This is a collection of archived news and review articles. Search through legacy posts for information on old hardware.
MSI FM2-A85XA-G65 @ TBreak
“So first off the FM2-A85XA-G65 is built using MSI’s famous Military Class III standard capacitors and chokes, which apart from longevity also ensures system stability while overclocking the APU. These work in tandem with the digital PWM controller which helps maintain system voltage control to various components, especially the APU itself.”
ASUS Maximus V Extreme @ Bjorn3D
“ASUS has some amazing Z77 offerings especially in the ROG lineup. We have already looked at the Maximus V Gene and the Maximus V Formula, both of which were amazing overclockers with loads of features. Today we have the Extreme variant which is the very top model for the ASUS ROG lineup. It carries many features such as the OCKey and VGA Hotwire.”
ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 @ eTeknix
“For enthusiasts, it’s nice to see other subtle features added to the board, including the debug LED panel and quick function power and reset buttons. For someone who tests motherboards on open testlab benches, it’s refreshing to see, as these are normally reserved for higher-end socket motherboards such as AM3+ and X79 so for something aimed at a cost-effective market, this are very much welcomed with open arms.”
Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 @ Bjorn3D
“GIGABYTE builds motherboards for pretty much every type of user, from the extreme high end board to the more basic and straightforward mainstream boards. We were able to pick up the Z77X-UP7 from GIGABYTE. Let’s take a look at how this top-end board performs.”
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 @ OC Club
“When it came time to overclock with ASRock’s E77 Extreme 4, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it could pull off the same overclocks as some if the high end boards I have used. It easily delivered a nice 1.2GHz overclock on my Core i7 3770K without any real voltage challenges, with the use of ASRock’s Digi Power VRM design and 8+4phase power circuit.”
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 @ Hardware Secrets
“The ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 is a top mid-range socket LGA1155 motherboard targeted to the third-generation Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors, codenamed “Ivy bridge,” and also supporting the second-generation Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors (“Sandy Bridge”). Let’s see what the ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 has to offer.”
Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 @ Pure OC
“Gigabyte is all prepped and ready for these AMD changes and today we have their GA-F2A85X-UP4 ready to roll. The GA-F2A85X-UP4 introduces a new chipset from AMD called the A85 and it looks intriguing. Let’s rush Gigabyte’s newest edition to the lab and see what shakes out.”
MSI Big Bang Z77 MPower @ Bjorn3D
“MSI has been around the motherboard market for a very long time, and like many of the players nowadays, is really pushing the overclocking ability on both its motherboard and graphics card lineups. The Big Bang series of MPower boards are built around the idea of being highly overclockable and enthusiast-targeted.”
ASUS F2A55-M @ TBreak
“The A55X chipset adds native support for 6x SATA III (6gbps) ports, sadly no USB 3.0 support. Not to worry, though, as most motherboards based on this chipset come with third party USB 3.0 controllers. In the case of the ASUS F2A55-M it uses an ASMedia ASM1042 controller.”
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7 @ Hardware OC
“ven though market conditions are still relatively slow, companies like Gigabyte have a full line of Z77 motherboards to choose from. So, which one will fit the bill for a top tier system? Perhaps Gigabyte will be able to take a nice chunk of the marketshare with products like this uniquely designed GA-Z77X-UP7.”