Z97 Mini-ITX Review at $140: ASRock, MSI and GIGABYTE

In The Box

The old adage ‘good things come in small packages’ should apply to mini-ITX motherboards. However, with a price range such as $130-$140, there is not much room to manoeuver. A manufacturer has a few options, namely to either spec out the motherboard with extra NICs, controllers or a beefier power delivery, or it could go down to the bare PCB and add a bunch of extras. From experience, it would seem that the former policy of pimping out the motherboard wins out when every cent counts, and these three motherboards in this review are no different. Expect to see SATA cables, WiFi antennas, and not a lot else.

For the ASRock Z97E-ITX/AC, two SATA cables and a WiFi antenna is the lot. We get a single device housing both antenna, with the antenna box using a hole to make it easier to hang at a height.

The MSI’s contents also go as far as two SATA cables and antennas, although these ones are simple attachments to the rear panel. Due to using an Intel WiFi module, the drivers come on an extra CD.

The GIGABYTE box is similarly equipped – two SATA cables and a WiFi antenna. This antenna is a relatively new design, using a ring and directional component to increase coverage.

Z97 Mini-ITX Overclocking

Methodology:

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

ASRock Z97E-ITX/AC Performance

The ASRock board offers a good number of automatic overclock options, although it gets aggressive very early on. At 4.6 GHz, the ASRock actually performs the best by requiring the least voltage and a ‘reasonable’ temperature.

MSI Z97I AC Performance

MSI plays it safe with the OC Genie settings, only pushing our processor to 4.0 GHz on all cores. This has a minor bump in performance, although the peak temperature and voltage for this setting is high for our CPU. Absolute overclocks actually put the MSI slightly behind on performance (1871 in POV-Ray vs. ~1900) but the peak temperature is the lowest (94C vs 95-100C).

GIGABYTE Z97N-WIFI Performance

The CPU Upgrade options from GIGABYTE allow users to slowly move up the frequency until a temperature limit is reached, although the high voltage these options use give very high temperatures from the start. Anything over 85ºC on our open test bed might be 100ºC in a case without appropriate cooling, which might nullify the GIGABYTE options. The manual overclock seemed to require the most voltage to reach 4.6 GHz on this board, but around 4.4 GHz the voltage and temperatures were quite reasonable.

The Winner

For automatic overclock options, both the ASRock and the GIGABYTE have plenty to choose from, although the ASRock Turbo mode from 4.0 GHz to 4.8 GHz is easier to follow which settings are adjusted, giving this motherboard the nod. In terms of manual overclock performance, the ASRock gave us the lowest voltage to reach 4.6 GHz, although all three motherboards are moving into the mid 90ºC+ at peak loading. If we take 4.5 GHz instead, the MSI actually wins at that level.