If you thought the GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 with its 32-phase CPU VRM was over the top, check out the Z77 Wolverine from ASUS. A design concept for the time being, this beast packs 40 (yes, forty) CPU VRM phases. The VRM makes use of compact chokes and driver-MOSFETs, with 20 phases on each side of the PCB. Given that it draws power from just one 8-pin EPS connector, the only idea we see behind this concoction is reducing load per "phase", resulting in lower temperatures per driver-MOSFET, perhaps even letting the motherboard do away with with VRM area heatsinks altogether.

ASUS insists that the CPU VRM of the Z77 Wolverine features Digi+, so we assume it uses the same EPU controller found on several other P8Z77-V series motherboards. The bottom half of the Z77 Wolverine is nearly identical to that of the P8Z77-V Deluxe, including the layout of expansion slots (3x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3x PCIe 2.0 x1). The board's connectivity resembles that of the P8Z77-V Deluxe, too. This include four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and two eSATA 6 Gb/s ports; eight USB 3.0 ports (6x rear-panel, 2 via header); dual gigabit Ethernet; and 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth module.