Asus P8Z77-V LK Motherboard Review

Firstly, we are pleased to report that our Roccat Kone XTD and NZXT Avatar S mice both worked perfectly in the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard's UEFI BIOS. This is a positive point as we have experienced problems when using both of these mice in the UEFI BIOS of other motherboards in the past.

System information is provided on the main page of the P8Z77-V LK motherboard's UEFI BIOS.

Frequency and voltage settings can be accessed via the AI Tweaker page. We are pleased to note that the P8Z77-V LK's CPU and Memory voltage limits won't constrict mid-range users' overclocking flexibility; both settings can be adjusted well above ‘sensible' day-to-day levels.

The AI Overclock Tuner can be set to three different modes – Auto, Manual, and XMP. We selected the XMP mode which automatically configured our XMP memory with the correct frequency, timings and voltage.

During testing, we noticed that the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard uses an aggressive ‘stock' CPU frequency of 3.8GHz. This arises from the 3.8GHz Turbo Boost speed of our Core i5 3570K chip, but Asus takes it one step further by applying the clock speed increase in all scenarios. This can be considered as ‘free performance'.

Asus allows users to change a fair amount of voltage and power settings for the CPU via the Digi+ Power Control subsection of the AI Tweaker page.

The number of settings that can be changed isn't quite as diverse as that of some of Asus' higher-end motherboards, but it should be sufficient for most of the P8Z77-V LK's target audience.

A wide range of memory frequency and timings settings can be selected. This should allow for enhanced flexibility when trying to push a memory kit's frequency or tighten its timings.

Navigating to the Advanced section of the P8Z77-V LK motherboard's UEFI BIOS gives users access to specific configuration settings, such as those for the CPU, graphics subsystem, and SATA ports.

An appropriate set of motherboard-related voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds can be viewed via the Monitor page.

The P8Z77-V LK can be configured to make use of Asus' pre-defined fan settings which are tailored for specific scenarios. These scenarios are: Silent, Turbo, and Standard. Users are also free to set their own fan speed profile which can be linked with minimum and maximum speeds, as well as target CPU temperatures.

When the operational speed of the CPU fan is below the UEFI-defined threshold, a warning message can be provided to prevent any unwanted overheating problems. The speed threshold can be changed, dependent upon a user's preference and the specific fans being employed.

The Boot page allows users to set a time-delay between the system POST and Windows booting. This is useful for entering the BIOS while using a keyboard which can take a few seconds to activate, for example.

Up to eight UEFI settings profiles can be saved to the P8Z77-V LK motherboard, all of which can be named. We must praise Asus for providing users with a relevant number of profiles; it gives extra freedom when tinkering with a variety of overclocking settings.

Asus' EZ Flash 2 Utility is a convenient feature which makes flashing the BIOS a simple procedure. We simply connected our basic USB flash drive, navigated to the correct folder, opened the BIOS file and the motherboard did the rest.

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