ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 DDR3 1600 LGA 1156 Motherboard

The Sabertooth was one of my most important purchases for my new rig. I do overclocking as well as professional gaming and needed a motherboard that was better than my 1st gen i7 Asus board. This board was such an upgrade compared to my old Asus motherboard that held my 1st gen i7. This board is also built for the overclocking enthusiast! The ability for bios switching and recovery has saved me time and headaches while allowing me to overclock, customize, and run heat diagnostics within my computer. The board's plastic 'armor' is actually very important to me. I dropped BOTH 780GTX cards I purchased into the motherboard accidentally (i'm clumsy). Luckily, the cards fell on the armor and did not leave any damage, mark, or anything whatsoever! Airflow: The mobo comes with 2 optional mini fans that are able to be placed on the board. After running some thermal diagnostics, I have found that these little fans actually help get the air moving through the armor of the case very well. I have a High Air Flow case and cooling is a necessity. This board stays very cool under heated conditions (BF4 AND a 3D molecular modeling simulation in the background). I water cool my CPU but the CPU area does get a great flow of air around it thanks to these optional fans that came with the mobo. Spacing: The motherboard holds my PCI cards and my 2 SLI 780GTX cards comfortably and securely. The board sits beautifully within my case and provides a great dark-themed 'armor look to the background of my components. Bios: Very easy to use and extremely reliable (with the latest updates of course). Overclocking: This mainly depends on your CPU but the board and bios really gives you the flexibility to overclock your i7 to the max. The mobo offers bios switches in case something goes wrong. I used this as a bios recovery when I accidentally had a power outage during a bios update. Looks: I personally love the dark armor look of my mother board. I have a cable organized case that is built to showcase. The color scheme looks great with my internal lights and with my components accenting each portion. FYI, the armor can be taken off the motherboard easily! The mobo also includes plastic covers for parts of the motherboard you aren't using (RAM slots, PCI slots, etc). Overall this board is a great option for those who want to get the most of their gaming rig and i7. There are many other options but this one has provided me with the best overclocking options, the best price, and the best cooling. Great motherboard, sturdy performance, and the armor really protects the chip board!

I love this motherboard, my computer is a beast and I love it. Unfortunately the motherboard will only recognize one hard drive at a time. I've checked everything three times over and it all leads back to the motherboard.

As a system builder for the last three years I have encountered motherboards from various companies. I was always impressed though with the Sabertooth z77 board that had go into my favourite custom build. So when it was time to build a machine for my personal use (my last machine being about nine years old) I decided on the z87. I could not have made a better decision. To start I was very conscious about dust and it's effect on the longevity of any PC. This mobo not only protects the surface of the board but every I/O port with easily removable (though not by any means slack)plastic guards. Additionally it is designed to run as coolly as possible with two assist fans that direct the airflow under the protective shielding around the CPU. Add to that its stylish military aesthetic, best in class bios and a suite of utilities that not only add functionality but are also easy to use and you have the makings of a truly great motherboard. I recommend this to any enthusiast looking for a motherboard with all of the bells and a unique array of whistles for their project. System: Mobo - Asus Sabertooth z87 CPU - Intel Core i7 4770k @ 4.0GHz RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB @ 1600MHz Graphics Card - EVGA GTX 770 Superclocked PSU - Corsair AX750 Primary Drive - Samsung 840 SSD 256GB OS - Windows 8 64bit

Giving this MB a 2 star for now... may change it higher later, but we'll see. Here's why the low rating. I have purchased other MBs (and other products) over the years from ASUS and this is the first one I can say did not work as advertised right out of the box. First of all I noticed the main PCI slot had a broken tab on it (I should have boxed it up right then), but figured what's a piece of plastic. Then I noticed it was missing one of the SATA cables, it was supposed to have 4 (I believe), there was only 3. Hmmmm. After putting everything together (fans, CPU, memory, etc.) the board posted good. Opened the bios, and all checked good. Had a new HD I wanted to use so I started loading Windows 7 (64bit)onto it. Halfway thru the installation Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD). Shut it down; retried it and at the 3/4 portion of the install ... BSOD. Here's a long story short 'cause I troubleshot this thing for many hours with no success... I have multiple HDs, so I tried them all to make sure it was not the new drive I had brought. Same exact error at different points during the Win 7 Install. Even ran memtest86 at one point to make sure the RAM wasn't bad. Finally I had to borrowed a friends computer and I downloaded ASUS most recent BIOS for this board and updated it. Same errors... no change. (Why this didn't come with the latest BIOS is beyond me. Anyways) Called ASUS tech support just to get confirmation of what I thought was bad. (WOW... 3 times waiting on hold for over 10mins each time and then I get the "please leave a message and one of our reps will get back to you". "Oh wait you can't because all mail boxes are full," goodbye. REALLY ASUS!!! Really?) Anyways, I finally got thru the forth time after waiting OVER another 10 MINs for a tech. He confirmed my thoughts that I had a bad motherboard (probably the SATA controller). Now I'm waiting for Amazon to ship me a new board. (BTW... Amazons return/exchange process is A1 so far.) So besides all the above here my main reason for giving such a low rating. The inconvenience and hassle this has caused and the time wasted troubleshooting a BRAND NEW PRODUCT. Nothing should be so much hassle. I understand that sometimes things go bad on items, Especially when it comes to Electronics (I have over 30 yrs experience in the field), but the QA process is supposed to catch most stuff. I'm actually starting to believe some of the BAD REVIEWS Others have recently written about ASUS MBs. I have come to expect the BEST from ASUS in the past, but this experience so far has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I'll update this review after I get my new board, and we'll see. If the new board works like this one did, I'll take my business to another MFR. UPDATE 14 Jan 14 - This ding is on Amazaon. Above I said they have been A1 on this issue... Well I'm changing that. Come to find out it's going to take over 2+ wks for Amazon get a replacement MB to me even though there are 13 instock shown on amazon at this time. WHAT? Their reason is because they have to get the new MB from their suppier (not out of their wharehouse) and it's no longer 2 day shipping because of that also. I don't care about their suppier issues. I brought a MB with 2 day shipping... not 2 + Weeks shipping. What if I was running a business and could not run my business without a computer. (Which I'm without right now) I'd have to shut down for 2+ weeks till Amazon fixes their supply issues. I'd have to lay off my workers and possibly loose my customers.... Ridiculous!!!! Amazon should be getting this replacement board to me ASAP to close out this issue. More to come on this review I'm sure. Shame on you Amazon!!!!!! UPDATE 16 Jan 2014 - Decided to cancel the replacement MB and cancel this order completely. Just not worth my time and hassle. 2+ weeks is too long to wait for a replacement MB. Unacceptable! Taking my business to NEWEGG or TigerDirect. Oh ya down grading this review to a 1. NOTHING/NO PRODUCT should be this much hassle.

Just Beautiful...and works well...

I would not recommend this motherboard to someone who is more accustomed to sub-server boards. Although USB 3.0 has been around for years very few products yet use USB 3.0 so unless you're looking for that native USB 3.0 and native SATA 6.0 that the appropriate corresponding Haswell chips incorporate you'd probably be better off using an X79 mobo which gives you twice the port capacity and a whole lot more PCI EXPRESS options.The other weak point is that you only get four dimms for ram with this board whereas the X79 boards give you 8. That is pretty much the downside. Now for the upside: Very easy to install. The reinforced back plate gives you all the confidence you need to install large tower coolers or to hang whatever you want on the board. Instructions are very clear. This board is amazingly TUFF. No wonder it comes with a 5 year warranty! The capacitors are 5 times the rating that is deemed acceptable in most other boards so you won't have to worry about weak or leaking capacitors. The thermal armor is a nice added touch. Understand however that most of the fan pins are four pin so you may need to invest in some adapters if you insist on installing the older 3 pin type fans. The features here are far too numerous to list. I was initially going to get the X79 board but I choked when I learned that the IVY BRIDGE LGA 2011 chip still didn't have native USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 even though Intel made many chips prior that had these features before they released their very disappointing 22nm Ivy Bridge chipset for the X79 MOBO. If you don't want a whole lot of clutter and you want a board that can still provide you with versatility and features then look no further. This is your board. BUT... As I stated before, if you like being part of an intranet with a server class or sub-server class board the X79 is your choice. Otherwise I advise waiting for the new HASWELL E board expected to come out in the back half of 2014. To be honest you really can't go wrong with this motherboard and remember if you want more ports you can always get a RAID CARD. I dropped a star for lack of better pin options for the fans and ony four dimm slots. Intel should know better than to treat their enthusiasts like that. I blame Intel for this because it's the Haswell line that dictates these limitations. As for ASUS... C'mon, it's an ASUS. You can't go wrong with ASUS.

Fast and easy to install also the shipping was fast as well

It's great

there is some gigabyte cards with more overclocking skills for a lower price. Nut the thermor armor is awesome! s