ASUS P8Z77-V LK Motherboard

On-Board Peripherals

The Intel Z77 chipset is a single-chip solution, which is also known as a PCH (Platform Controller Hub). This chip supports two SATA-600 ports and four SATA-300 ports, supporting RAID (0, 1, 10, and 5). The P8Z77-V LK offers only the SATA ports provided by the chipset. The SATA ports are installed on the motherboard edge and rotated 90°, so the installation of video cards won’t block them.

Figure 4: The two SATA-600 ports (white) and the four SATA-300 ports (blue)

The Intel Z77 chipset supports 14 USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports. The ASUS P8Z77-V LK offers 10 USB 2.0 ports, two at the rear panel and eight through four headers located on the motherboard. It also offers six USB 3.0 ports, four on the motherboard rear panel and two available through one header on the motherboard. The two additional USB 3.0 ports are controlled by an ASMedia ASM1042 chip.

The ASUS P8Z77-V LK doesn’t support FireWire ports.

This motherboard supports 7.1+2 audio format, i.e., eight channels plus two independent channels for audio streaming. On this motherboard, the audio is generated by the chipset using the Realtek ALC892 codec, which is a mid-range solution, providing 97 dB signal-to-noise ratio for the analog outputs, 90 dB signal-to-noise ratio for the analog inputs, and up to 192 kHz sampling rate for both inputs and outputs, with 24-bit resolution. These specifications are perfect for the average user. However, if you plan to convert and edit audio from analog sources (such as VHS tapes, vinyl records, and cassette tapes), you will need to pick a motherboard with an input SNR of at least 100 dB.

The analog audio outputs are independent, and the motherboard also comes with an on-board optical SPDIF output. It also has a two-pin header labeled “SPDIF_OUT” where you can install an adapter to have a coaxial SPDIF output, or to connect a cable to older video cards that required a physical connection to have audio on their HDMI outputs.

The portrayed motherboard has one Gigabit Ethernet port, controlled by a Realtek RTL8111F chip.

In Figure 5, you can see the motherboard rear panel with a shared PS/2 connector for keyboard and mouse, two USB 2.0 ports, optical SPDIF output, HDMI output, DisplayPort output, VGA output, DVI-D output, four USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and the analog audio jacks.

Figure 5: Motherboard rear panel