The Motherboard ODM design

The Motherboard ODM design

Once you peek at the block diagram for Intel's chipset, you will notice that it is offering quite a set of features. But motherboard manufacturers like to distinguish themselves, especially with performance products, you like to have something unique, or offer a better feature set opposed to the competition.

The ODM takes the chipset, and then designs a completely new infrastructure surrounding and supplementing that P67 based motherboard.

The ASUS Sabertooth P67 is such a product, the sheer look and the extra features make it separate itself from the competition. It starts with what ASUS calls 'Thermal Armor'. The plastic shield sitting on top of the PCB (according to ASUS) helps guiding airflow over the components. Trough we really do have some reservations about statement ourselves we found out it will not increase heat levels either. So we think of it as an aesthetic feature. A dangerous choice really, as I have seen a lot of reactions in our forums, a vast majority of end-users simply do not like the looks of the plastic shield. But then again, others love it ...

Dual Intelligent Processors - the motherboard design features two dedicated co-processors for performance and power management, the TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) and Energy Processing Unit (EPU). A new feature on all motherboards will be Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM digital power management. These all-digital DIGI+ VRM power controls allow somewhat more PCs energy infrastructure management.

ASUS also highlights its advancements in user-friendly interface design. These include an uEFI BIOS (adding mouse input to BIOS settings with in a graphical user interface). We'll show you this feature with the help of a video later on, pretty cool stuff.

A quick glance of primary hardware features:

• Compatible with Sandy Bridge Socket LGA 1155 Core i3/i5/i7 processors
• DDR3 1866 supported
• USB 3.0 implemented (frontpanel support)
• Sata 6G
• Intel Gigabit LAN
• SLI/Crossfire (2-way) compatible
• DIGI+ VRM
• Thermal Armor
• Thermal Radar
• TUF component usage

And now a little PR from ASUS:

ASUS The Ultimate Force (TUF) Series motherboards maximize reliability, stability and compatibility for the most demanding applications. These models are perfect for server-grade use and truly heavy duty tasks.
The SABERTOOTH P67 brings the latest Intel® technology to the TUF Series, reinforcing it with a host of features designed to ensure total durability, while its uncompromising cooling technology guarantees better stability. This includes the exclusive Tactical Vest a unique design that forces cool air from CPU and case fans towards critical parts all over the motherboard via a proprietary shunt design. It also covers most of the motherboard to shield it against heat generated by connected components such as graphics cards. This keeps temperatures down, delivering greater system reliability and longevity.

The SABERTOOTH P67 motherboard also includes the new ASUS Thermal Radar technology. This uses sensors embedded in vital parts of the motherboard that provide accurate temperature readings that the motherboard uses to automatically adjust CPU and case fan speeds, leading to better cooling and lower operating noise.