ASUS P8Z68 DELUXE MOTHERBOARD

               The Asus P8Z68 Deluxe emerged as the best performer because it offers a rich feature set, stellar performance and excellent layout of components. The P8Z68 series has three variants: V, V Pro and Deluxe. Both the P8Z68-V and V Pro offer D-sub, DVI and HDMI outputs, SLI support, four USB 3.0 ports and integrated Bluetooth module. However, the V Pro variant has two additional SATA 6 Gb/s ports and on-board headers for FireWire. The P8Z68 Deluxe offers all the features of the V Pro, but doesn’t have any video outputs on the rear panel. Instead it has two additional USB 2.0 ports, an extra eSATA port, a FireWire port, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and coaxial S/PDIF output. Also, a 7-segment debugging indicator has been slotted in for diagnosing errors during POST. The type and number of expansion slots has been kept the same in all the three models—two PCIe x1, three PCIe x16 and two PCI. So essentially, Asus has just added and swapped some components to offer feature sets for different user requirements and the price difference between variants isn’t much.
                The P8Z68 Deluxe is designed for enthusiasts and gamers who want rock-solid performance. Pick this board if you don’t care for video outputs via the on-die GPU, but would still like to take advantage of QuickSync Video technology that allows incredibly fast transcoding. The board supports Virtu in d-Mode, which allows using Sandy Bridge's QuickSync feature despite having a discrete graphics card installed.
                As the scores, this board is clearly an ace performer. Overclocking is easy thanks to the intuitive interface of the UEFI BIOS. Digital VRMs and a 16-phase power design deliver precise voltage and reduce EM interference while overclocking. Those who aren’t well-versed can use the onboard OC switch which automatically calculates optimal overclocked values for the CPU and memory. The board also ships with a USB 3.0 bracket that fits into a 3.5-inch floppy drive bay.
VERDICT: A feature-rich board for gamers and power users. Recommended!
FOR: Integrated Bluetooth, excellent feature set, bundled USB 3.0 bracket.
AGAINST: None.

SPECIFICATIONS
Memory support: up to 32 GB; Video ports: None; Expansion slots:
2 x PCIe x16, 2 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI; SATA: 4 x 3 Gb/s, 4 x 6 Gb/s;
USB: 12 x USB 2.0, 4 x USB 3.0; Audio: 7.1-channel