Now that we can show all on the new X79-based boards for the top-end Intel Sandy Bridge-E CPUs, it’s time for some more unboxings! Everyone loves those, and thanks to the great help of Matt Black, yours truly was able to put together a quick showing of the TUF Series SABERTOOTH X79.
This is the newest TUF board, so it’s also ruggedized and hardened for better heat tolerance. Cooling is more advanced than what you get with mainstream motherboards, so it’s a good choice if you want to leave your PC running big number crunching operations around the clock. Thermal Armor offers better cooling for critical components, plus there’s the Thermal Radar sensor array deployed around the board for real time temp reading and fan speed tuning. Power delivery components are tougher, somewhat in a vein similar to the ASUS Super Alloy Power components you get with the brand’s graphics cards, only even more durable. The SABERTOOTH X79 is a good investment if you’re looking for longevity, and it does come with a 5-year warranty.
ASUS also has SSD Caching on it to take advantage of the growing prominence of solid state drives. The technology works with traditional hard drives to accelerate system performance, which is also helped along by the inclusion of a lovely 8-DIMM memory design. Yummy, up to 64GB of DDR3 RAM. Enough to tempt even the most ardent luddite.
Well, there’s a lot more to it: PCI Express 3.0 readiness, ASUS New DIGI+ Power Control digital power conversion, USB 3.0 Boost with UASP support, USB BIOS Flashback, better materials for heat sinks and heat pipes, stronger PCB…but for now, just keep in mind this is the toughest of the X79 boards when it comes to heat tolerance. So if you think you’re going to be building a high end PC that’s about to get put through the wringer, do consider this one as a very desirable option.