When it comes to Motherboards based on Intel's X58 chipset your choices are plentiful. Price to performance and features tend to weigh heavily on most consumer's minds these days, and prices on Intel X58 motherboards range from as little as $164.99 all the way up to $599.99. Today we get to look at the ASUS Sabertooth X58 Heavy Duty Motherboard. Fortunately, the ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard falls closer to the budget end of the spectrum and sits at a low price point of $199.99. While it may seem that this low price point means that quality will be lacking, ASUS has backed the Sabertooth X58 motherboard with an impressive five year warranty, while most of the ASUS motherboards are backed by a three year warranty. The ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard hails from the ASUS TUF series of motherboards. TUF is actually an acronym for The Ultimate Force. What does this mean for us? Well, according to ASUS:
"The TUF series delivers a “tough” image. With the unique design & high quality components (military-standard), TUF series is born for pursuing the preeminent stability, all-round compatibility, and extreme durability."
The TUF components that make up the ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard have been certified by military standards.
Specifically which standards? I am currently awaiting a response from ASUS on that. If it's on the web it must be true, right? Does it really matter, though? Like I stated above the ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard is backed by a five year warranty which is above and beyond the warranty on most ASUS motherboards. This means they have enough confidence in this particular product to extend the typical warranty 66%. Makes one wonder, where is that confidence from ASUS in other ASUS motherboards? Well, that's a whole different can of worms, isn't it?*Edit*
Well it seems that I stuck my foot in my mouth once again. In my rush to play with the ASUS Sabertooth X58 it seems that I had set the Certificate of Reliability off to the side. The Certificate of reliability includes all of the standards that the components of the ASUS Sabertooth X58 meets.
ASUS Sabertooth X58 Military Standard
o Capacitors
o Thermal Shock Test (MIL-STD-202G Test Method 107G)
o Moisture Resistance Test (MIL-STD-202G Test Method 106G)
o Salt Spray Test (MIL-STD-883G method 1009.8)
o Solderability Test (MIL-STD-202G 208H Test Method)
o Solder Bath Test (MIL-STD-202G-210F Test Method)
o Vibration Test (MIL-STD-202G Method 201A)
o Mechanical Shock Test (MIL-STD-202G Method 213B Condition D)
o Chokes
o Vibration Test (MIL-STD-810F Method 514)
o Temperature Cycling Test (MIL-STD-810F Method 501/502)
o Mosfets
o Thermal Shock Test (MIL-STD-883G 1011.9)
o Vibration Test (MIL-STD-883 Method 2007.2 Condition A
o Mechanical Shock Test (MIL-STD-883G2002.4)
The TUF Capacitors are industry top grade Japanese capacitors which have been approved by ISO and IEC/IECQand certified by an independent laboratory to meet these stringent military standards. It is certainly worth noting that these TUF Capacitors are 2.5 times more durable than ordinary Japan branded conductive polymer aluminum Solid Caps. If we were to compare the durability of the TUF capacitors to even the top graded polymer tantalum capacitor (known as Hi-C Caps) we would find that the TUF capacitors are 1.67 times more durable!
The ASUS TUF Chokes are made from a compound of various metals instead of the standard iron. This enables the support of 40 Amps of which is 25% more current than the traditional chokes. Due to the fact that the TUF Chokes are packaged in a single piece, this will eliminate vibration and noise, as well as increasing durability under extreme conditions!