After spending a week with the ASUS P8Z77-V, it became very clear to me who ASUS intended this board to be used by, namely those that already own a Sandy Bridge CPU, or those that want to run dual VGAs as well as an external add-on RAID card, or similar devices. The PCIe slot configuration sums it all up nicely, and while it may be a bit disheartening that you cannot use all the expansion slots to their fullest at the same time, it's really understandable why things are arranged as they are.
The idle power consumption is quite simply amazing, so low that I recalibrated by meter to make sure the readings were correct, as that was something I really did not expect. When it comes to overclocked performance, the ASUS P8Z77-V does admirably as well, and it is one of just a few Intel Z77 Express-based products I've tested so far that scaled properly in F1 2010 during the overclocking tests. Although it's not an ROG product, and not the top performer overall, it does provide a lot given its small cost, and the addition of the Wi-Fi GO! card just makes it all that much better.
I was a bit disappointed by the lack of an mSATA port to be used with Intel's Smart Response and Rapid Start techologies, but at the same time it does seem to be the perfect Intel Z77 Express match for Sandy Bridge CPUs. Yes, you can get more from Intel's Z77 Express chipset, but it IS going to cost you more too. Don't forget to hit us up in the forums, and tell us what YOU think!