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Maximus Hero vs Sabertooth Z87? Fan control differences?

shadowdk
Level 7
Hi,

I wanted to get a Asus Maximus Hero motherboard for my new gaming/work PC, but I got in doubt if I should get a Sabertooth Z87 instead.

The reason why I got in doubt is that it seems like the BIOS fan control is better on the Sabertooth Z87? I read in the manual that the minimum speed for both the PWM controlled CPU fan header and the chassis fan headers is 0%, whereas on the Hero it is 40% for the CPU header and 60% on the chassis fan headers.

Does this mean I will be able to have a significantly better fan control through the BIOS with the Sabertooth?

It seems I could get around this 40/60% limit with Fan Xpert 2, but I don't like installing the whole AI Suite package since I won't use a lot of it's functions - I like to keep my system simple and just set up the fans in BIOS once and then just leave it 🙂

However, I really dislike the thought of having 2 small 35 mm assist fans on the Sabertooth - as I think I would find them noisy.

I won't be doing any hardcore overclocking - at least not to begin with, but later down the road I may want to experiment with it to get a little more performance 🙂

What would you go for? The potential fan control issue got me a bit worried about the Maximus Hero - and I'm worried if I'm doing a mistake ruling out the Sabertooth because of the small 35 mm assist fans? On the other hand I am not sure if the fan control on the Maximus Hero is going to be a real problem.. 🙂

I hope someone can help me, thanks in advance 🙂
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4 REPLIES 4

Antronman
Level 10
The Hero has Supreme FX, which gives a great boost to audio quality, while not as great as a dedicated sound card. Also, if you will overclock your RAM eventually, the Hero has 2nd Gen T-Topology which tests show gives a marginal boost in the OC. Also, I would not say the 0-100% is a big deal, as you certainly won't be running fans at 0%. The Hero also has "Dual Intelligent Processors 4 with 4-Way Optimization" which automatically alters the settings of your compotents based on what you are doing. That includes fan speed, power delivery and more. The Hero also supports far higher RAM clocks than the Sabertooth. My vote is with the Hero. Especially because this rig will be used or gaming and "work".
Say hi to the next generation.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion

Through passion, I gain strength

Through strength, I gain victory

Through victory, my chains are broken

The Republic of Gamers shall free me

shadowdk
Level 7
Thanks for your reply 🙂

I don't think the Supreme FX is that much of a selling point for the Hero for me since I may add in a dedicated sound card in the near future. I know 0% is not really useful, but I think many PWM fans need 20% to run at their lowest rated speed? So that 40% would be twice as high RPM? Or did I misunderstand something? 🙂

I will be using it for a lot of work related stuff too like 3D graphics programming and rendering, but also gaming in my free time 🙂

No matter which board I get I will, at least to begin with, just use stock settings and not really tweak much except for fan settings and other basic stuff if necessary - so that also means I most likely wont install stuff like AI Suite - I assume that is required to utilize the 4-way optimization thing 🙂

Antronman
Level 10
They are practically the same Motherboard, except one is RoG and one isn't :P. You probably wouldn't need the optimization anyway, but I would say the Hero is better. Because it supports higher RAM clocks.
Say hi to the next generation.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion

Through passion, I gain strength

Through strength, I gain victory

Through victory, my chains are broken

The Republic of Gamers shall free me

shadowdk
Level 7
I'm going to get 2x4 GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866 MHz - I guess these are fine on both 😄

If it wasn't for those two assist fans on the sabertooth I would probably take that board (especially if it wasn't gold/brown colored :P).

So my concern about the Sabertooth is the assist fans. I'm thinking that the "thermal armor" is a bad thing if the fans are not running? Since the heat can't escape without ventilation inside the plastic shell.

I'm also thinking that it's a dust trap, even though it is advertised differently, but I would think some dust does get in under the plastic shell over time, and then it's just a pain to clean it?