Four Z77-Based Mini-ITX Motherboards, Reviewed

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

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?

Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe

Although it doesn't hail from the company's "Republic of Gamers" product line, Asus' P8Z77-I Deluxe still comes with a surprisingly-large and overclocking-friendly voltage regulator. Space on a mini-ITX motherboard is very valuable, so 10 high-capacity power phases that look like they were lifted from one of the vendor's LGA 2011 motherboards are moved onto an upright daughterboard.

Asus doesn’t waste any of the Z77 Express chipset's integrated SATA ports, placing four of these internally and two on the I/O panel as eSATA. Space that might have been used by a Bluetooth transceiver is saved by combining that function on Asus' dual-band mini-PCIe Wi-Fi controller from Broadcom. This is the only solution in our round-up with a 2x2 antenna array, which should improve transmit performance versus the 2x1-capable Realtek controller on ASRock's board.

We have the same concern about Asus only including two fan headers as we did with ASRock. However, at least Asus includes the ability to tweak fan ramp-up in a granular way through its Fan Xpert feature. It's also worth noting that there's more room to install a wider cooler on the P8Z77-I Deluxe. Because the board's PCH is mounted south of the CPU, the CPU interface doesn't have to be so close to the PCI Express slot.

Room on the back of the board is recovered by ridding the I/O panel of some of the 1/8" analog jacks you might otherwise expect to find. After all, in an HTPC environment, you'd like get sound from HDMI, while a desktop gamer interested in mini-ITX will probably be using a headset rather than a surround sound speaker system. Asus replaces those connectors with CLR_CMOS and USB BIOS Flashback buttons. The Flashback feature includes an IC that allows you to flash the board's BIOS from a USB flash drive without a CPU or memory installed.

That's not to say you can't achieve multi-channel surround sound, though. The trio of 1/8" jacks Asus does expose is fully configurable, making it possible to connect a 5.1-channel setup to the rear I/O panel (so long as you're willing to give up the mic input). You can even do simulated eight-channel output by using the front-panel audio jack. Or, use the optical out to get real-time encoded DTS. Asus is the only company in our round-up that licenses the DTS Connect technology supported by Realtek's ALC898 codec, making the feature unique to its P8Z77-I Deluxe.

Other Asus-only features include the company's TPU auto-overclocking switch (which we covered in some depth in Man Vs. Machine: Four Automatic Overclocking Techs, Compared) and its MemOK memory-underclocking button. MemOK is particularly useful for smoothing over compatibility issues with improperly-programmed RAM, though the company most notorious for that issue is no longer in the memory business. The TPU is going to be more practical for inexperienced overclockers; we simply prefer setting our own parameters. The ability to charge non-Apple tablets and smartphones even when the board is powered down is unique, too (Update: Both MSI and ASRock support this functionality only on Apple devices).

Two of the P8Z77-I Deluxe’s mounting holes are filled with screws, which secure its voltage regulator sink to the main circuit board during shipping. These must be removed prior to motherboard installation.

Asus' classic Wi-Fi antennas now support the Broadcom controller's 2x2 array, though the only visible change is in the color of its connector cables. Asus also changed its front-panel quick connector from a simple block design to a short extension cable, and packs this deluxe motherboard with twice as many SATA cables compared to lower-cost rivals. Bundled software also enables UASP mode for USB 3.0 in Windows 7 through an add-on ASM1042 controller.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
37 Comments Comment from the forums
  • anxiousinfusion
    Years ago, decent mITX boards were slim pickings.
    Reply
  • where are the dtx mobos for those that want a gaming graphics card as well as a dedicated sound card that isnt onboard crap?
    Reply
  • tarkhein
    Asus maintains a list of other technologies only found on its platform, including the ability to charge smartphones and tablets through its USB ports
    That technology is available from MSI and Asrock (and Gigabyte, but that's irrelevant in this roundup). Look up MSI i-Charger and Asrock App Charger.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    tarkheinAsus maintains a list of other technologies only found on its platform, including the ability to charge smartphones and tablets through its USB portsThat technology is available from MSI and Asrock (and Gigabyte, but that's irrelevant in this roundup). Look up MSI i-Charger and Asrock App Charger.All three companies have similar high-current charging features, but Asus extends them to non-Apple devices. The comment was originally left out due to the similarities and added later due to the differences.

    There was a big discussion between editors over whether or not the P8Z77-I Deluxe should get an award. The only award for "best features" is Tom's Hardware Approved, and that award is reserved for products that are clearly and obviously superior. The P8Z77-I Deluxe was a better board, but we had to look fairly hard to see it (it wasn't clear or obvious).
    Reply
  • amuffin
    So many variations between each board when it comes to OC......
    Reply
  • Crashman
    amuffinSo many variations between each board when it comes to OC......LOL, welcome to Windows 8.
    Reply
  • abbadon_34
    "We retained most of the hardware from our previous Z77 motherboard round-ups, but were not able to reach the same CPU clock speeds. A shift over to Windows 8 was our biggest change, and services crashing under that operating system appeared to limit what we could achieve compared to Windows 7."

    CrashmanLOL, welcome to Windows 8.
    How about using Windows 7? Was a reason you HAD to use 8 despite encountering issues? Is there some contractual obligation or monetary incentive to use the lastest version regardless of performance issues? Or at least test them both, it's only 4 motherboards.
    Reply
  • enewmen
    I think Mini-ITX will be the new standard size.
    It's not like the 80s/90s where you needed a full size AT/ATX motherboard with many slots for the ST-506 controller, floppy disk controller, serial port, parallel port, Sound Blaster card, VGA card, token ring card, and an extra cooling fan.

    EDIT:
    I will later get a Mini-ITX later & Silverstone case, stick in a Noctua NH-C12P & Haswell i7, and my Nv 680. That will have very high power density and worthy of being my "main" PC. (and it will OC)
    Reply
  • abbadon_34
    One issue I see is the PCI-E x16 slot is at the very bottom of these boards, and most video cards use two slots, requiring a larger case than one that simply supporting the motherboard based on ITX/mini-ITX dimensions. I'd be interesting in exploring the limitations of such configurations, and whether these boards are effectively limited to single slot video cards (and performance), require larger cases than is assumed, or specific case configurations.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    abbadon_34Was a reason you HAD to use 8 despite encountering issues?Standardization. The thought of having a spare drive on hand simply for testing O/C never even crossed my mind after hearing the "s" word.abbadon_34One issue I see is the PCI-E x16 slot is at the very bottom of these boards, and most video cards use two slots, requiring a larger case than one that simply supporting the motherboard based on ITX/mini-ITX dimensions. I'd be interesting in exploring the limitations of such configurations, and whether these boards are effectively limited to single slot video cards (and performance), require larger cases than is assumed, or specific case configurations.It's called DTX, it's mentioned in the article's FIRST paragraph, and Tom's Hardware even has DTX case reviews. Since most people don't know what DTX is, most case manufacturers have changed the label to read "Mini ITX". Still, there are a bunch of DTX cases out there caring the Mini ITX label.

    Reply