The SABERTOOTH comes in a much smaller box than the other 990FX boards we have looked at, but it still packs much of the same contents and offers sufficient protection. It’s likely ASUS are keeping down the excessive packaging to keep it in line with the understated nature of this board to attract the right potential buyers. Advertised on the front is the generous 5 year warranty and the top panel lifts up to reveal a list of features, but no window to see the actual product.




Inside the box there is another box below the motherboard that contains the accessories. The bundle includes:
• Users manual and warranty information
• ASUS Q-Shield (IO shield)
• Technologies brochure
• Driver and software CD
• 4x black SATA cables
• 1x SLI bridge
• ASUS Q-connector (for front panel)
• TUF Certification card
• TUF Sticker




The motherboard uses an original colour scheme, with a dark brown PCB and black/grey and green highlights on the heatsinks, with brown and beige plastics. So many colours on paper shouldn’t look good together, but the design of the SABERTOOTH is actually quite pleasing in real life. The colours are generally quite subtle and it has a very solid look and feel. The styling might not be to everyone’s taste but it does give off the right impression for the type of user ASUS aim this at. It’s designed to be tough, reliable and understated, and I think it conveys this before it’s even installed with an almost camouflage type look.