Anyone who’s ever put their desktop PC through its paces knows the importance of well-built components. Particularly the motherboard and graphics card, as the thermal design of those are pivotal to their longevity, and ultimately your investment. Complex as they are, motherboards and graphics cards must be able to withstand the stress, otherwise the heat and pressure of intense operation get to them. Solder points start changing properties, contacts break, and cheap thermal paste can’t keep components attached or cool enough to function properly.
Before you know it, your PC starts throwing up errors and just plain malfunctions.
This is where ruggedized components might come in handy. These are specially-built motherboards and graphics cards that use more expensive, and more rigorously tested, parts. Hardware makers typically retain third party quality assurance firms to test these to military-application standards. The results are clear. Ruggedized components, as the name suggests, can take more hurt than their normal counterparts. They can absorb more heat, undertake extremely prolonged usage, and resist damage of all sorts, including shocks due to falls, spills and consistent vibration. They are also better protected against the accumulation of dust and other debris.
The TUF series from ASUS is an example of ruggedized hardware. Standing for “The Ultimate Force”, TUF motherboards are a good choice for anyone who needs to keep their PC working harder and longer. With components custom-selected for endurance and reliability, the price tag is worth it if you need it. If you’re keen on truly extreme overclocking and overvolting, if you live or work in a very hot/very cold/humid/sea front environment, or just need a server PC that you can trust 100% round the clock, then the TUF entries are perfect candidates. 
The heat-absorbing properties of these are impressive because they use a special ceramic coating on heatsinks and other areas of the motherboard. Ceramic coating increases the surface area of cooling parts with micro-grooves that results in vastly improved heat dissipation.
The Sabertooth 55i motherboard from TUF has this CeraM!X application on its heatsinks, as well as a frame for mounting additional small fans over the RAM slots.
The power management of TUF boards leaves little to chance, with the most durable and environmentally isolated MOSFETS, chokes and capacitors available. It also uses advanced power switching technology for the CPU, graphics card and mains, resulting in a more stable power supply and longer-lasting performance.
On the exciting side of all this, a motherboard that can take more heat and punishment naturally signals it ability to undertake arduous overclocking, so speed demons take note.
Of course a board like this will cost you more than a vanilla version, but the return on investment is palpable. Bear in mind ruggedized versions of motherboards typically eschew much of the fanfare of civilian models, focusing on hardcore durability and compatibility instead – this is difficult to test in a lab so unfortunately its key feature rarely gets reviewed.
The multimedia and user-assist features may not be as generously-applied as in more refined variants either — but still, you know why you’re getting one of these toughs.
Having said this, we hear from ASUS that the TUF Series is looking to expand soon, adding new features and more user-friendly accoutrements. Durability seekers should keep watching this space because we’ll let you know as soon as it happens!