A mistake in my review.. Asus is still using full emulation via a realtek sound chip. I'd assumed they went with another chip entirely but that's not the case. I consider that a half measure. Still good but not quite the full package.
There is a market for these boards and others (like the Gigabyte G1 series) that offer higher end sound and internet options usually found as ad-in cards and I look forward to seeing more. My original opinion stands. Top 3 board for the Z68 series.
- M-atx
- SB package via software emulation
- Spacing could be better for PCIE slots
- Clearance issues with Aftermarket HSF and Ram with large HS
Summary:
At $190 This board is a steal provided your ok with the Micro ATX form factor. It's got almost all the bells and whistles of it's higher end kin selling at $300+ and is definitely worth the extra over the $120 options in the Z68 series. I also like the fact that they switched to the SupremeFX sound chip instead of the Realtek in the first incarnation of this board 4 months back. Features in my opinion are to numerous to list and sits as my top 3 for the Z68 Motherboards out there.