p8z68 motherboard diagram. Review of three LGA1155 boards from ASUSTeK based on Intel Z68 Express logic. Features of operation and overclocking

The most productive microprocessor architecture in the desktop and mobile segment today is undoubtedly Intel Sandy Bridge, which was introduced back in early 2011. Simultaneously with the presentation of the new microarchitecture, Intel 6-series system logic sets were released, designed to support the new processors. But, as it turned out later, Intel postponed the release of its most functional chipset Intel Z68Express until May 11, at the same time as the Intel Solid State Drive 311 series SSDs were presented. The double presentation was not without reason. The new Intel Z68 Express system logic received support for “Smart Response Technology” SSD caching, for which the Intel Larson Creek series drives were designed.

The Intel Z68 Express chipset itself can be imagined as the sum of Intel P67 Express and Intel H67 Express, since it received overclocking capabilities characteristic of the Intel P67 chipset and support for an integrated GPU in the processor, characteristic of the Intel H67 chip. In addition, the new platform received additional, previously non-existent, software capabilities in the form of SSD caching “Intel Smart Response Technology” and LucidLogix Virtu technology, which allows you to dynamically switch between the built-in Intel HD 2000/3000 graphics accelerator and discrete video cards Ouch. Many users expected the appearance of a processor overclocking function by increasing the system bus frequency, which would allow overclocking of any type of processor, but, unfortunately, such a miracle never happened. Therefore, the gradation between processors for overclocking of the “K” series and just processors remains relevant for configurations on Intel based Z68 Express.

The structural side of the Intel Z68 chipset differs from the Intel P67 mainly in support of the built-in GPU due to the presence of the Intel FDI channel. The ability to create a multi-video accelerator combination in the x8+x8 or x8+x4+x4 PCI Express 2.0 configuration is now also available for one more chipset, which, of course, will be appreciated by advanced gamers. At the same time, the number of USB 2.0 and SATA ports has not changed - 14 USB 2.0 ports and six SATA ports, two of which correspond to the faster SATA 3.0 specification. The Intel Z68 system logic also does not differ from the Intel P67 and Intel H67 in the number of its own PCI Express 2.0 lanes. There are only eight PCI Express lanes.

Comparison of Intel 6-series chipsets for desktop platforms:

	Corporate		Small business	Productive			Budget
CPU socket
Intel Active Management Technology
Standard Manageability
Intel Rapid Storage Technology 10
PCIe graphics
Memory channels/DIMMs per channel
Integrated GPU support
USB 2.0 ports
SATA ports (6 Gb/s)
Performance Tuning
Intel Identity Protection Technology
Intel ME 7.0 FW Size

As you can see, the Intel Z68, Intel P67 and Intel H67 system logic sets are designed largely for home use, so they do not have several technologies for corporate use. At the same time, these chipsets allow you to organize SATA RAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 10.

Intel Smart Response Technology SSD caching technology was conceived for those users who cannot yet afford to purchase a faster SSD drive for the system partition, but still want to speed up their work disk system. This desire is achieved by using a hard drive in conjunction with a small but fast SSD drive to cache frequently used data, which is subsequently read not from the HDD, but from a larger one. fast SSD. Moreover, the size of an SSD disk can range from 18.6 GB to 64 GB. Thus, the user can speed up the operating system and reduce the loading time of frequently used applications and games.

In some cases, it is inconvenient to use an SSD drive that is very limited in size. It's big solid state drive is quite expensive. Therefore, it is more profitable and convenient to use a small SSD disk for caching, without limiting yourself to the size of the main partition. Intel SSD 311 Larson Creek series drives were developed specifically for these purposes, which are built on SLC NAND chips made according to the 34 nm process technology. SLC chips are more typical high speed writes compared to MLC chips and a greater number of rewrite cycles. The other side of the coin is the high cost of the Intel Larson Creek family of drives. For example, a model with a capacity of only 20 GB is priced at $100, which is not so little.

SSD caching is enabled using Intel Rapid Storage Technology utility version 10.5 or later. But before that you need to install an operating system Windows system Vista or Windows 7 on HDD in RAID mode, and there should not be a RAID volume for recovery.

To activate caching in the Intel Rapid Storage Technology utility, you should select the HDD whose operation is supposed to be accelerated using an SSD.

Intel Smart Response Technology has two operating modes: “Enhanced” and “Maximized”. The Enhanced mode is more secure. In it, the system makes all records as if “through” the SSD drive onto the hard drive. In this case, the recording speed is limited by the slowest device of this pair, which should be the hard drive. When reading information again, the reading is done from the SSD disk, thus reducing the reading time.

The maximum “Maximized” mode has a different operating algorithm - recording is initially done on an SSD drive, and after a while it is transferred to the main drive. Therefore, the recording speed is limited by the capabilities solid state drive. But in this mode, there is a high probability of information loss due to, for example, unauthorized shutdown of the PC.

If SSD caching is installed correctly, an “acceleration” icon will appear on the hard drive label in the Intel Rapid Storage utility, and the SSD will be marked as a caching volume.

We conducted a small experiment on the motherboard, when the HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 hard drive was used as the main drive, and an OCZ Agility 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD with a capacity of 60 GB was used for caching.

As a result of preliminary testing of this technology, we noticed some acceleration in loading times in games and applications. In particular, according to the data in the table, you can estimate how the loading time for game levels in the SSD Caching “Enhanced” mode has decreased:

Tom Clancy's HAWX 2

The results obtained give hope for the possibility of a 20% acceleration in loading frequently used applications in a combination of HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 drives and OCZ Agility 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD. It is quite possible that the use of more optimized drives from the Intel Larson Creek family will allow achieving even better results.

Another one has become available for motherboards based on the Intel Z68 Express chipset software function LucidLogix Virtu, designed for graphics core virtualization. Thanks to this technology, users who install a discrete video card will also have access to the capabilities of the graphics core, which is built into the Sandy Bridge processor. Moreover, there is no need to switch the video connector at all - this switching occurs dynamically. Such virtualization may be needed primarily to support Intel Quick Sync technology, which allows hardware decoding and encoding of video streams in MPEG2, VC-1 and H.264 formats. Of course, you can always use the capabilities of the discrete accelerators themselves, using AMD Stream or NVIDIA CUDA technologies, but it is assumed that Intel Quick Sync works more efficiently.

Virtu technology has two modes i-Mode and d-Mode. In i-Mode, the display is connected to the output of the built-in GPU processor, that is, to the motherboard. In this mode, the functions of the main accelerator are performed by the integrated core, and the discrete video card is activated only in 3D applications. Due to this, energy savings occur. In d-Mode, the discrete graphics card is primary and the integrated core is used for Intel Quick Sync encoding in certain applications. At the moment, such applications include Cyberlink MediaEspresso, ArcSoft MediaConverter 7. Complete disabling of the graphics accelerators of the processor and video card does not occur in both modes. Therefore, a system running Virtu will consume 5 W more due to Intel HD Graphics enabled than an identical configuration running only the discrete accelerator.

Preliminary testing of LucidLogix Virtu in the game Colin McRae: DiRT 2 using DirectX10 and medium settings in a resolution of 1280x1024:

	Performance, fps	Energy consumption, W
Intel Core i5-2500K without external graphics card
i-Mode Virtu + Radeon HD 6970
Radeon HD6970
d-Mode Virtu + Radeon HD6970

Theoretically, when working in 3D applications, whether in i-Mode or d-Mode, the performance should be equal to or slightly less than the performance of a discrete video card. In our case, the result was obtained when in i-Mode Virtu the performance increased to a playable level, while the power consumption remained the same as when working without a video card.

It is worth noting that support for LucidLogix Virtu technology will not be relevant for all motherboards based on Intel Z68 Express, but only for models licensed by Lucid. In the same time ASUS company was able to conclude an agreement under which all of its motherboards based on this chipset will have Virtu support. Thus, in this regard, ASUS products compare favorably with, for example, GIGABYTE motherboards.

Now let's move on directly to the consideration of the motherboard

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard specification:

Manufacturer
CPU socket
Supported processors	Intel Core i7/Core i5/Core i3
Memory used	DDR3 2200 (O.C.)/2133 (O.C.)/1866(O.C.) /1600/1333/1066 MHz
Memory support	4 x DDR3 DIMM dual channel architecture up to 32 GB Non-ECC, unbuffered and Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory support
Expansion slots	2 x PCIE x16 (1x16 PCI Express 2.0 or 2x8 lanes) 1 x PCIE x16 (x4 or x1 PCI Express 2.0 lane) 2 x PCIE x1 2 x PCI
Multi-GPU technology	ATI Quad-GPU CrossFireX or NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI in x8+x8 PCI Express 2.0 mode
Disk subsystem	Intel Z68 Express chipset supports: 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s with the ability to organize SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 with support for Intel Smart Response Technology PCIe SATA controller Marvell 88SE9172 6 Gb/s: 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s JMicron JMB362 SATA chip supports: 1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s
Sound subsystem	Realtek ALC892, 8-channel High-Definition Audio codec supports internal S/PDIF port
LAN support	Gigabit network Intel controller 82579
	VIA 6308P controller supports two IEEE1394 ports
	24-pin connector ATX power supply 8-pin ATX12V power connector
Fan connectors	2 x for CPU cooler 4 x for case fan
External I/O ports	1 x optical S/PDIF 1 x Bluetooth sensor 1 x eSATA 3 Gb/s 1 x IEEE1394 1 x LAN (RJ45) 6 x USB 2.0 2 x USB 3.0 1 x HDMI port 1 x DVI port 1 x VGA port 6 audio jacks
Internal I/O ports	4 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s 1x S/PDIF output 6 x USB 2.0 2 x USB 3.0 2 x IEEE1394 Front panel audio connectors System panel connector 1 x MemOK! button 1 x EPU button 1 x TPU button
	64 Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM 2.0, ACPI v2.0a, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a Support EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3
Overclocking options	Changing the frequency: memory, processor, system bus. Change the voltage on: processor, memory and chipset.
Proprietary technologies	ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM ASUS TPU ASUS EPU ASUS Digital Power Design ASUS BT GO! ASUS BT Turbo Remote MemOK! AI Suite II AI Charger+ Anti-Surge ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Disk Unlocker ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution ASUS Q-Shield ASUS O.C. Tuner ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 ASUS EZ Flash 2
Equipment	2 x SATA cables 6.0 Gb/s 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s cables Instructions and Guide 1 x DVD with drivers and software Stub
Form factor Dimensions, mm	ATX 305 x 244
Products webpage	The latest version of BIOS and driver can be downloaded from the support site.

The packaging of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has a stylish design in black. On the front of the package, the ability to overclock the processor and built-in GPU, support for USB 3.0 and EFI BIOS is noted. The new labels include: the emblems of the “VIRTU” and Intel Smart Response Technology technologies, which distinguishes models based on the Intel Z68.

The back of the package is designed even more informatively. Here is a photo of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard and its specifications. In addition, the reverse side briefly describes proprietary technologies used on the board, such as the digital power stabilizer of the second generation processor DIGI+ VRM, which can change the sampling frequency and the number of active phases depending on the operating mode to increase conversion efficiency. Also, the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has support for the following technologies:

TPU, which allows overclocking and fine-tuning using the AI ​​Suit II utility using a specially designed controller.

Energy processor EPU, designed to optimize power consumption and noise levels by monitoring load in real time and adjusting the power parameters of board components according to current needs.

Integrated bluetooth module BT GO! can serve to interact with various Bluetooth devices without the need for an additional adapter. ASUS BT GO! offers seven useful functions— Folder Sync (folder synchronization), BT Transfer (data transfer), BT Turbo Remote (remote control), BT-to-Net (Internet connection), Music Player (music player), Shoot and Send (photo/video transfer ) and Personal Manager (personal manager).

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard comes with quite a lot of equipment:

• DVD with software and drivers;
• user manual in English and brief instructions on installation;
• two Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s cables;
• two Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s cables;
• SLI bridge;
• module with two USB 3.0 connectors;
• Q-Connectors set;
• plug on back panel housings.

The layout of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard is made very competently, with virtually no flaws. For ease of connection, power connectors and main ports are located along the edge of the board. PCIEx16 slots, which allow for combining video cards in a CrossFireX or SLI configuration, are located two apart, which allows you to install even very large graphics accelerators with three-slot coolers.

Since this motherboard belongs to the “PRO” category, it therefore uses only polymer-type capacitors and chokes with a ferrite core.

The SATA connectors are turned to the side, since there is a high probability that access to them will be blocked by a long video card. A positive point is that the RAM slots do not have latches on the bottom side, so the possibility of them being blocked is excluded.

To cool the Intel Z68 chip on the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard, a small wave-style heatsink is used. During testing, the radiator heated to a temperature of 50ºC, which can be considered quite acceptable.

Due to the capabilities of the Intel Z68 system logic, the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has four SATA 3 Gb/s ports and two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, as well as fourteen USB 2.0 ports, eight of which are internal. Two additional internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports are provided by the Marvell 88SE9172 controller, but one eSATA 3.0 Gb/s port is implemented using the JMicron JMB362 chip.

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has three PCIEx16 slots, but only one of them, the top one, can fully operate on 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. The second white PCIE x16 slot is supposed to be used when building ATI CrossFireX or NVIDIA SLI combinations, in which video cards will operate in x8+x8 PCI Express 2.0 lanes mode. In the case when the top PCIEx16 slot will operate on all 16 lines, the second PCIEx16 slot will have only one line at its disposal. The lowest PCIEx16 slot operates on four PCI Express 2.0 lanes, regardless of the mode. In addition, the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has two more PCIEx1 slots and two PCI slots for using expansion cards.

Since the Intel Z68 system logic does not support PCI devices, the operation of the corresponding two slots is implemented using the PCI Express to PCI bridge ASMedia ASM1083.

Also among the interfaces of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard, one can note support for two internal IEEE1394 ports due to the VIA VT630BP controller. But this motherboard does not support outdated FDD, IDE, COM and LPT interfaces.

As sound codec ASUS P8Z68-V PRO uses a fairly high-quality and widespread 8-channel Realtek ALC892 HDA codec, the front panel connector of which supports HDA and AC`97 formats.

To support the new USB 3.0 interface, two less common ASMedia ASM1042 controllers are used, which support a total of four ports. Two external and two internal.

ASMedia's chips don't end there. The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard also has an ASMedia ASM1442 chip, which is responsible for switching the video output between HDMI v1.3 and DVI ports.

To connect to local network The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard uses a gigabit network controller physical level Intel 82579.

Near the RAM slots there is a jumper for the auto-overclocking function “TPU”, and a jumper for activating the energy-saving technology “EPU”, as well as the “MemOK!” button. - a tool for correcting errors in the operation of system memory. The RAM power supply unit on the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO has a two-phase design.

The main processor power supply voltage converter is made according to a 12+2+2 phase scheme by doubling the number of elements in each phase.

The cooling of the power supply is improved through the use of two radiators with sufficiently large fins.

One of the cooler radiators on the power supply unit has a screw fastening, and the second is simpler in the form of plastic latches.

On the back side of the board there are also semiconductor elements that are cooled by a thrust plate.

Power is supplied to the processor through an 8-pin EPS 12V connector, which is designed to handle more current than a typical 4-pin ATX 12V connector.

The DIGI+ VRM ASP1000C-162 chip manufactured by CHiL Semiconductor Corp is used as a PWM controller for the power supply, thanks to which the converter complies with the latest Intel VRD12 specification.

The interface panel of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard has the following ports:

• six USB 2.0 ports and two USB port 3.0,
• HDMI output;
• DVI and VGA video outputs;
• optical S/PDIF,
• eSATA 3 Gb/s port;
• RJ45 connector for network connections,
• Bluetooth sensor;
• six connectors for 8-channel audio.

There are six connectors for connecting fans on the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard. Three four-pin connectors are designed to connect a processor cooler and two case fans, and three more three-pin connectors can be used for case ventilation elements.

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard, like many other solutions based on the Intel P68 and H67 Express system logic, uses EFI as a preloader, in which settings can be selected using just a mouse.

By going to the “AI Tweaker” section with settings for overclocking and optimizing the system, you can note a long list of a variety of options that are responsible for the frequency, supply voltage and even the operating mode of the power converter. In addition to the manual “Manual” overclocking mode, it is possible to select XMP memory profiles and activate the auto overclocking mode. In general, the number of settings in EFI, traditionally for ASUS, cannot but rejoice.

The settings required for overclocking are summarized in the table:

Parameter	Menu name	Range
Processor technologies	C1E, EIST, Virtualization Technology, Multi-Threading Intel Turbo Boost Mode
System bus frequency	BLCK/PCIE Frequency
Turbo Boost frequency multiplier	Core Ratio Limit
Memory divider	Memory Frequency	8, 10.66, 13.33, 16.00, 18.66, 21.33, 2.4
Maximum graphics core frequency		1100 - 3000 MHz
RAM Latency	DRAM Timing Control	CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, RAS PRE, RAS ACT, COMMAND Mode, RAS to RAS, REF, Cycle, DRAM Refresh, WRITE Recovery, READ to PRE, FOUR ACT WIN, WRITE to READ, CKE Minimum, CAS Write, RTL ( CHA), RTL (CHB), tWRDR, tRWDR, tRWSR, tRR, tRRSR, tWW(DD), tWW(DR), tWWSR
CPU multiplier
Power limitation during long acceleration	Long Duration Power Limit
Duration of long acceleration	Long Duration Maintained
Power limitation during short-term acceleration	Short Duration Power Limit
Maximum amount of additional CPU supply voltage during Turbo Boost	Additional Turbo Voltage
Main current limit	Primary Plane Current Limit	0.125 - 1023.875 V
Secondary current limit	Secondary Plane Current Limit	0.125 - 1023.875 V
Fixed power circuit frequency	VRM Fixed Frequency Mode	300 - 500 kHz
	CPU Current Capability
	iGPU Current Capability
Additional voltage on the processor, V	CPU offset Voltage	0.005 - 0.635 V
	CPU Manual Voltage
Additional voltage on the graphics core, V	iGPU Offset Voltage	-0.635 to +0.635 V
Voltage on memory modules, V
Northbridge voltage

Overclocking the processor on a motherboard with the Intel Z68 chipset, as well as on the Intel P67, is supposed to be done using Intel Turbo Boost technology multipliers. The frequencies of the SATA and PCIE buses are tied to the system bus frequency. Therefore, increasing the BCLK frequency above 5-7% very quickly leads to a loss of stability.

The memory frequency multiplier allows you to set the frequency from 800 MHz to 2400 MHz.

In addition to overclocking the processor and memory, the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard is capable of overclocking the graphics core built into the processor in 50 MHz steps from 1100 MHz to 3000 MHz.

You can also configure timings (delays) and sub-timings (minor delays) of RAM “manually” in the “DRAM Timing Control” section.

The power management settings allow you to set voltages in fairly small increments over a fairly large range. There are also settings to compensate for voltage drops on the processor and graphics core.

Settings for managing various processor technologies and functions are collected in the “CPU Configuration” section.

EFI also has a separate monitoring section, where you can monitor:

temperature of the motherboard and processor,

rotation speed of the processor cooler and four case fans;

processor core voltage;

voltage on the power line is +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V.

The only thing missing in the monitoring section is the RAM supply voltage readings.

In addition, in this section you can enable the automatic control function of the CPU Q-Fan Control processor cooler and case fans, which have different intensity modes.

Utilities

Overclocking the system and changing the supply voltage of various components can be done using the ASUS TurboV EVO utility.

The “GPU Boost” tab contains the settings necessary to increase the maximum frequency of the built-in GPU and increase the supply voltage on it.

Overclocking the processor cores is supposed to be done by changing the maximum Turbo Boost technology multiplier.

A unique feature, typical mainly for ASUS motherboards, is the ability to configure the operating mode of the processor power stabilizer.

With a discrete accelerator installed, we tested the processor overclocking capabilities in the “Auto Tuning” tab. It seems to us that this is a fairly accessible way for the user to activate the auto-overclocking function using the utility. Auto overclocking can also be activated using settings in EFI and a switch on the motherboard.

The result itself was a little impressive - 4475 MHz at a voltage of 1.312 V for an Intel Core i5 processor is a very good result. At the same time, do not forget that this is just auto acceleration. IN manual mode you can achieve better results.

Testing

The following equipment was used to test the capabilities of motherboards:

CPU	Intel Core i5-2500K (LGA1155, 3.3 GHz, L3 6 MB) Turbo Boost: enable C1E:enable
	Scythe Kama Angle Rev.B
RAM	2x DDR3-2000 1024 MB Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3T1K3/3GX
Video card	MSI R4850-2D1G-OC (Radeon HD 4850, 1 GB GDDR3, PCIe 2.0)
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS, 500 GB, SATA-300, NCQ
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
power unit	Seasonic SS-650JT Active PFC (650 W, 120 mm fan)
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120 mm in/out fans)

Test results:

The performance level of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard is the same as that of solutions based on Intel P67 and Intel H67.

Test results with integrated video:

When running on an integrated video accelerator, the performance of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO is the same as that of systems built on the Intel H67.

Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC892 codec

Are commonresults(RightMark Audio Analyzer)

16-bit, 44.1 kHz

		Very good
Noise level, dB (A)
Dynamic range, dB (A)
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz, %		Very good
Overall rating		Very good

Frequency response unevenness (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB		Very good
Noise level, dB (A)		Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)		Very good
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
Harmonic distortion + noise, dB(A)
Intermodulation distortion + noise, %		Very good
Interpenetration of channels, dB		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz, %		Very good
Overall rating		Very good

The Realtek ALC892 audio codec is almost always very good quality sound signal. On the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard, the sound subsystem also showed very good test results.

conclusions

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard is an excellent basis for a productive gaming PC with the ability to organize multi-video accelerators ATI CrossFireX or NVIDIA SLI in x8+x8 PCI Express 2.0 mode, as well as for overclocking. The latter will be facilitated by a large number of settings in the EFI BIOS and a powerful power supply with the ability to finely control DIGI+ VRM. A remarkable fact is that in auto-overclocking mode, the motherboard is capable of overclocking the K series processor to a frequency of 4.47 GHz, which is an excellent indicator.

The functional side of the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard is also excellent. To the already considerable capabilities of the Intel Z68 Express chipset, which supports four SATA 2.0 and two SATA 3.0 ports with the ability to organize RAID arrays and SSD caching function, two more SATA 6 Gb/s ports and one eSATA 3.0 Gb/s were added s due to two additional controllers. The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard also does not lack support for the USB 3.0 interface in the form of four ports powered by two ASMedia ASM1042 controllers.

Dmitry Masyuk

We express our gratitude to the Ukrainian representative office of the company ASUS for the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard provided for testing.

We express our gratitude to the companies Intel , Kingston , MSI And SeaSonic for the equipment provided for the test bench.

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Even before the official announcement of the Z68 system logic set from Intel, motherboard manufacturers, for the most part, were ready to present their products immediately after the public became familiar with the new product. Of course, motherboards from serious manufacturers like ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte should have been in the forefront. This is how it happened, in principle, but not all of them fully coped with the task. For example, the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 motherboard, despite the presence of a Z68 chip, for some reason lost all video outputs and, as a result, the video core built into the processor, and this deprived potential owners of these boards of a number of advantages, such as Intel technology Quick Sync. I wonder how ASUS handled the implementation of the capabilities of the Z68 chipset? Today we tested the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard in our test laboratory, and we will share with you our impressions of working with this product.

To begin with, here is a table with a set of basic technical characteristics of ASUS P8Z68-V Pro

Technical ASUS specifications P8Z68-V Pro
Chipset	Intel Z68
CPU socket	LGA 1155
Supported processors	Intel Core i7/Core i5/Core i3
Memory support	4 x DDR3 DIMMs supporting up to 32 GB (dual channel) XMP support Memory operating frequencies: DDR3 2200 (O.C.)/2133 (O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz
Expansion slots	2 x PCI-E x16 (1x16 PCI Express 2.0 or 2x8 lanes) 1 x PCI-E x16 (x4 or x1 PCI Express 2.0 lane) 2 x PCI-E x1 2 x PCI
Multi-GPU technology	ATI Quad-GPU CrossFireX or NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI in x8+x8 PCI Express 2.0 mode
Disk subsystem	The Intel Z68 chipset has implemented: 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s with the ability to organize SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 with support for Intel Smart Response Technology The PCI-E SATA Marvell 88SE9172 6 Gb/s controller has implemented: 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s The JMicron JMB362 SATA chip implemented: 1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s
Sound subsystem	Realtek ALC892, 8-channel High-Definition Audio
LAN support	Intel 82579 Gigabit Network Controller
IEEE1394	VIA 6308P controller supports two IEEE1394 ports
Nutrition	24-pin power connector ATX 8-pin power connector ATX12V
Form factor	ATX
Dimensions, mm	305x244

The packaging of the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard is not very different from the boxes of other similar products from this manufacturer. A strict and carefully executed design allows you to see the main thing - the features of the product. On the front and back of the box, the manufacturer described all the main specifications P8Z68-V Pro, as well as proprietary overclocking technologies, energy saving and so on.

The P8Z68-V Pro package cannot be called rich, but everything you need is present:

• User manual;
• Driver disk;
• CrossFireX bridge;
• Q-Connector and USB modules for convenient connection of elements of the front panel of the case;
• Plug for the rear panel of the case;
• USB strip on the rear panel of the case;
• Set of SATA cables.

After the first glance at the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard, we can say that this is a high-quality, well-made product. Upon closer examination, this impression does not change. The textolite is covered with black varnish, the expansion slots, like the cooling system, are painted in several shades of blue, black and white, making the board look very impressive. It must be said that ASUS P8Z68-V Pro has much in common with other representatives of the series based on Intel Cougar Point chips. Indeed, there is no point in developing a PCB design from scratch, since the innovations implemented in the Intel Z68 are unprincipled, as we wrote about in our first review dedicated to this chipset. Nevertheless, some changes are still present, we will talk about them in more detail.

Next to the board’s 24-pin power connector there are EPU, TPU switches and a button to activate the MemOK! technology, which, in the event of partial incompatibility of the memory modules installed on the board, allows you to automatically select the settings of the memory subsystem and launch it. The board allows installation of up to 32 GB of DDR-3 RAM; for this you need to install four modules of 8 GB each. If you install a pair of modules, the blue slots must be used for their correct operation.

Not far from the memory connectors there is a connector for connecting a “pigtail” with USB ports 3.0. This “pigtail” is included in the kit, and it is installed on the rear panel of the case.

To connect internal SATA devices, the board has eight corresponding connectors. Six ports are implemented using Intel Z68 (4 SATA 3.0 Gb/s and 2 SATA 6 Gb/s), the other two are handled by the Marvell PCI-E 88SE9172 SATA 6 Gb/s controller.

Total for connection internal devices With the SATA interface, four SATA 3.0 Gb/s and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports are available. Note that the board does not have a Floppy connector or IDE connectors, which most users will definitely like.

For ease of use of the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro on an open stand, there are power and reset buttons at the bottom of the board. If suddenly the standard set of USB connectors on the board’s terminal panel is not enough, you can use additional internal connectors, of which there are three available. You can connect either USB plugs to them on the rear panel or connectors located on the front panel of the case. In addition, there are two sockets for connecting FireWire ports.

The ASUS P8Z68-V Pro board is equipped with three PCI-E x16 slots, but only one, the first, operates at full speed. The second PCI-E x16 slot operates in x1 mode by default, but when combining a pair of video cards into an ATI CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI bundle, the second PCI-E x16 slot operates in x8 mode, and the first slot switches to the same mode. The third PCI-E x16 slot operates in x4 mode.

Since the Intel Z68 chip is deprived of the ability to work with PCI ports, ASUS engineers used the corresponding PCI Express to PCI adapter bridge - ASMedia ASM1083.

The terminal panel houses a decent number of connectors.

• 1 x Bluetooth module;
• 1 x DVI;
• 1 x D-Sub;
• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s;
• 1 x LAN (RJ45);
• 2 x USB 3.0;
• 6 x USB 2.0;
• 1 x optical S/PDIF output;
• 6 x audio jacks.

If you plan to use integrated graphics, connection issues modern devices There will be no image output, since almost all the necessary connectors are present. Switching between DVI and HDMI ports of integrated video is carried out using the ASMedia ASM1442 chip. Also pleasing is the presence of an eSATA connector, which, by the way, is implemented using the JMicron JMB362 controller. Realtek ALC892 is responsible for the sound.

Dismantling the P8Z68-V Pro cooling system did not cause any problems. The design of radiators is as simple as possible. All of them are attached to the board using a pair of screws or plastic latches. Contact with the elements of the power system, as well as with the Intel Z68 chip, is carried out using thermal pads and a thermal pad, respectively.

The processor power supply system is made according to a 16-phase circuit. Four additional phases are required for the operation of the graphics core integrated into the CPU. The presence of additional phases did not affect the ease of installation of cooling systems: even massive coolers fit without problems. By the way, ASUS engineers have increased the number of fan connectors, now there are six. The processor cooler has not one, but two power connectors - convenient.

USB 3.0 operation is provided by ASMedia ASM1042

Intel 82579 Network Controller

FireWire ports work thanks to the VIA VT6308P controller

With this we finish the external inspection and move on to the consideration BIOS features. As always, we will focus only on the sections that are important, in our opinion.

The board's overclocking capabilities are quite wide. BIOS allows you to fine-tune frequencies and voltages on the CPU, integrated GPU, and memory modules. Note that the overclocking BIOS settings of the P8Z68-V Pro are almost completely identical to those of motherboards based on Intel P67 Express, for example P8P67.

Upgrading the memory system is also available in full. The user can not only adjust the clock frequency, but also experiment with timings and subtimings, the number of settings for which is quite large.

Like P67-based motherboards, the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard allows you to customize the behavior of the processor in Turbo mode Boost or after overclocking.

The monitoring section makes it possible to monitor the operating voltages of the main components of the system, as well as monitor the rotation speed of all fans connected to the board and control them.

Enough interesting function BIOS ASUS P8Z68-V Pro is able to view SPD RAM modules.

Of course, the ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility has not gone away, which allows you to flash the BIOS from hard drive or flash drive.

Finally, the last section that we would like to draw our attention to is System Agent Configuration. A number of new options have become available here. First, you can choose the initialization order graphics adapters, as well as activate the Multi-GPU configuration with the participation of the video core integrated into the processor.

⇡ Testing. Lucid VIRTU technology

Test bench configuration
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z68-V Pro, BIOS version 0501
CPU	Intel Core i7-2600K
CPU cooling system	Thermalright Silver Arrow
RAM	2 x 2048 MB DDR-3 SuperTalent
Video card	ASUS GeForce GTX 580 1536 MB
HDD	Seagate 750 GB
power unit	IKONIK Vulcan 1200 W
Frame	Cooler Master test bench 1.0
operating system	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

In our previous review of the Intel Z68, we talked about the new technologies that Intel has implemented in this chipset. In particular, we have already mentioned Intel Smart Response technology, as well as Lucid VIRTU technology. We talked about the implementation of the first one, but we’ll talk about Lucid VIRTU now.

As you know, all central processors based on the second generation Core microarchitecture for LGA1155, including the older Core i7-2600K, contain a graphics core. The capabilities of such graphics are enough not only to speed up the Aero interface in Windows 7, but even to comfortably play some modern games (at low quality settings, of course). Moreover, the new Intel graphics have a built-in hardware video encoder/decoder (MPEG2, H.264, VC-1), which is called Quick Sync.

When using integrated graphics, all its capabilities are, of course, fully available, but if you install an external video card, the ability to simultaneously use the functions of the graphics accelerator built into the CPU disappears. This is where Lucid VIRTU technology comes to the rescue, which allows you to use the built-in Intel adapter HD Graphics 2000/3000.

It is worth noting that the Lucid VIRTU technology itself is completely software. Motherboards with Z68 chips do not have any additional chips manufactured by Lucid, however, the software component relies on the hardware capabilities of the Intel Z68 chipset, since this logic set supports Multi-GPU configurations, including in conjunction with the graphics core built into the processor.

There are only two operating modes of Lucid VIRTU: i-Mode and d-Mode.

i-Mode. A monitor or any other image output device is connected to the video output of the Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000 graphics accelerator built into the processor. At the same time, the discrete accelerator becomes secondary in the system. When the load is light, that is, the user performs standard office work or plays simple browser games, the system uses the integrated graphics. But for complex games, in the settings of the Lucid VIRTU control panel, you can create appropriate profiles that will activate discrete graphics for rendering. In this case, the image output will also be carried out through the connectors on the motherboard, since it will be written to the frame buffer of the integrated graphics. As a side effect, you can observe a drop in performance in games due to serious overhead costs associated with transferring information between the discrete card and the frame buffer of the integrated device.

Theoretically, with i-Mode active, the system should consume less power by disabling external graphics during simple tasks not related to game rendering. In practice, it turns out that during idle time the discrete adapter does not turn off completely and still contributes to the overall picture of power consumption. As a result, the effectiveness of i-Mode is highly questionable. In addition, when using i-Mode, some games refused to launch.

Energy consumption, W	Without VIRTU	d-Mode	i-Mode
Rest mode	75	75	76
Playing Far Cry 2 (Ultra Detail, 2560x1440, 4xAA/16xAF)	281	271	234
Video playback (H.264 codec)	128	120	67
Video encoding (H.264 codec)	160	91	85

This table shows our measurements of energy consumption while operating the system in different modes. Please note that the difference in system power consumption when playing Far Cry 2 in favor of i-Mode is not justified from a performance point of view. The fact is that when this mode was enabled, in percentage terms the performance was lower by an amount comparable to the reduction in power consumption.

d-Mode. The monitor is connected to a discrete graphics card, which takes care of all 3D rendering functions, but Intel Quick Sync technology remains available for use when encoding and decoding video in those programs where appropriate support exists. This mode seems to be the most relevant, since there are minimal problems with the quality and speed of applications, and the video encoding speed, as you will see, increases significantly, of course, if the application supports Intel Quick Sync.

It must be said that in d-Mode we did not notice any noticeable drop in performance in games, and therefore we will not demonstrate the results obtained in the form of graphs.

⇡ Overclocking. Performance testing

Overclocking functions on the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard are implemented quite well, just like in motherboards based on Intel P67. Increasing the base frequency is still difficult, and in our case it did not exceed 105 MHz. To demonstrate the performance gain from overclocking the CPU, we overclocked our experimental Core i7 2600K to 4500 MHz, and the RAM chips worked after overclocking at a frequency of 1866 MHz and timings of 9-9-9-27.

We tested the effectiveness of Intel Quick Sync technology using the Cyberlink MediaEspresso 7 program. The film “Death and Glory in Changde” (720x304, duration 1 hour 32 minutes) was chosen as the testing object. Video encoding was first carried out by the processor, then Intel Quick Sync technology was turned on, and the process was repeated again. The quality settings corresponded to the MediaEspresso profile for Nokia phones.

Encoding time	Testing without overclocking (Ci7 2600K, GTX 580, 4GB DDR-3 1600 9-9-9-24-1T)	Overclocked testing (Ci7 2600K @ 4500 MHz, GTX 580, 4GB DDR-3 @ 2133 10-10-10-27-1T)
MediaEspresso 7 (Intel GPU)	5 min 24 s	4 min 28 s
MediaEspresso 7 (CPU)	7 min 53 s	6 min 06 s

Based on the testing results, it can be seen that the process of encoding a video stream by forces central processor takes approximately 40% longer than using Intel Quick Sync technology. I must say, the results of her work are impressive. What’s especially pleasing is the fact that all those who own Z68-based boards can use this advantage (the only exception is, perhaps, those who have purchased boards like this Gigabyte creation).

As we have already noted, to achieve greater performance in heavy-duty gaming applications, overclocking a video card will mean much more than overclocking the CPU and RAM, of course, if these components do not limit the performance of your accelerator. Otherwise, the performance increase occurs in proportion to the increase in CPU and memory clock speeds, which, however, is not surprising.

⇡ Conclusions

The ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard is a solid, high-quality product that implements all the functionality that Intel has built into its new Z68 series chipsets. The board is equipped with a wide range of expansion slots and is not without a whole bunch of overclocking functions, the implementation of which is at the level of P8P67 series boards, and, admittedly, this level is quite high. Ordinary users who are not alien to the desire to overclock and who at the same time want to get all the modern “tricks” should like the new product from ASUS.

The laboratory site continues to introduce its readers to motherboards in the lower price range based on the Intel Z68 Express chipset. Have been previously tested ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 And Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3, in continuation of the topic, we will consider ASUS P8Z68-V LX - a direct price competitor for the above-mentioned boards.

Let's start the review, as usual, with packaging and delivery.

Packaging and equipment

advertising

The design of the box is not original: the base itself is painted in dark colors, only large letters of the model name and logos of supported technologies stand out. Such packaging does not attract much attention, but it is informative.

On the reverse side you can find a photograph of the product and a list of its main characteristics, which allows you to some extent avoid buying a “pig in a poke.” There is also a portion of inevitable advertising in the form of a description of the operation of some technologies.

When you open the box, you see the motherboard itself, packed in an antistatic bag:

advertising

It is fixed tightly, there should be no problems with transportation. The delivery kit is partly located at the bottom of the box, and partly (SATA cables) is located inside the cardboard retainer above the board.

The list of accessories includes:

• Plug for the rear panel;
• Two SATA cables;
• User guide;
• Brief installation instructions;
• Disk with software.

The scope of delivery is extremely limited; it would be stupid to expect anything else for a budget option. The positive aspects include neither the presence of only two SATA cables, nor the absence of a Q-Connector adapter in the package.

Board design and features

The ASUS P8Z68-V LX dimensions are 305x229 mm, which is narrower than full-size ATX form factor motherboards (305x244 mm), but it is still wider than the previously tested Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 (305x215 mm) and ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 (305x191 mm).

Of course, there are unsoldered elements, which is typical for models in this price range, but still the motherboard does not look “empty”. At the same time, the low-cost nature of the product is striking - this is especially noticeable in the processor power converter and the absence of radiators on transistors. Well, it remains to be seen how such a solution will manifest itself during overclocking.

Back side:

There are no elements on the reverse side. You can only pay attention to the screw fastening of the radiator of the chipset cooling system and to the manufacturer of the processor socket - Foxconn.

Arrangement of elements:

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1.	ATX power connectors (24-pin EATXPWR, 8-pin EATX12V)
2.	CPU, Chassis and power fan connectors (4-pin CPU_FAN, 4-pin CHA_FAN1/2, 3-pin PWR_FAN)
3.	Intel CPU socket
4.	DDR3 DIMM sockets
5.	DRAM LED
6.	MemOK! Switch
7.	Onboard LED (SB_PWR)
8.	Intel Z68 Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s connectors (7-pin SATA3G_1-4)
9.	Intel Z68 Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s connectors (7-pin SATA6G_1/2)
10.	System panel connector (20-8 pin PANEL)
11.	Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC)
12.	USB connectors (10-1 pin USB5~12)
13.	TPU switch
14.	TPU LED (ELED 730)
15.	Serial port connectors (10-1 pin COM1)
16.	Digital audio connector (4-1 pin SPDIF_OUT)
17.	Front panel audio connector (10-1 pin AAFP)

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There are four slots for DDR3 memory, which are equipped with latches on both sides:

Since the graphics PCI-E X16 is located at the height of the second expansion slot (the top/first one is PCI-E X1), the video card installed in the system will not block access to the RAM slots.

The manufacturer declared operating modes DDR3 1066 / 1333 / 1600 / 1866 (overclocking) / 2133 (overclocking) / 2200 (overclocking). When you open the user manual, you can see the inscription “Due CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHz frequency as default.”, which means that DDR3-2200 memory will operate at a frequency of 2133 MHz. It turns out that support for DDR3-2200 is declared purely nominally, for the sake of a beautiful inscription, and with the same success it was possible to include the DDR3- mode in the specification [insert any number]. The maximum declared memory capacity of 32 GB indicates that the board supports 8 GB memory modules.

To activate the Dual Channel mode, you must install memory modules in connectors of the same color, that is, one after the other. For optimal compatibility, when using two memory modules, the manufacturer recommends installing them in the blue slots (DDR3_A2 and DDR3_B2). Dual Channel operation is allowed when using all four memory sticks.

advertising

Next to the RAM slots you can find the “DRAM LED”, as well as the MemOK! button:

The diode lights up during memory initialization and then goes out. If it lights up constantly, but the system does not start, then you should hold down the button. In this case, the most relaxed timing settings will be loaded for the RAM in order to ensure the greatest compatibility.

The role of the system logic set is assigned to one chip - Intel Z68 Express:

advertising

All Z68 motherboards were released after the bug with SATA2 ports was fixed, and they all belong to revision B3.

It is based on the Intel P67 Express system logic set. The board demonstrated a successful combination of expansion capabilities and good overclocking potential, and only an outdated chipset revision and low performance prevented it from winning the award. At the same time, a fairly high price may scare off a potential buyer who wants to receive a quality product, but does not have excess funds. Particularly advantageous in the latter case is the possibility of temporarily using the built-in Intel HD Graphics and then purchasing a powerful discrete video card. Of all the chipsets offered for the LGA1155 platform, only the Intel Z68 Express is optimally suited for these purposes, since it combines the ability to display images from the built-in graphics core and overclocking Sandy Bridge K-series processors. Of course, in the case of a limited budget, the price of the motherboard will play one of the key roles, so inexpensive models such as ASUS P8Z68-V LX, the main technical characteristics of which are shown in the table, are of greatest interest.

Model
Chipset	Intel Z68 Express
CPU socket	Socket LGA1155
Processors	Core i7, Core i5, Core i3 (LGA1155)
Memory	4 DIMM DDR3 SDRAM 1066/1333/1600/1866(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2200(O.C.), 32 GB maximum
PCI-E slots	1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16@x4 2 PCI Express 2.0 x1
PCI slots	3 (ASMedia ASM1083)
Built-in video core (in processor)	Intel HD Graphics
Video connectors	DVI-I, HDMI, DisplayPort
Number of connected fans	4 (2x 4pin and 2x 3pin)
PS/2 ports	1
USB ports	2x 3.0 (ASMedia ASM1042) 12x 2.0 (4 connectors on the rear panel)
ATA-133	-
Serial ATA	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s (Intel Z68 Express) 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s (Intel Z68 Express)
eSATA	-
RAID	0, 1, 5, 10 (Intel Z68 Express)
Built-in sound	Realtek ALC887 (7.1, HDA)
S/PDIF	Optic
Built-in network	Realtek 8111E (Gigabit Ethernet)
Wireless network	-
FireWire	-
LPT	-
COM	1 (internal)
BIOS/UEFI	AMI UEFI
Form factor	ATX
Dimensions, mm	305 x 229
Additional features	ASUS TurboV, GPU Boost, MemOK!

As you can see, the specifications of the ASUS P8Z68-V LX are at a level typical for inexpensive models. Let us add that thanks to the use of the ATX form factor, the motherboard has a large number of ports for installing expansion cards. We will introduce you to the design features in the corresponding section, but for now we will look at the delivery package and proprietary features.

Contents of delivery

As befits inexpensive products, the ASUS P8Z68-V LX motherboard comes in a modest cardboard box, the dimensions of which barely exceed the dimensions of the product itself. To be honest, it is not clear how the delivery kit fits in there, although the answer turned out to be quite trivial, but we will voice it a little later. The packaging design is made in the style characteristic of all latest generation ASUS motherboards. The front side can tell about the name of the model, distinctive features and the availability of proprietary technologies.

Among the features provided by the Intel Z68 Express chipset are support for LucidLogix Virtu technology and Intel Smart Response. The first technology is already well known to us; it allows flexible use of the resources of built-in and discrete video cards. The second is designed to increase the performance of the disk subsystem by using a separate SSD drive to cache frequently used data. ASUS proprietary technologies include the presence of EPU and TPU hardware controllers, which are responsible for energy saving and overclocking, respectively, as well as GUI UEFI BIOS firmware. In addition, ASUS P8Z68-V LX supports the GPU Boost function, which, as the name suggests, is designed to overclock the graphics core built into Intel Sandy Bridge processors.

Reverse side, except for schematic illustration and brief characteristics motherboard, contains an extended description of key proprietary technologies.

The ASUS P8Z68-V LX package includes:

• plug for the rear panel of I/O Shield;
• two SATA 6 Gb/s cables;
• DVD with drivers and software;
• detailed user manual.

The set of accessories is very modest, if not “poor”! A couple of additional SATA cables and a set of branded Q-Connectors certainly wouldn't hurt.

Design

The ASUS P8Z68-V LX motherboard is made in the ATX form factor, but the dimensions printed circuit board are 305 x 229 mm, which is 15 mm narrower than the standard. This means that the right edge of the board has no mounting points, so care must be taken when handling the memory modules and the ATX24 power cable.

The location of the connectors is close to the classic one, the free placement of components on the RSV guarantees convenience when assembling the system unit yourself. The board is based on the Intel Z68 Express system logic set, which, as we have already said, combines full support for Intel Sandy Bridge K series with the ability to use an integrated Intel HD Graphics video card. Thanks to LucidLogix Virtu technology, you can automatically switch between the built-in video core and discrete accelerators depending on the nature and severity of the load, as well as use Clear Video HD hardware video processing technologies and Quick Sync media encoding acceleration technologies.

Chipset capabilities allow you to install any processors on the board Intel Celeron, Pentium and Core i3/i5/i7 in LGA1155 version, and four RAM slots are designed to support SDRAM DDR3 with a total capacity of up to 32 GB. The operating frequency of RAM modules is supported up to 2200 MHz inclusive. Despite the stated support for AMD CrossFireX, ASUS P8Z68-V LX has only one full PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, while the second connector has only four PCI-E 2.0 lanes. This scheme is unlikely to be suitable for organizing a full-fledged AMD CrossFireX, but it is quite suitable for installing controllers that require interface bandwidth. Three PCI slots are provided for installing expansion cards, which are implemented on the basis of the ASMedia ASM1083 bridge adapter. There are also two PCI-E 2.0 x1 ports that share throughput with PCI-E 2.0 x16@x4 connector. This means that when using at least one of PCI-E slots 2.0 x1 the second PCI-E 2.0 x16 port automatically switches to x16@x2 mode.

The disk subsystem is implemented solely through the capabilities of the system logic: two SATA 6 Gbit/s ports and four SATA 3 Gbit/s ports. Intel Smart Response technology and the ability to create RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5 and 10 are supported. There are no additional SATA channels, as well as eSATA and ATA-133 ports. Note that everything Intel chipsets Z68 Express is initially free of the bug that caused storage subsystem failures in early revisions of system logic sets for LGA1155.

To connect peripherals, ASUS P8Z68-V LX offers 12 USB 2.0 ports and a pair of USB 3.0 connectors. To support the last two, there is an additional ASMedia ASM1042 chip. Note that the board has reserved space for installing another high-speed serial bus controller of the third revision, but it is not used in this model. Local network support is implemented on the basis of a completely reliable NIC Realtek 8111E, which supports speeds up to 1000 Mbit/s inclusive. There is nothing unusual in the organization of the audio subsystem, which uses the eight-channel Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec. To output digital audio stream there is optical output S/PDIF.

The rear panel configuration of ASUS P8Z68-V LX is determined by the board's support for integrated graphics:

• PS/2 combo port;
• four USB 2.0 connectors and a pair of USB 3.0;
• RJ-45 network port;
• video outputs: D-SUB, DVI-D, HDMI;
• six analog audio ports;
• optical S/PDIF output.

Note that simultaneous use of DVI-D and HDMI is impossible, but this limitation is due to the features of the graphics core integrated into Sandy Bridge, and not the motherboard.

Subsystem ASUS power supply The P8Z68-V LX combines features typical of low-cost models with features more commonly found on high-end motherboards. Thus, the motherboard is equipped with an additional eight-pin EPS12V connector, and the VRM is made according to a six-channel circuit, where four phases generate voltages for the computing cores, and the remaining two for the Uncore logic. At the same time, the power elements do not have heatsinks, which can lead to their overheating when overclocking processors with a significant increase in voltage. The converter circuit is controlled by an EPU ASP1000RM PWM controller, the true manufacturer of which we have not been able to establish.

System ASUS cooling The P8Z68-V LX features a single flat heatsink on the Intel Z68 Express chip. In this case, the use of such a simple design is absolutely justified, because the heat dissipation of the chipset does not exceed 6 watts.

To connect fans, the board is equipped with four connectors, two of which support control of the speed of rotation of the impellers via pulse-width modulation (PWM). Among the additional features designed to facilitate the overclocking process on the ASUS P8Z68-V LX, we note the MemOK! button located next to the ATX24 connector, and the TPU microswitch, which is hidden at the bottom of the board, near the third PCI port. The first is designed to safely start the system in the event of setting ineffective RAM parameters, and the second activates the automatic overclocking function.

In our opinion, the design of the ASUS P8Z68-V LX motherboard is very successful, and the use of high-quality components has long become a standard and does not require separate comments. The arrangement of slots and connectors ensures ease of assembly, and a fairly powerful power supply subsystem promises some overclocking potential. The only thing we would like to see is radiators on the power elements of the VRM of the central processor, the presence of which has a very positive effect on the stability of operation in high-speed mode.