Final thoughts and rating
The Z68 chipset is designed to bring out the very best from Intel's Sandy Bridge processors. It takes the juiciest bits out of the incumbent P67 and H67 chipsets and pulls them together. Specifically, it ties the overclocking potential of P67 with the IGP goodness of H67 while adding some exclusive SSD caching in the form of Smart Response Technology (SRT).
SRT enables the user to run a small-capacity solid-state disc alongside a larger mechanical drive with the express aim of boosting performance for frequently-accessed files. The technology works well enough once files have been cached, but the present availability of relatively inexpensive 64GB-plus SSDs, which can be used as boot drives, takes the shine off Intel's SRT technology. SRT's late arrival to market means it becomes less of a must-have feature unless small SSDs begin cropping up for under £30.
Z68 also allows you to overclock the CPU and GPU portions of the Sandy Bridge chip, though, just as with H67, the IGP cannot be run alongside a discrete graphics card. This is where LucidLogix's Virtu software comes in, licensed for ASUS boards, as it provides a middleware layer that lets you use both. It works for H61/67 and Z68 and, as we've shown, does exactly what it says on the tin.
Intel, it seems, has deliberately left the H67 and P67 chipsets incomplete, ostensibly for the purpose of enabling the Z68. It can do everything the previous Sandy Bridge-supporting duo can, and more, so while not an revolutionary step, it's a solid choice for the enthusiast who wants to wring out the most from their new Intel build. In fact, if priced correctly, all three main Sandy Bridge chipsets can co-exist; they're tailored to slightly different markets.
The £170 ASUS P8Z68-V PRO carries on the fine tradition set by the company's P67 boards. A relatively small price premium over the P67 PRO gives you integrated graphics, Virtu multi-GPU usage and SRT technology, if you need it.
The Good
Adds SRT and iGPU tweaking
Virtu enables both iGPU and dGPU to be used together
Overclocks well
Completes the LGA1155 line-up as most-complete chipset
The Bad
Price, potentially
No native use of dGPU and iGPU
HEXUS Rating
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
HEXUS Awards
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
HEXUS Where2Buy
TBC.
HEXUS Right2Reply
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