Meet the Asus SABERTOOTH X58, the toughest looking motherboard under the Intel X58 platform, bringing military standard durability home (oh did you take that from MSI you guys ? :) ). We’re going to try and keep things short and to the point. First we'll explain some features, courtesy of ASUS:

CeraM!X - Heatsink Coating Technology. This premium ceramic-coating technology named the CeraM!X Heatsink Coating Tech, implemented via its micro-porous ceramic yet uneven surface was originally introduced in the aerospace industry. It was first introduced to the motherboard industry by the Asus TUF Series motherboards, to deliver 50% larger surface as compared with the same heatsink made with pure metal. It is perfect for locations with limited airflow yet with ultra low profiled requirements like the south bridge chipsets. Furthermore, the ceramic coating also provides oxidation-resistance against environmetal ware and tare without effecting the heat dissipation capability of the heatsink inside, making it the number one choice for passive cooling needs.

The Components Part of the toughness of the TUF series motherboards consists of three key components:

TUF Capacitor: Industry, top graded Japanese capacitors approved by ISO and IEC/IECQ certified independent laboratory to meet military standard. 2.5X more durable than ordinary Japan branded conductive polymer aluminium solider capacitors (also known as Solid Cap), and 1.67X more durable than even the top graded polymer tantalum capacitor (also known as Hi-C Cap) under the same environment temperature.

TUF MOSFET: Industry top graded low RDS(On) MOSFET approved by ISO and IEC/IECQ certified independent laboratory to meet military standard. These MOSFETs deliver robust efficiency while also sustain the ultra critical thermal shock of between - 65~150 ° C. The power solution is formed by four of this type of MOSFETs, delivering unbeatable performance as well as durability.

TUF Chokes: Industry top standard approved by ISO and IEC/IECQ certified independent laboratory to meet military standard. TUF Chokes, also known as the “Alloy Choke”, are made of a compound of various types of metal instead standard iron, enables the support of up to a massive 40A of rated current, 25% higher than conventional component. Furthermore, the single piece packaging also eliminates the emission of vibration noise, delivering superb characteristics as well as durability under extreme conditions.

E.S.P. The Asus E.S.P. (Efficient Switching Power) Technology consists of four sets of switching power design each with a dedicated input choke and dynamic active power phase management capability, delivering ultimate power efficiency towards the most power critical parts of the motherboard, namely, the CPU, the QPI, the IOH, and the DRAM. Unlike the conventional linear power or switching power design without a dedicated input choke, where the power efficiency and the durability of the power circuit may be questioned in the case of unstable inputs, this is not the case for the tough design like E.S.P., delivering toughness from all aspects.

Stack Cool 2

Stack Cool 2 is a fanless cooling solution offered exclusively by ASUS. It effectively yet evenly distributes the heat generated by the critical components to the back side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board), allowing more heat dissipation surface, which prevents the heat generated from been concentrated right underneath the source of heat, allowing the motherboard to be cooled down by the airflow towards any given location on the motherboard, - making the motherboard temperatures cooler by up to 20°C.

MEMOK! enables the motherboard to boot up successfully even if there might be some compatibility issues between the motherboard and the memory. All the user has to do, is to simple hold the MemOK! button till the red LED begins to blink to ask the motherboard to take the charge of self-memory patching process, and fix the memory compatibility before your very own eyes, till the system is finally able to boot up. For detailed information about how to use it and how it works, please refer to the MEMOK! MR Guide.

True Onboard USB 3.0. The SABERTOOTH X58 offers true USB 3.0 solution onboard via direct connection between one lane of PCIe 2.0 at X58 chipset and the USB 3.0 controller, which provides the sufficient bandwidth needed by NEC USB 3.0 controller (5Gb/s). This, in other words, ensures the performance of VGA or other onboard or added on devices is not compensated just to ensure the USB 3.0 controller can be perform at its full.

True Onboard Hardware SATA6Gb/s RAID with DriveXpert Support. The SABERTOOTH X58 offers true SATA 6Gb/s solution with hardware RAID capability. Thanks to the direct connection between one lane of PCIe 2.0 and the Marvell SATA 6Gb/s controller, the Marvell SATA6Gb/s controller is capable of delivering its full potential without effecting the performance of any other onboard or added on devices. Building RAID on this controller is also easy as it can be done via the support of DriveXpert, making RAID construction accessible for all users.

Power eSATA Support. Unlike ordinary motherboards, the specially designed power eSATA connector at the rear I/O port delivers the support of low voltage eSATA storage device without the cost of a USB port. This allows user to enjoy the convenience of power eSATA, while maintaining the same number of usable USB ports onboard.