Conclusion:

The ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Z68 LGA 1155 motherboard (Rev 1.0) comes packed with Bluetooth, a front USB 3.0 hub, plenty of internal and external SATA 6Gbps connections, and support for SLI/CrossFire X. This board has the newer generation UEFI BIOS and supports all sorts of settings that allow for advanced overclocking. Extra on-board buttons that can reset memory settings and clear the CMOS are welcomed add-ons in addition to the PCB integrated power and reset buttons. Versus our P67 reference board from MSI, the P8Z68 Deluxe performed the same or better across the board. Once overclocked to 4.7GHz we observed up to 36% improvements in performance.



With the exception of the noted double-post issue that is well known throughout the ASUS P67/Z68 community, the Deluxe board is a solid offering. As we have stated, the ASUS P8Z68 board actually comes in several different flavors. The Deluxe model as reviewed can be purchased for around $245 (US), however we want to stress our review model is the older board revision (Rev 1.0) which only includes PCI/PCIe 2.0 support. The latest board revision includes PCI/PCIe 3.0 support and will cost you roughly $25 more (this newer model is designated the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen3. If this motherboard seems like a good fit for your CPU components but you can't afford the price tag, ASUS also sells the P8Z68 Pro/Gen3 for $210. The only features you're really going to miss-out on are the Bluetooth and front USB 3.0 box.

Overall the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Z68 LGA 1155 motherboard (Rev 1.0) is a feature-packed board worthy for readers ready to step-up to the latest i3, i5, and i7 processors. We expect most users with a similarly configured Intel i5 2500k will easily hit 4.5GHz using nothing but an aftermarket CPU cooler. As a result the ASUS P8Z68 board earns the Bigbruin.com "Gaming Approved" and "Recommended" awards.



Pros:

» Front USB 3.0 included in the Deluxe model will allow users to use an older case
» Rear panel eSATA support
» MemOK button allows you to recover from overclocked memory settings without clearing the CMOS
» UEFI BIOS is easy to work with and has powerful features
» Has 4x 6Gbps onboard SATA connectors
» Board supports SLI or CrossFireX
» Built-in Bluetooth support
» Intel Gigabit LAN

Cons:

» With the most recent 0902 BIOS update this board still suffers from the well-known
   "double-post" issue
» Standard P8Z68 Deluxe does not have PCIe/PCI 3.0 support - be sure to pickup the newer
   "Deluxe/Gen3" version of this board if this is important to you
» Review sample PCB was noticeably warped but this did not impact functionality or performance
» No onboard video support for the Deluxe model, but its available on the Pro version

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