Intel Z77 Panther Point Chipset and Motherboard Preview – ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, ECS and Biostar
by Ian Cutress on April 8, 2012 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- Biostar
- MSI
- Gigabyte
- ASRock
- Asus
- Ivy Bridge
- ECS
- Z77
Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H—Visual Inspection
In a twist to the previous motherboards, Gigabyte sent us a micro-ATX sample, the GA-Z77MX-D3H. While still a Z77 product, capable of dual GPU setups, we have a motherboard aimed at the cheaper end of the spectrum. This is shown with what looks like a 4 + 2 VRM power delivery, and the relatively small sized heatsinks. We are also limited in terms of fan headers (three), and rear panel USB 3.0 ports (only two) compared to the Z77X-UD3H WiFi bigger brother.
The socket itself is clean with little obstructions—fan headers are found below the VRM heatsink, where we have two of the 4-pin variety. The other fan header on board can be found at the bottom next to the TPM.
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Despite being a cheaper small motherboard, we still have typical Gigabyte features, such as dual BIOSes next to the USB 3.0 header underneath the 24-pin ATX power connector, but only the SATA ports from the PCH. This means two SATA 6 Gbps and three SATA 3 Gbps. The chipset heatsink is also small but has enough surface area to keep Gigabyte confident of its functionality.
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The south side of the board is relatively naked, with a front panel audio, fan header, TPM and two USB 2.0 headers. Given the look of the board and that it does not display many potential features (presumably to fit into a price bracket), I was not expecting anything elaborate such as power/reset buttons.
The PCIe layout is aimed at users wanting dual GPUs or users needing an extra PCIe device alongside their GPU. The PCIe layout becomes x16 (x8 on dual GPU), x1, x8, x4, with this final x4 only being PCIe 2.0.
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The rear IO panel is more substantial than I assumed, which can only be a good thing. From left to right we have a pair of USB 2.0 (black), a combination PS/2 port, D-Sub, DVI, two USB 3.0 (blue), HDMI, four more USB 2.0 (black), gigabit Ethernet, and standard audio jacks with a combination optical SPDIF output.
Board Features
| Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H | |
| Size | mATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA-1155 |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 |
| Power Delivery | TBC |
| Memory Slots |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB Up to Dual Channel, 1066-1600 MHz |
| Video Outputs | HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub |
| Onboard LAN | Atheros |
| Onboard Audio | Via VT2021 |
| Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe x16 Gen3 (x16, x8/8) 1 x PCIe x16 Gen2 (x4) 1 x PCIe x1 Gen2 |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps (PCH), Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 4 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH), Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| USB |
4 USB 3.0 ports (2 back panel, 2 from headers) 10 USB 2.0 ports (6 back panel, 4 from headers) |
| Onboard |
4 x SATA 3 Gbps 2 x SATA 6 Gbps 3 x Fan Headers 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x Front Audio Header 1 x SPDIF Output Header 1 x USB 3.0 Header 2 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x TPM |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan Header (4-pin) 2 x SYS Fan Headers (4-pin) |
| IO Panel |
1 x PS/2 Combo Port 1 x D-Sub 1 x DVI-D 1 x HDMI 2 x USB 3.0 6 x USB 2.0 1 x Gigabit Ethernet 1 x Optical SPDIF Audio Jacks |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years |
| Product Page | Link |
As with the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H WiFi, this Z77MX-D3H comes with an Atheros/Via network and audio combination. Given the lack of features on the main area of the board due to the size and the audience this product is aiming for, it seems good if all you want is a stock processor and a working Ivy Bridge system with no frills.
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SalientKing - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link
Any plans on putting up some detailed reviews on these units? I'm especially interested in the gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H , since it seems to be the cheapest z77 i've found so far.Moogle Stiltzkin - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - link
Hi Anand, i found your short review of the Asus P8-Z77 Deluxe mobo very interesting especially in the small details which other reviews don't bother to inform laymans such as myself.Anyway what i wanted to know more was regarding what you said concerning the PLX. So because the Deluxe is using an older PLX chip, what exactly does this mean ?
You mentioned that as such it doesn't have the PCI to PCI-Express bridge feature.
http://www.plxtech.com/products/devicedefinitions#...
What does that do exactly ? Does it mean it would be possible to use a PCI card using a PCI-express slot ? Is that what the bridge thing does :d ?
The reason i ask is because i'm stuck between keeping my current Deluxe model, or trading it in for a Premium. I'm a bit stuck deciding what to do at this point, so Anand i could use your sound advise please :{
swindmill - Monday, May 14, 2012 - link
The LogMeIn Mirror driver seems to break Lucidlogix's Virtu software as detailed in this blog post:http://blog.ampx.net/2012/05/lucidlogix-virtu-and-...
Has anyone else experienced this issue?
kcblair - Thursday, June 28, 2012 - link
Does Virtu MVP really help with monitors (Geforce 3D Vision ready) ? I have such a monitor, and it "appears" , not to have much of an effect on increased performance. It, however, I set the refresh rate to 60hrz, I think there is an increase in performance, as my frame rates are above the frame rates of the monitor (70-85fps). But my frames rates remain unchanged, (70-85) when I increase my refresh to 120hrz. This statement really confuses me, at least I should make mention of monitors that are 3D Vision ready "If your setup (screen resolution and graphics settings) perform better than your refresh rate of your monitor (essentially 60 FPS for most people). If you have less than this, then you will probably not see any benefit." Any comments ?MrSpockTech - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link
I read this article in French there:http://www.hardware.fr/articles/858-1/lucidlogix-v...
And what I can say is LucidLogix CHEAT and think people are like monkeys.
Ati and Nvidia cheat too in past to boast all benchmark.
It's really a shame that stuff exist again.
And more funny that Intel support LucidLogix!!!
For me now LucidLogix = C**P !!!