Asus Sabertooth Z77 - Worth it

berenw666

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Apr 17, 2013
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Hello, i will soon be building my own pc and am having trouble deciding on a motherboard. Here are the specs of the computer

CPU: intel core 15 3570k
GPU: nvidia geforce 660 ti
RAM; 2400mhz ddr3 kingston hyperx beast dual
Memory 1: 240gb ssd
Memeory 2: 2tb wd caviar black 7200 rpm
PSU: 750w
cooling: Corsair h40

I have a choice of several motherboards, heres the list:

asus sabertooth z77
asus p8z77-v
asus p8z77 - V LK
asus p8z77 V LX

As you can see i am in a bit of a mess with decision making. I would really appreciate some advice on the choice and an explanation of why.

THIS IS PRETTY URGENT! :??:
 
Solution
Ok! Well I never said at any point the Sabertooth was BAD, at all. Lots of Sabertooth owners in forums all over are more then happy with it and I havnt read a bad review of it. I said the OP was better off spending extra money on a higher tier GPU then a mobo, granted he didn't ask that but hey.

I agree reviews aren't everything, case in point my PSU has great reviews yet people all over are having fan issues with it apparently, I knew that Corsair RMA is generally great so went for it anyway, because I liked the look of it I took the risk and its absolutely fine no issues.

Anyway I leave it at that, massively off topic. soz. :) I think the OP knows where we stand!

shADy81

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Nov 27, 2012
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Get the P8z77-v or even the Pro if you can, its features are similar to the Sabertooth for a lot less, The Sabertooth is more because of the 'thermal armour' (looks) if thats your thing fine :) Someone I'm sure will jump in with Asrock extreme 4, nothing wrong with that, I just prefer Asus.

What PSU are you looking at? Its really not something to cheap out on anyone here will tell you. You dont need 750 W for that build unless you want to SLI in the future, I would get 600-650 W unit by XFX XXX series or Corsair TX HX and up or if you have the moneys get a Seasonic.
 

christop

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I have the x-58 version on the sabertooth and have been happy with the mb. It has more SATA 6Gb/s ports than the other choices. Mine has been a really solid board and I love the fact that it has a 5 year warranty. I think you would enjoy the board over the other picks. Good luck.
 

shADy81

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Nov 27, 2012
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Shall we make it a Poll :D. Seriously though I dont think you can go wrong with either, I wouldnt go for one of the lower end boards, less power phases affects overclocking( the sabertooth and p8z77-v are the same). The 5 years warranty bis of course a bonus, but then you could put the $30 or wehatever towards a 670 instead. That is also nice :)
 

berenw666

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Apr 17, 2013
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Hi Shady81, i was debating for a while on the psu, so i will go with the 650w. and yes it is the corsair tx650 :)

But some say sabertooth others say the p8z77 v. Im wondering whether its worth the £65 difference??


Oh and thanks to all of you others as well
Stil cant decide :(
 
The biggest difference between the Sabertooth and the P8Z77-v is the thermalarmor. This heatshield is designed to protect the board from extreme heat due to overclocking of the video card/s and processors. Now since it doesnt sound like you are running SLI or Xfire and for the CPU cooler you have the Corsair h40 which is for minimal cooling I would say that you wont even come close to needing the thermalarmor.

As far as the PSU (power supply unit) goes I personally love the SeaSonic M12ii 650w.
 

shADy81

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Nov 27, 2012
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Save the £65 and get a 670. You will notice the difference with that as opposed to no difference with the motherboard.

I'm sure lots of people have the Sabertooth and I'm sure its great, the issue is what is the best thing to do with your particular budget.

JohnnyGuru says the Tx650 is a good PSU also the Seasonic, i'm not going to argue with them, I would get the cheaper one :) Edit (actually HARDOCP says the Seasonic is good cant find a jonnyguru review for it and the Corsair V2 is a linked review from Jonnyguru oops but it still stands, knew I'd read one recently just got the wrong place :D)
 

berenw666

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Apr 17, 2013
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with the sabertooth, would i notice any difference in stability or reliability.
I know im being a pain guys, just want to get it right :)

--edit--
even though ill probably still get the p8z77 :)
 

christop

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So you think the boards are the same well the capacitors are better on the sabertooth . Just go with the people who don't own the board and have no idea the difference. Funny how people throw out opinions on products they don''t own or have used. I am done with this thread as you are not listening to people who have owned the board instead listening to people who have not owned both boards.. laterz!!!!
 

shADy81

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Nov 27, 2012
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Do you own a p8z77-v or a z77 Sabertooth, sorry if you do man you havn't really said anything other then the x58 version is good. Sorry dude I'm not arguing here I'm stating my opinion and trying to back it up with facts. Im not a guru I'm just interested in stuff and I'm reading all the time. If you know something more then please, educate me.
 

christop

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I don't own both board but have built systems for customer and have used both boards. I tend to use the hardware verses reading opinions of people who reviewed it for an article for a few days. I will just say I have used hardware that people said was crap and it worked fine for me no burn out in 3 weeks or whatever. Backing up facts is all I can say from using the products not reading reviews from people who used it for a day or 2. I am not trying to fight with you as All I was trying to do is help the Op with his selection...
 

shADy81

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Nov 27, 2012
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Ok! Well I never said at any point the Sabertooth was BAD, at all. Lots of Sabertooth owners in forums all over are more then happy with it and I havnt read a bad review of it. I said the OP was better off spending extra money on a higher tier GPU then a mobo, granted he didn't ask that but hey.

I agree reviews aren't everything, case in point my PSU has great reviews yet people all over are having fan issues with it apparently, I knew that Corsair RMA is generally great so went for it anyway, because I liked the look of it I took the risk and its absolutely fine no issues.

Anyway I leave it at that, massively off topic. soz. :) I think the OP knows where we stand!
 
Solution

StevenM84

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May 4, 2013
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Hi berenw666!

I had the exact same conundrum as yourself! I created a spreadsheet to compare each of these motherboards to help with my decision and ultimately came to decide on the Sabertooth.

My decision came down to the following:
Price/Value Ratio - Sabertooth fits right into this category, not sure how the rest of the world goes price-wise but Australian pricing is messed up!
Fan Connectors - PC parts are just not made with an Australian summer taken into consideration - I want adequate cooling without spending the dollars on liquid cooling [though I've also taken this into consideration for upgrades later on down the track].
USB Ports - I have a lot of peripherals + a USB Hub to help out.
Aesthetics - the Sabertooth looks shmick and will look great in the rig I'm building.

Ok, I might have been able to go for a cheaper board like the P8Z77-V model. Yes it has less fan connectors and less USB ports [I could get around that] but it also has nonsense that I don't need like the DVI-D, D-Sub and PS/2 ports, the WLAN module [I don't want the decreased speeds that comes with wireless] along with the TPU, EPU switches and other tid bits that I'd just never use.

Not sure which you have ultimately decided to go with in the end but I hope this helps confirm things in your mind :)