Now that Panther Point is in full swing, and perhaps Sandy Bridge processor stocks may start to dwindle in favor of Ivy Bridge, market segmentation of motherboards is all too critical. We have gamers (budget and enthusiast), casual users, audio enthusiasts, HTPC users, storage users, power users, enthusiasts, modders, silent users, overclockers, extreme users or perhaps a combination of many. Therefore, when it comes to designing a range of boards, a motherboard manufacturer has priority targets. They can design either a product to go for one target, or a product to cover several. ASUS have a minimum of 13 boards in their current Z77 lineup (not covering H77), with a few more still to be released. One of those 13 is the P8Z77-V Deluxe, a high end product focused on power users who want extremes of functionality and the best of most worlds – an Intel NIC (+Realtek), more SATA, dual band WiFi, fan control, provision for Thunderbolt as well as regular ASUS features such as BIOS Flashback, Q-LED, the BIOS itself and AI Suite software. Even with all of this, it also transpires that the Deluxe is quite good at throughput and IO as well.
Read on for our review.
So we have survived one of the biggest days of the year for all things computer performance related – the release of Intel's new Ivy Bridge processor. It replaces Sandy Bridge in the landscape of all things processor related, with Ivy Bridge boasting better single threaded performance at lower power usage when at stock speeds. Despite Ivy Bridge being in the same socket as Sandy Bridge, we have a new trio of chipsets to tackle. As in my previous chipset and motherboard preview, AnandTech has of a series of boards ready to put through their paces with the glory of Ivy Bridge.
Today our first set of reviews begin with the ASRock Z77 Extreme4, the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro, the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H, and the MSI Z77A-GD65. Read on for the full review.
The Asus Zenbook Prime has been thrust into the public spotlight after last month’s rumors of an incoming Zenbook Ultra refresh.
The new UX21A and UX31A are similar in appearance to last year’s UX21 and UX31, but reportedly house a slew of welcome upgrades.
Intel’s Ivy Bridge processor is slated to release in June after delays from manufacturing difficulties, and the new chip still powers the Asus Zenbook Prime.
In addition to the upgraded processor, the new ultrabooks will house Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi), a new backlit keyboard, and the option for matte 1920×1080 displays on both the 11.6-inch UX21A and the 13.3-inch UX31A.
Divergent reports have clashed over whether the Zenbook Prime will utilize the Ivy Bridge chip’s integrated HD Graphics 4000 solution or a rumored discrete Kepler GPU.
Asus reportedly hasn’t commented either way, leaving the possibility of a separate graphics processor open.
Pricing will reportedly come in at ,050 for the smaller ultrabook and ,100 for the larger, and they’re expected to release in the next few months.
Zenbook Prime vs. Macbook Air
In reviewing the original UX31, TechRadar said, "It stands toe-to-toe with Apple’s MacBook Air in the fight for the title of best luxury ultraportable."
Admittedly, it drew a lot of inspiration from Apple’s ultra-light laptop, and the Zenbook Prime doesn’t look to be altering that. Plus, the Zenbook Prime promises to perform even better than its predecessor.
The newly backlit keys are another step in the right direction, so here’s hoping Asus also revamped some of the ultrabooks’ software design choices, like the unattractive volume control graphics.
Another glaring issue with the original was the lack of response in the mouse button, which could also be easily fixed with the UX31A and UX21A.
Before the 9 iPad 2, before the 9 Kindle Fire, there was the 9 Eee Pad Transformer from ASUS. Like nearly all first attempts in the tablet space, the original Transformer wasn't perfect, but it was quite possibly the best try outside of Apple at the time. And unlike most of the Android competition at the time, it was priced sensibly at launch.
The 9 Eee Pad Transformer Prime showed up several months later, but not as a true successor but rather an upstream member of the family. Combining Tegra 3, an improved display and a much thinner chassis, the Prime once again took the crown as the best Android tablet on the market.
ASUS hasn't lost sight of its focus on cost however. At CES this year it announced a 0 7-inch Tegra 3 tablet, and today we get the first true successor to the original Eee Pad Transformer: the Transformer Pad 300. Priced at 9 for a 16GB WiFi version and 9 for the 32GB model, the Transformer Pad sheds the Eee label but keeps the spirit of the original Transformer. The Eee brand that launched with netbooks back in 2007 is clearly on its way out as the last of the netbooks will ship this year.
Read on for our review of the Transformer Pad 300!
Intel officially launched the Z77 platform earlier this week, and later this month we'll see the official launch of Ivy Bridge, Intel's 3rd generation Core processors. ASUS has agreed to cart nearly everything it makes (including a handful of unreleased products we saw at CES) over to me in NC for a hands on look on video. More importantly – we're going to be doing a Q&A with you all.
ASUS and I will both be answering your questions on camera. If you have any questions you'd like to see us answer or topics you'd like us to address, respond to the comments here or mention @anandtech with the hashtag #asusivy on Twitter along with your question/topic. We won't be able to get to all of them but we'll pick the most interesting/relevant questions and answer them on camera. The topic is obviously going to be Ivy Bridge and the 7-series platform. Simple questions are fine but what I'd really like to see are topics we can have a good discussion about.
When the video goes live, ASUS is also going to let us give away some new Z77 boards as well. We'll have more details on the giveaway closer to the Ivy Bridge launch.
Make the questions good and I look forward to answering them on camera.
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