ASRock Z87E-ITX Review: Motherboard Juxtaposition
by Ian Cutress on November 6, 2013 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ASRock
- Mini ITX
- Haswell
- Z87
ASRock Z87E-ITX Conclusion
ASRock is definitely making progress on their product lines, in almost all areas: specifications, functionality, software and pricing. ASRock are very aggressive when it comes to pricing, perhaps at the expense of a few aesthetics compared to some other boards. The next step up for ASRock is going to be the creation of their own tools in terms of hardware – their competitors are looking to daughter boards for VRMs, for sound, and for extra features on the Rear IO.
At AnandTech we have previously reviewed the Z87I in the Z87 mini-ITX Haswell arena. Compared to this review, the ASRock is $10 more, has two more SATA 6 Gbps ports, dual band 802.11ac rather than single band 802.11n, only one NIC rather than two but comes with an ALC1150 not an ALC892. The ASRock has a more aesthetically pleasing BIOS than the MSI, they trade blows in software (ASRock has XFast, MSI has Live Update), ASRock has more in-the-box, overclocks further, fundamentally better USB speed but is a bit short on some CPU benchmarks. If I had an extra $10, I would be going with ASRock in that battle.
$150 for a mini-ITX, 802.11ac enabled motherboard, giving good overclock performance but a little down on the CPU out-of-the-box unless you can change a single BIOS setting. It still performs toe-to-toe in gaming benchmarks, with six SATA 6 Gbps, six USB 3.0 ports and a nice BIOS/software package that ASRock has been working on for several generations.
Users wanting a motherboard at $140-160 have a fair few choices as of 11/4:
$140 – MSI Z87I, ASUS Z87-C, MSI Z87-G43 Gaming, GIGABYTE Z87X-D3H
$145 – ASRock Z87 Extreme4, ASUS Z87-A
$150 – ASRock Z87E-ITX
$160 – ASUS Z87-PLUS, GIGABYTE Z87X-UD3H, MSI Z87-G45 Gaming
And other Z87 mini-ITX are available:
$135 – GIGABYTE Z87N-WiFi
$190 – ASUS Z87I-Deluxe
$220 – EVGA Z87 Stinger
$225 – ASUS ROG Z87 Impact
Actually, since I started this review, the Z87E-ITX has a current price drop to $140, putting it right in the mix with the Z87N-WiFi. I have the two ASUS ITX boards as well as the EVGA ITX motherboard in to test over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for those reviews.
However overall I am pleased with the ASRock Z87E-ITX: it surpassed my high expectations in a few important areas (SATA ports, audio codec, overclock performance, 802.11ac) and is well deserving of a recommended award. Another fan header or two, and perhaps an adjustment of that 8-pin CPU power connector might see it hit a full award.
Recommended: ASRock Z87E-ITX at $140
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duynguyenle - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
You can get the manual here http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?cat=Manual&a...The section on storage quoted:
6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0,
RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage Technology
12 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and
“Hot Plug” (SATA3_5 connector is shared with the eSATA
port; SATA3_4 connector is shared with the mSATA/mini-
PCI Express slot)
So it looks like the eSATA and mSATA ports are shared with the physical SATA ports 3 and 4, giving you only 6 maximum HDDs
Samus - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
For example, the H87 version of this board has four physical SATA ports and one eSATA giving 5 total ports. The 87-chipset only has six SATA 6Gbps channels total.zlandar - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
I see 6 SATA ports in a row on the motherboard. The eSATA and mSATA are in addition to the 6 SATA ports.duynguyenle - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
Just because there are 6 SATA ports doesn't mean you can use all 6 IN ADDITION to the mSATA and eSATA ports. Quite often, the physical ports share electrical connection with mSATA and eSATA connectors, meaning that if you plug in a mSATA drive onto the motherboard, you will disable the SATA connector it's shared with.In fact, the user manual here (http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?cat=Manual&a... states that the mSATA and eSATA ports are shared with onboard SATA ports number 3 and 4, respectively, meaning that you only get a maximum of 6 HDDs in any combination of onboard SATAs+mSATA+eSATA
abscode - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
My media server/file server/HTPC is built around this board and has been on 24/7 since it's release week. It's been absolutely solid and trouble free. Recently built a developer workstation around the Asus Z87I-Deluxe and that one has been excellent too.vortexmak - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
Ian or someone who has this board, can you please check if Wifi and Bluetooth works on Linux/Ubuntu ? My purchasing decision rests on this.PS: You can use an ubuntu bootable CD. Thanks for all the help :)
vortexmak - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
Where does the power for eSATA come from ? Do you have to use an external power supply ?Will AT be reviewing the Gigabyte Z87 ITX board as well ?
Thanks
DanNeely - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
eSATA is an unpowered interface. I've seen a few boards offering combination eSATA/USB2 ports that could theoretically combine power and data into a single cable; but I don't recall ever seeing a device that used one. Part of that issue is probably that at the time USB power was limited to 2.5W; and most eSATA enclosures were for 3.5" drives which needed a brick to provide enough power to operate.bobbozzo - Thursday, November 7, 2013 - link
If your case has an empty slot, you can get brackets with Molex and/or SATA power connectors.Here's one with 2 eSATA, 1 Molex, and external cables for Molex -> SATA power:
www.amazon.com/dp/B000YI7M3G
stennan - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
Will you be doing any matx motherboards soon. I have my eyes on the gryphon or the gene 6. The question is how I should add wifi and if I should add a dedicated soundcard. It partly hinges on if true audio takes off and if the 290 will be quiet enough for the small case I have in mind.