Product Information

UEFI BIOS (EZ Mode)

Flexible & Easy BIOS Interface
Exclusive to ASUS motherboards, its UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is the first ever mouse-controlled graphical BIOS interface designed with dual selectable modes. It delivers a user-friendly interface that goes beyond traditional keyboard-only BIOS controls to enable more flexible and convenient input with quick scrolling. Users can easily navigate the UEFI BIOS with the smoothness of their operating system. Quick and simple overclocking and setup sharing is facilitated by the F12 hotkey BIOS snapshot feature. The exclusive EZ Mode displays frequently-accessed setup info, while the Advanced Mode is for experienced performance enthusiasts that demand far more intricate system control, including detailed DRAM information.

Supports Hard Drives over 2.2TB
ASUS UEFI BIOS natively supports hard drives larger than 2.2TB in 64-bit, with full storage space utilization helping deliver far more exciting computing than traditional BIOS versions.

Exclusive ASUS Interface
- EZ Mode - gives easy access to selectable, optimized system modes, clear system info display and drag and drop boot prioritizing
- Advanced Mode - for experienced performance enthusiasts that demand intricate system settings

LucidLogix® Virtu

Universal Switchable Graphics Technology
LucidLogix® Virtu is designed for the Intel® Sandy Bridge platform's powerful integrated graphics. Its GPU virtualization dynamically assigns tasks to the best available graphics resources based on power, performance and system load on Windows® 7 based PCs. It allows users to fully utilize the unique capabilities of advanced Sandy Bridge multimedia features alongside the high end 3D rendering performance provided by installed graphics cards. When no discrete graphics are needed, the graphics card is put in idle mode to lower utilization, heat, fan speed and power draw down to near zero, making the system more environmentally-friendly. For users with diverse needs, LucidLogix® Virtu GPU virtualization provides great flexibility and efficiency.

Universal Switchable Graphics
LucidLogix® Virtu's GPU virtualization technology assigns tasks to the best available GPU, allowing dynamic graphics switching between integrated graphics and NVIDIA® or AMD graphics cards.

3X Faster Video Conversion
With switchable graphics, all ASUS P8Z68 Series motherboards leverage the transcoding power of Sandy Bridge, allowing users to enjoy three times faster video conversion with Intel® Quick Sync Video technology.

Intel® Smart Response Technology

SSD Speed with HDD Capacity
Intel® Smart Response Technology boosts overall system performance. It uses an installed fast SSD (min 18.6GB available capacity) as a cache for frequently accessed data. Harness the combination of SSD-like performance and response with hard drive capacity, that's 4X faster than a HDD-only system.

* Support Intel® Smart Response Technology on 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processor family

ASUS Exclusive Features

EPU
Energy Efficiency All Around
Tap into the world's first real-time PC power saving chip through AI Suite II utility. Get total system-wide energy optimization by automatically detecting current PC loadings and intelligently moderating power consumption. This also reduces fan noise and extends component longevity!

AI Suite II
With its fast user-friendly interface, ASUS AI Suite II consolidates all the exclusive ASUS features into one simple to use software package. It allows you to supervise overclocking, energy management, fan speed control, voltage and sensor readings. This all-in-one software offers diverse and ease to use functions, with no need to switch back and forth between different utilities.

ASUS TurboV
Easy, Real-Time O.C. Tunings
Feel the adrenaline rush of real-time OC-now a reality with the ASUS TurboV. This easy OC tool allows you to overclock without exiting or rebooting the OS; and its user-friendly interface makes overclock with just a few clicks away. Moreover, the ASUS OC profiles in TurboV provides the best O.C. settings in different scenarios.

MemOK!
Any Memory is A-OK!
MemOK! quickly ensures memory boot compatibility. This remarkable memory rescue tool requires a mere push of the button to patch memory issues. MemOK! determines failsafe settings and dramatically improves your system boot success. Get your system up and running in no time.

S/PDIF out connector at the back I/O
This motherboard provides convenient connectivity to external home theater audio systems via the optical S/PDIF (SONY-PHILIPS Digital Interface) out connecor at the back I/O. The S/PDIF transfers digital audio without converting it to analog format and keeps the best signal quality.

100% All High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors
This motherboard uses all high-quality conductive polymer capacitors for durability, improved lifespan, and enhanced thermal capacity.

Latest Transfer Technology

USB 3.0 support
Experience ultra-fast data transfer at 4.8Gbps with USB 3.0 - the latest connectivity standard. Built to connect easily with next-generation components and peripherals, USB 3.0 transfers data 10 times faster and is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 components.

True Serial ATA 6Gb/s support
The Intel® Z68 Express Chipset natively supports the Serial ATA (SATA) interface, delivering up to 6.0 Gb/s data transfer. ASUS provides extra SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports with enhanced scalability, faster data retrieval, and double the bandwidth of current bus systems.

CPU, Chipset and Graphics features

LGA1155 socket for Intel® Second Generation Core™ i7/ Core™ i5/ Core™ i3 Processors
This motherboard supports the latest Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors in the LGA1155 package, with memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support 2-channel (4 DIMM) DDR3 memory and 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. This provides great graphics performance. Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors are among the most powerful and energy efficient CPUs in the world.

Intel® Z68 Express Chipset
The Intel® Z68 Express Chipset is a single-chipset design to support socket 1155 Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors. It provides improved performance by utilizing serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. Additionally, Z68 chipset provides 2 SATA 6Gb/s and 4 SATA 3Gb/s ports for faster data retrieval at double the bandwidth of current bus systems. Moreover, Intel® Z68 Express Chipset also supports iGPU function, letting users enjoy the latest Intel integrated graphic performance.

RoHS

GreenASUS and ErP Ready
The motherboard is European Union´s Energy-related Products (ErP) ready, and ErP requires products to meet certain energy efficiency requirements in regards to energy consumptions. This is in line with ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and energy-efficient products through product design and innovation to reduce carbon footprint of the product and thus mitigate environmental impacts.