Intel has tried to sell motherboards into the enthusiast market in the past, with little success. Even though their top-end motherboards are labeled Extreme Boards and have prominent skull logos (everyone knows skulls are good), the features and performance have been notably lacking, especially in comparison to the best of the third party motherboards. I've not been impressed by any of the previous Intel Extreme Boards I've reviewed, but the Intel DZ77GA-70K was a revelation. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at the features of Intel's first motherboard that's actually competitive with the big boys.

Vendors strive to distinguish their products on the market in a number of ways. With motherboards, where in most cases the stock performance will be very similar across all motherboards using the same processor and supporting chipset, the only real ways to make your product stand out are price and extra features. ASUS is adept at exploiting the "features" aspect of their motherboards, including everything from custom ASICs and sophisticated power circuitry to full-blown add-ons like WiFi Go! Their Deluxe level motherboard ladle on so many features it's hard to keep track, but Benchmark Reviews will give it a try with our features overview of the ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe motherboard.

The introduction of the first member of the new Cougar Point chipset family, the Z77 Express, happened several weeks before the availability of the Sandy Bridge CPUs they were designed for, so we've seen a number of these motherboards become available at retail recently. ASUS has provided Benchmark Reviews with a sample of their top-end P8Z77-V Deluxe LGA1155 motherboard, which may well set a new high-water marks for "most features crammed onto a motherboard."

The introduction of the first member of the new Cougar Point chipset family, the Z77 Express, happened several weeks before the availability of the Sandy Bridge CPUs they were designed for. This led to review sites having to test new chipsets with older Sandy Bridge processors. While Z77 motherboards are perfectly capable of running Sandy Bridge CPUs, they're really designed to showcase Ivy Bridge. Now that Benchmark Reviews actually has a Core i7-3770K CPU in hand, we can show you how it performs in ASUS' new P8Z77-V Deluxe motherboard, a top-of-the-line product with so many features it's hard to keep track of them all.

It's time for a new Intel chipset: the Z77 Express chipset replaces last year's Z68 chipset and its predecessor P67 chipset. Aside from the support for what MSI calls "third generation Intel Core processors", the Z77 brings some enhanced features like native SuperSpeed USB 3.0. MSI's not satisfied with letting the Z77 stand on its own, though, and adds its own unique features to their MSI Z77A-GD65 board. Benchmark Reviews tests this new motherboard and compares its performance and features against a top-end Z68 motherboard. Is an upgrade for your rig warranted? Read on...

The ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage series of motherboards usually comes in three varieties, the Extreme, Formula, and Gene. Benchmark Reviews recently brought you an in-depth review of the ASUS Rampage IV Formula motherboard. Now it's time for a look at the Formula's little brother, the ASUS Rampage IV Gene. Built on the Intel X79 Express chipset, the Rampage IV Gene represents the low-end of the ASUS Republic of Gamers X79 motherboards. Follow along inside as Benchmark Reviews examines the ASUS Rampage IV Gene X79 Express motherboard.

Within the world of personal computing, there is a group of people referred to as enthusiasts. This generalization can be a little confusing, so let's explore it. An enthusiast is someone who uses their computer for much more than the average user. An enthusiast can usually be further categorized as one of two types of people; a gamer or a performance tuner. For enthusiasts, the middle-of-the road just doesn't cut it. They want the best that manufacturers can provide. It is with enthusiasts in mind that ASUS created the Republic of Gamers line of products. The ASUS Rampage IV Formula LGA 2011 motherboard is one of the latest releases in the Republic of Gamers line. Here at Benchmark Reviews, we've gotten our hands on an ASUS Rampage IV Fomula Battlefield 3 Edition motherboard and we are taking you piece by piece as we explore this enthusiast inspired piece of hardware.

Generally when we here at Benchmark Reviews get a motherboard in to test, it's aimed at a specific market: it might be an enthusiast-oriented motherboard for gaming, or a micro-ATX motherboard designed for a HTPC, or even just an inexpensive motherboard for users on a budget. Today, though, we have one of ASUS' "Workstation" motherboards: the ASUS P9X79 WS. How does it differ from other X79 motherboards, what's the performance, and should this board be on your short list for your X79 rig?