Z77 mITX Round-Up: Five of the Best – MSI, Zotac, ASRock, EVGA and ASUS
by Ian Cutress on December 31, 2012 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- MSI
- ASRock
- EVGA
- ZOTAC
- Asus
- Ivy Bridge
- Z77
- mITX
EVGA Z77 Stinger In The Box
So far in this review the box bundles have been varied. Some have offered a full set of SATA cables, others go for dual antenna for the included WiFi module. As the EVGA has no WiFi module, chances are we will not get an antenna – but one thing to note is that EVGA package their add-ons like no other manufacturer. Each one is sealed in an EVGA labeled plastic bag. While not the most thrilling of results, it must add a little to the cost of the product.
In our EVGA Z77 Stinger box, we get:
Manuals
Driver CD
Rear IO Shield
Molex to 2x SATA Power Cable
Sleeved Molex to 3x SATA Power Cable
4 x SATA Cable
The additional SATA power connectors are a nice touch, but let us look at it from a different angle. No USB 3.0 add-on is included because chances are in this modern era that users will have a case with USB 3.0 ports and they can plug that into the board. Chances are the same users will be buying power supplies with SATA power connectors. It just makes an odd combination to not have one but have the other.
EVGA Z77 Stinger Software
When installing the software for a motherboard, the manufacturer can take multiple routes. Most manufacturers have a one-button install which allows the user to select/deselect what they want installed and then it installs it all-in-one, sometimes with reboots. Other manufacturers only offer a one-by-one route, requiring the user to click through each of the drivers and go through the installers manually, even if the installer does come with a silent mode from the manufacturer (e.g. Realtek drivers). EVGA meet half-way: they use a one-button install which goes through all the drivers, but none of the installs are silent and the user has to sit there for a few minutes (up to 10) clicking Yes, OK or next throughout the whole sequence. Seems a lot of bother given that the software could have just used the silent install switch for everything.
On the driver CD, the option to install the drivers is in the front menu, and the software is in the next.
The sole software that comes from EVGA is the E-LEET Utility.
EVGA E-LEET Utility
Enthusiasts and overclockers will be familiar with the freeware CPU-Z utility. It is used to help identify the system being used, from motherboard to CPU to memory and GPU. It is also used to validate the processor speed when competitively overclocking. E-LEET is essentially a skinned version of CPU-Z, with a few little tweaks.
E-LEET gives the option of a few more tabs than CPU-Z does. These are specific to EVGA – we get a monitoring tab for voltages, temperatures and fan speeds:
An overclocking tab which allows CPU Multiplier and BCLK adjustment on the fly:
A tab to adjust voltages, also on the fly:
The graphics tab gets a revamp compared to CPU-Z, with options to overclock if you have a compatible graphics card:
A tab for a user to adjust the affinity of certain programs based on a hot-key. This is sometimes useful for overclockers when a benchmark actually decreases in performance when there are too many threads on offer:
Finally the options menu which allows for a CPU-Z validation as well as saving particular overclocking profiles for various usage scenarios (e.g. downclocking after a benchmark has finished to keep the system stable):
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ryedizzel - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
Thank you so much for this Z77 roundup as I'm currently shopping for a new mobo and have been piecing together reviews from various sites. But as usual I always check here first, then Tom's, then Hardocp (in that order). Keep up the great work in 2013!Aikouka - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
Ah, if only I held off on building my silent HTPC for a little bit longer. The hardest part about working with a Streacom case (other than building it) is finding a good motherboard that doesn't put too much in the way of the heat pipes. That's one reason why I was considering going with a board with mSATA, and I'm pretty certain that I stumbled across that ASRock board. Unfortunately, I looked at the photos, and didn't see a mSATA port, so I passed on it. Who would have thought to look at the back? Boy, do I feel like a bit of a dummy now! =$Although, speaking of the back mSATA connector, I recall seeing you touch on it on the recommendation page, but do you think it would work well on most cases? If I remember correctly, mSATA drives are fairly thin, so it might be fine. Going back to the Streacom, it does look like the ASRock offering would work well in regard to clearance even disregarding the mSATA port as the light gray SATA ports should clear the heat pipes. The USB3 port won't though.
philipma1957 - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
I built 2 asrock builds with the msata as the only drive. btw this z77 review with no regard to oc is pretty weird.I have a 3770k with a hd7970 gpu and an msata in a small case the cooler master elite it is a very fast powerful machine. I use the asrock and love it. it does have a flaw the msata slot is sata II
Ananke - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
I have i3-3225 (the same as in the article). In my opinion, for the money, the best is ASUS P8H77-I.It does have 6 SATA ports - a must for a file server. So, basically install Windows 8 on a SSD, add HDDs and create Storage Space - 5 SATA will allow you to create software RAID 5, without the need of SATA extension controller. BIOS is nice and stable. The board is $100 on Newegg.
The ASUS Z77 Deluxe is nice, if anybody needs all the additional functionality in a small form factor. However, only 4 SATA - means no good for video, file, backup server. You get the "overclocking" ability though. I doubt how practical is overclocking into so small space, probably to a handful of people. Teh board costs $185.
So, I would say $100 is better than $185, plus you get all the 6 SATA ports - priceless.
DarkStryke - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
Not everyone who games wants to have a huge tower. I've built more then one system based around the silverstone FT03-mini that runs a 3750k / Z77 deluxe-i and a GTX 670.I bring mine to lan parties and people are amazed at the power in such a small box, and it's just as fast as any desktop single GPU alternative.
Ananke - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
ASUS P8H77-I is a mini ITX board - the cheaper variant of the reviewed deluxe board. It costs $100.ggathagan - Wednesday, January 2, 2013 - link
I agree; the H77 makes much more sense for most ITX builds.I built a system with the P8H77-I, a GTX670 and the FT03-MINI.
I don't think the daughter card of the Z77 Deluxe would have fit in the case.
tramways - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
I registered here because the reviewer is lamenting that some boards use the ALC889 instead of the ALC892 codecs.The 889 like the 882 before it and the 898 after it is a much better codec than the 892.
The 883,888,892 codecs are the cheaper low performance DAC/ADC chips.
I would buy a board with the ALC889 or preferably the ALC898,but not with the ALC892.
all the best in 2013
Paul
limki - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
too bad I already ordered mine last week ... MSI Z77IAto tell the truth, i don't really mind [ at 136€ its a bit pricier than asrock with my supplier]
the conclusion for this board seems a bit biased to me
but hey, if you're not looking for a tiny powerhouse, you don't need z77
- in SUGO 05(and most small cases), MB is horizontally and PSU is above it, so cables and airflow will always be nasty
- using a discrete GPU, you don't care about not having DVI or DP
- no additional controller (USB/SATA) -> I don't plan on using more than 2(won't fit into case), so why bother?
//btw is the SATA 6/3/m correct 2+2? shouldn't be also 2+2+1?
- and if I'm to take the "military grade" stuff at least half seriously, ...
EnzoFX - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
Do the post times include those pesky AHCI driver loading screen? I hate that it adds so much more to the boot process.