Features -
In the current market motherboard (and indeed almost all component) performance is very close. The days of a large performance advantage between boards using the same chipset are long gone. That is unless someone makes a HUGE mistake (like runs traces completely wrong). Now, the thing that differentiates different products is the features. These are things like power management, extra slots, better audio CODECs etc. It is these items that R&D teams work so hard to drop into what are really identical pieces of hardware at their most basic level.

Excellent -
Intel Lan
FanXpert 2
Smart Digi+
USB 3.0 Boost
USB BIOS Flashback
WiFi GO! Media Streaming
VirtuMVP
PCIe 3.0
Network iControl

You might have noticed that this list is a little long. The reason behind this is that these features are excellent in this level of motherboard. At the range we are talking about to have the same level of features that you would expect from Asus’ ROG products is simply great. The Intel LAN, the Network iControl and media streaming over WiFi all are outstanding features for a mid-range product like the P8Z77-V. Asus’ implementation of the Smart Digi+ controls is another item that we cannot stress enough. To not only bring these controls to the mid-range market, but to package them in a way that allows even new users to take advantage of this shows a high level of commitment to the consumer.


In the middle (sort of good) -
DTS UltraPC II
DTS Connect
HDMI 1.4

As you can see here even the mid-level features are solid. The addition of the DTS UltraPC II and DTS connect increase the P8Z77-V’s potential as a multi-media and gaming system while HDMI 1.4 support on the board (with Intel’s next gen CPU) only adds to the value

Floor Mats -
Q-Connect
SLI
Crossfire

These features are still good, but they are features that you would expect from a board at this level.