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Four Z77-Based Mini-ITX Motherboards, Reviewew

Written By TahaS. on Sunday, March 3, 2013 | 2:45 AM

Four Z77-Based Mini-ITX Motherboards, Reviewew



















Table of contents
Yes, you can get all of the functionality enabled by Intel's Z77 Express chipset in a tiny mini-ITX form factor! We round up four motherboards that uniquely approach the gaming and media center markets with a range of features and prices. Which is best?
Originally developed for boring tasks like industrial PCs and point-of-sale terminals, AMD breathed new life into VIA’s single-slot mini-ITX form factor with its own dual-slot DTX version. Soon after, the combination of motherboards with one expansion slot and cases able to take dual-slot cards became the standard for portable gaming PCs. But Intel ironically appears to be the biggest beneficiary of AMD's efforts. After all, it sells the high-performance, low-heat processors needed in a fast, quiet platform with big-time thermal constraints. Ouch.
As a result, we demand a lot more from small gaming-oriented machines. It's no longer acceptable to simply build a system that excels at video playback, particularly when technologies like AMD's VCE and Intel's Quick Sync accelerate that workload right on the APU or CPU itself. And with system builders putting 4.3 GHz Core i7s and GeForce GTX 680s into mini-ITX-based platforms four inches thick (Meet The Tiki: Core i7-3770K And GeForce GTX 680 In A Mini-ITX Box?), enthusiasts will no doubt want to the ability to build similarly-potent boxes.
But if it's possible to cram the goodness of Intel's Ivy Bridge and efficient graphics architectures like Kepler into mini-ITX using Intel's mainstream H77 Express chipset, why bother spending more on a Z77 Express-based board? Well, it wouldn't have been possible for Falcon Northwest to have hit 4.3 GHz in its Tiki using H77, for starters. Overclocking demands that you spring for the pricier core logic. Although we doubt you'd care too much about tuning up a home theater PC, we’re nevertheless intrigued by motherboards that can serve that market in addition to the performance-hungry gaming industry.
We see today’s motherboards with Intel's flagship mainstream chipset as enablers of the best from both worlds. Of course, if you disagree and only really want to build a stock-clocked media-oriented machine, simply step down to the H77-based versions of the boards we're testing today.

Z77 ITX Motherboard Features
ASRock
Z77E-ITX
Asus
P8Z77-I Deluxe
EVGA
Z77 Stinger
MSI
Z77IA-E53
PCB RevisionInitial1.041.02.1
ChipsetIntel Z77 ExpressIntel Z77 ExpressIntel Z77 ExpressIntel Z77 Express
Voltage RegulatorSix PhasesTen PhasesSeven PhasesEight Phases
BIOSP1.70 (12/17/2012)801 (12/04/2012)1.0 (11/08/2012)V10.1 (10/19/2012)
100.0 MHz BCLK100.39 MHz (+0.39%)100.30 MHz (+0.30%)99.78 MHz (-0.22%)100.00 MHz (+0.0%)
I/O Panel Connectors
PS/21NoneNone1
USB 3.04442
USB 2.02424
Network1111
eSATA1221
CLR_CMOS ButtonYesYesYesYes
Digital Audio OutOpticalOpticalOpticalOptical
Digital Audio InNoneNoneNoneNone
Analog Audio5353
VideoDVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMIHDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-Imini-DisplayPort, HDMIVGA, HDMI
Other DevicesWi-Fi AntennasWi-Fi/Bluetooth Antennas
USB BIOS Flashback
Bluetooth TransceiverWi-Fi, Bluetooth
Internal Interfaces
Expansion SlotPCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Mini PCIex1 (filled)x1 (filled)x1x1
USB 3.01 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)
USB 2.02 (4-ports)2 (4-ports)2 (4-ports)1 (2-ports)
SATA 6.0 Gb/s2222
SATA 3.0 Gb/s2222
4-Pin Fan2232
3-Pin FanNoneNoneNoneNone
FP-Audio11None1
S/PDIF I/ONoneOutput OnlyNoneNone
Internal ButtonsNoneMemOK, TPUPower, ResetNone
Diagnostics PanelNoneNoneNumericNone
LegacyCIRNoneNoneNone
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
1x mSATA
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x eSATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes0, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATANoneNone88SE6121 PCIe
2 x eSATA 3Gb/s
None
USB 3.0ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)
ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)
ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)
None
Networking
Primary LANBCM57781 PCIeWG82579V PHYWG82574L PCIeRTL8111E PCIe
Wi-FiRTL8191SE PCIe
802.11n/g/b
1x2 Config, 2.4 GHz
BCM43228 PCIe
802.11n/g/b BT Combo
2x2 Config, 2.4/5 GHz
NoneAR9271 UB94 USB
802.11n/g/b
1x1 Config, 2.4 GHz
BluetoothNone(see above)BTA3011M01 USBAR3011 USB
Audio
HD Audio CodecALC898ALC898ALC898ALC892
DDL/DTS ConnectNot SpecifiedDTS ConnectNot SpecifiedNot Specified
WarrantyThree YearsThree YearsThree YearsThree Years

High-end chipsets represent only a small part of the mini-ITX market, so we weren’t surprised to find only a handful of available products. It was more surprising to us that there were two companies selling Z77-based boards that specifically asked not to be included. In some cases, it seems that vendors are using pricier Z77 Express platform controller hubs for segmentation, while focusing more intently on the markets typically served by H77's feature set.

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