Four Z77-Based Mini-ITX Motherboards, Reviewed

Yes, you can get all of the functionality enabled by Intel's Z77 Express chipset in a tiny mini-ITX form factor! We round up four motherboards that uniquely approach the gaming and media center markets with a range of features and prices. Which is best?

Originally developed for boring tasks like industrial PCs and point-of-sale terminals, AMD breathed new life into VIA’s single-slot mini-ITX form factor with its own dual-slot DTX version. Soon after, the combination of motherboards with one expansion slot and cases able to take dual-slot cards became the standard for portable gaming PCs. But Intel ironically appears to be the biggest beneficiary of AMD's efforts. After all, it sells the high-performance, low-heat processors needed in a fast, quiet platform with big-time thermal constraints. Ouch.

As a result, we demand a lot more from small gaming-oriented machines. It's no longer acceptable to simply build a system that excels at video playback, particularly when technologies like AMD's VCE and Intel's Quick Sync accelerate that workload right on the APU or CPU itself. And with system builders putting 4.3 GHz Core i7s and GeForce GTX 680s into mini-ITX-based platforms four inches thick (Meet The Tiki: Core i7-3770K And GeForce GTX 680 In A Mini-ITX Box?), enthusiasts will no doubt want to the ability to build similarly-potent boxes.

But if it's possible to cram the goodness of Intel's Ivy Bridge and efficient graphics architectures like Kepler into mini-ITX using Intel's mainstream H77 Express chipset, why bother spending more on a Z77 Express-based board? Well, it wouldn't have been possible for Falcon Northwest to have hit 4.3 GHz in its Tiki using H77, for starters. Overclocking demands that you spring for the pricier core logic. Although we doubt you'd care too much about tuning up a home theater PC, we’re nevertheless intrigued by motherboards that can serve that market in addition to the performance-hungry gaming industry.

We see today’s motherboards with Intel's flagship mainstream chipset as enablers of the best from both worlds. Of course, if you disagree and only really want to build a stock-clocked media-oriented machine, simply step down to the H77-based versions of the boards we're testing today.

Z77 ITX Motherboard Features
     ASRock
Z77E-ITX    Asus
P8Z77-I Deluxe    EVGA
Z77 Stinger    MSI
Z77IA-E53
PCB Revision    Initial    1.04    1.0    2.1
Chipset    Intel Z77 Express    Intel Z77 Express    Intel Z77 Express    Intel Z77 Express
Voltage Regulator    Six Phases    Ten Phases    Seven Phases    Eight Phases
BIOS    P1.70 (12/17/2012)    801 (12/04/2012)    1.0 (11/08/2012)    V10.1 (10/19/2012)
100.0 MHz BCLK    100.39 MHz (+0.39%)    100.30 MHz (+0.30%)    99.78 MHz (-0.22%)    100.00 MHz (+0.0%)
I/O Panel Connectors
PS/2    1    None    None    1
USB 3.0    4    4    4    2
USB 2.0    2    4    2    4
Network    1    1    1    1
eSATA    1    2    2    1
CLR_CMOS Button    Yes    Yes    Yes    Yes
Digital Audio Out    Optical    Optical    Optical    Optical
Digital Audio In    None    None    None    None
Analog Audio    5    3    5    3
Video    DVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMI    HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-I    mini-DisplayPort, HDMI    VGA, HDMI
Other Devices    Wi-Fi Antennas    Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Antennas
USB BIOS Flashback    Bluetooth Transceiver    Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Internal Interfaces
Expansion Slot    PCIe 3.0 x16    PCIe 3.0 x16    PCIe 3.0 x16    PCIe 3.0 x16
Mini PCIe    x1 (filled)    x1 (filled)    x1    x1
USB 3.0    1 (2-ports)    1 (2-ports)    1 (2-ports)    1 (2-ports)
USB 2.0    2 (4-ports)    2 (4-ports)    2 (4-ports)    1 (2-ports)
SATA 6.0 Gb/s    2    2    2    2
SATA 3.0 Gb/s    2    2    2    2
4-Pin Fan    2    2    3    2
3-Pin Fan    None    None    None    None
FP-Audio    1    1    None    1
S/PDIF I/O    None    Output Only    None    None
Internal Buttons    None    MemOK, TPU    Power, Reset    None
Diagnostics Panel    None    None    Numeric    None
Legacy    CIR    None    None    None
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA    2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
1x mSATA
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s    2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x eSATA 3Gb/s    2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s    2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 3Gb/s
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes    0, 1, 5, 10    0, 1, 5, 10    0, 1, 5, 10    0, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATA    None    None    88SE6121 PCIe
2 x eSATA 3Gb/s    None
USB 3.0    ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)    ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)    ASM1042 PCIe (2-ports)
Z77 Integrated (4-ports)    None
Networking
Primary LAN    BCM57781 PCIe    WG82579V PHY    WG82574L PCIe    RTL8111E PCIe
Wi-Fi    RTL8191SE PCIe
802.11n/g/b
1x2 Config, 2.4 GHz
    BCM43228 PCIe
802.11n/g/b BT Combo
2x2 Config, 2.4/5 GHz
    None    AR9271 UB94 USB
802.11n/g/b
1x1 Config, 2.4 GHz
Bluetooth    None    (see above)    BTA3011M01 USB    AR3011 USB
Audio
HD Audio Codec    ALC898    ALC898    ALC898    ALC892
DDL/DTS Connect    Not Specified    DTS Connect    Not Specified    Not Specified
Warranty    Three Years    Three Years    Three Years    Three Years


High-end chipsets represent only a small part of the mini-ITX market, so we weren’t surprised to find only a handful of available products. It was more surprising to us that there were two companies selling Z77-based boards that specifically asked not to be included. In some cases, it seems that vendors are using pricier Z77 Express platform controller hubs for segmentation, while focusing more intently on the markets typically served by H77's feature set.


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