A Brief Look at Some Upcoming 7-Series Motherboards
by Ian Cutress on March 9, 2012 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- H77
- Z77
MSI
Whilst CeBIT is in full swing, MSI, along with the other manufacturers, has used the opportunity to showcase their future 7-series products. Alongside the X79 Big Bang-XPower II (which I recently reviewed and liked rather a lot), MSI is promoting their Z77A-GD80 – a 7-series motherboard with Thunderbolt support. Anand was able to have a quick look at the board at CES before the Thunderbolt port was officially added, and VR-Zone has confirmed that the model on show at CeBIT does have it on board. We expect this little extra will cause an extra $20-$30 on the price of these boards however, so it may be possible that there are Thunderbolt/non-Thunderbolt versions of various products up and down each vendor's line.
Out of the blocks, MSI is officially treating us to at least seven boards across the 7-series:
Z77A-GD80
Z77A-GD65
Z77A-GD55
Z77A-G45
Z77MA-G45
ZH77-G43
B75A-G43
MSI Z77A-GD80
In a style common of previous MSI boards, the blue-black livery is included with an SFC (Super Ferrite Choke) power delivery. We also get OC Genie buttons and voltage read points as is common on MSI's top end products. In a similar style to the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H mentioned previously, users of three GPUs on a system such as this will perhaps lose a large amount of the functionality on the bottom of the board. Nevertheless, the USB 3.0 header on board is at 90 degrees, focusing the usage of such a port for the front of the case.
Biostar
Biostar is not a company we've had much chance to look at here at AnandTech for a while, however their few motherboard releases over the past year have come and are available for purchase. For the launch of the 7-series products, Biostar plan on launching a series of five boards:
TZ77XE4
TZ77XE3
TZ77A
TZ77B
TZ77MXE
However one motherboard has graced my inbox in any shape or form - the TZ77XE4:
Biostar TZ77EX4
Biostar have also gone with a three-GPU style setup, this time plumping for a three slot gap between all the GPUs, giving air for them to breathe a little better. Aside from this, there is not a lot I can gather from the solitary, low resolution image, and solid information is not forthcoming until I receive a response from Biostar. Information will be updated when I have it!
Conclusion
We have a lot to look forward to when it comes to these new and exciting 7-series motherboards. Let us know what you would like to see!
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Meaker10 - Saturday, March 10, 2012 - link
They come from the south bridge.danjw - Saturday, March 10, 2012 - link
I would like to see reviews for the ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe and ASRock Z77 Pro4.tyrant.otter - Saturday, March 10, 2012 - link
I'd really like to see a review of that ASUS Maximus V Gene. It looks like it would be an excellent replacement for my aging MSI x58m. I wonder though is there any advantage to using an SSD in the 'augmentation port' when I already have an SSD as the OS drive? I'm guessing any advantage would have to come from using PCIe instead of SATA.st.bone - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
I would like to see Intel Desktop Boards, especially Intel DZ77RE the one that allegedly comes with thunderbolt, I live Intel Desktop Boards made by Intel, so i normally buy Intel boards not third party like the ones on the review, i find Intel boards stable and appealing than most of other venders, at list to me, simplicity is what i like about the boardsrisa2000 - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
I am there with you. It would be good to have also Intel original boards on the list. I have been running many boards in the past (Gigabyte, ABit, ASUS), but since I moved to Intel boards (D975XBX, DH55HC recently) I feel like I found finally sweet spot.The main factor about Intel boards for me is usually integrated Intel NIC, decent sound, and conservative design.
st.bone - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
Thanks, it's nice to know there are others who appreciate.I have used various Motherboards in the past too (A SRock, ECS, Gigabyte, Mercury, ASUS, just but to mention a few)
But ever since i moved to Intel Desktop Boards I've felt happier at home with them, my first Intel Desktop Board was D945GCCR, then Moved Shortly to D945GCNL, then a long line of others like DG33BU, DG35EC, DG43GT and currently on DH55HC.
My Current setup is:
Intel Desktop Board DH55HC
Intel Processor Core i5 - 760
Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600Mhz kit 4 x 4GB
1TB WD
POV TGT Charged Nvidia GTX 460 1GB
Inwin F430 Black Chassis
FSP Everest PSU 600 Watts
LG DVD-WR
Display : Dell SX2210 22inch/21.5 visible area 1920 x 1080 Res
Dell Keyboard
Logitech M215 Wireless Mouse
Sony Headphones
Speakers Logitech Z906 5.1
I would like to upgrade three major components come april
1: Change Desktop Board to DZ77RE
2; Change Processor to Core i7 3770K, Core i7 3770
3: Change Graphics Card to AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce @ around $300 to 350 Max
Please Anand do a review for the above components...
dzlboats - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
The deluxe version of P8Z77-V series has the best layout with extra usb ports and PCI slots removed for those that don't need PCI capability. My choice if offered would be a P8Z77-V(lite) without the 5.25 USB 3.0 panel and WiFi module since my Lancool PC-K9WX case has USB 3.0 ports built in and I don't have an immediate need for WiFi. The cost would be significantly lower also.orenlevy - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
this is huge different from H77 to Z77 ddr 1600 vs ddr 2400+ Oc2800ol1bit - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - link
All I use my PC for anymore that need power is Games, and 80% of that is GFX... My I7 seems set for another 5 years of life, just like my e6600 did before.I think everyone is going to tablets/ smart phones etc.
gentlearc - Monday, March 12, 2012 - link
*grammar*