Besides the neat ThunderboltEX add-in card, we also took a look at the new motherboards from Asus for both AMD and Intel platforms. First up are two Z77 Chipset mainboards equipped with Thunderbolt, the P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt and P8Z77-V Premium
The Pro model has memory speeds up to DDR3-2600 (overclocked), whereas the Premium goes to DDR3-2800 (overclocked).
Image 1 of 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Header Cell - Column 0
P8Z77-V Premium
P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt
Socket (CPU)
Socket 1155 (2nd/3rd Gen Core Processors)
Socket 1155 (2nd/3rd Gen Core Processors)
Chipset
Intel Z77 Express
Intel Z77 Express
Memory
DDR3-2800 (overclocked), max 32 GB
DDR3-2600 (overclocked), max 32 GB
Graphics Output
Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, VGA
Thunderbolt, HDMI, DVI, VGA
Multi-GPU Support
4-way SLI4-way CrossFireXLucidLogix Virtu MVP
2-card SLI (up to quad GPU with GTX 590/690)3-way CrossFireXLucidLogix Virtu MVP
PCI-E
4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
3x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
SATA 6Gb/s
6
4
USB 3.0
Front x2Back x4
Front x2Back x4
eSATA
2 (6 Gb/s)
Not available
LAN
Dual Intel Gb
Intel Gb
Audio
8-channel / DTS
8-channel / DTS
As for the AMD FM2 boards, specifications and pictures are as follows:
Image 1 of 2
Image 1 of 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Header Cell - Column 0
F2A85-M LE
F2A85-M
F2A85-V
CPU
FM2
FM2
FM2
Chipset
AMD A85X
AMD A85X
AMD A85X
Memory
DDR3-2400 (overclocked), max 32 GB
Row 2 - Cell 2
Row 2 - Cell 3
Graphics Output
HDMI, DVI, VGA
HDMI, DVI, VGA
HDMI, DVI, VGA
Multi-GPU support
CrossFireXLucidLogix Virtu MVP
CrossFireXLucidLogix Virtu MVP
CrossFireXLucidLogix Virtu MVP
PCI-E
2x PCI-e 2.0 x16
2x PCI-e 2.0 x16
2x PCI-e 2.0 x16
SATA 6Gb/s
7
7
7
USB 3.0
Front x2Back x2
Front x2Back x2
Front x2Back x2
eSATA
1 (6 Gb/s)
1 (6 Gb/s)
1 (6 Gb/s)
LAN
Gb
Gb
Gb
Audio
8-Channel
8-Channel
8-Channel
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
Why are they gimping on amd board comparing to intel? Dont tell me Intel is at their dirty business again trying to make themselves seem much much superior because they half ass features for AMD chipsets. This is bullsht.
DroKingWhy are they gimping on amd board comparing to intel? Dont tell me Intel is at their dirty business again trying to make themselves seem much much superior because they half ass features for AMD chipsets. This is bullsht.Those AMD based boards are FM2....meaning they use AMD's APUs... How many features do you really need on an entry-level/budget platform?
I was looking forward to higher RAM clock for the FM2 motherboards. Those APUs don't come with GDDR5 and need bandwidth from somewhere.
DroKingWhy are they gimping on amd board comparing to intel? Dont tell me Intel is at their dirty business again trying to make themselves seem much much superior because they half ass features for AMD chipsets. This is bullsht.
FM2s isn't a high end chipset. You can only do so much with a chipset that Intel/AMD gives you.
DroKingWhy are they gimping on amd board comparing to intel? Dont tell me Intel is at their dirty business again trying to make themselves seem much much superior because they half ass features for AMD chipsets. This is bullsht.
Intel has nothing to do with it. The FM2 socket is for, as said, APUs, not CPUs and is not a full featured as Intels Z77 chipset.
The Thunderbolt is a seperate chip.
And these are top of the line Z77 boards, hence the Premium tag or Pro tag. The FM2s are entry level. I am sure there will be better ones upon release.