Overclocking - The Hardware

Although the ASUS GRYPHON Z87 isn't built to break overclocking records, ASUS does understand that most users still like to overclock a bit for a free performance boost, and the ASUS GRYPHON Z87 is definitely equipped to hold a decent overclock over the long term. The BIOS chip itself resides in a socket, so the BIOS can still be replaced with relative ease should you happen to corrupt it past the point of a USB BIOS Flashback fixing things. A button on the board's bottom edge will also take you directly into the BIOS after the next boot. This is a nice feature should you have FAST BOOT enabled.


The VRM on the ASUS GRYPHON Z87 has a primary section that consists of eight phases in total. Intel's new platform has voltage regulation on the chip itself, so only a singular power supply is needed, making design for such far less complex and more robust. The controller for the VRM is an ASUS-branded DIGI+ controller.


The DIMM VRM appears to be of a hybrid dual-phase design. The controller is just north of the VRM itself, by the board's top-right corner.


I found a Nuvoton Super I/O and the TPU controller by the 24-pin power connector. Both aid all the monitoring and power-saving features the board supports, combined with the other controllers I pictured earlier. It is an altogether complex design with multiple controllers that manage the board's power- and thermal control, and they do the job pretty well by themselves, never mind when backed up by the robust software ASUS provides, since the specialized hardware was built specifically for these tasks. I am truly impressed with what this little board offers, especially as it comes with one of the longest warranties out of any ASUS board product. I've always said that the "TUF" line-up has been sorely underestimated, and the ASUS GRYPHON Z87 only confirms this.