Biostar TZ77XE3
Biostar has consistently marketed itself as the quintessential budget overclocking brand, and its TZ77XE3 continues that theme by presenting only the parts needed to make most systems perform better.
A low $130 price doesn’t get us any added interface controllers, though Biostar does use a slightly more expensive flat-black opaque mask to give its budget-oriented board the look of a high-end part. On top of that, we get the PCIe 3.0 switches needed to change from one x16 to two x8 PCI Express slots, plus a third 16-lane slot wired to support four lanes of second-gen PCIe for a potential three-way CrossFireX configuration.
Nvidia has too little faith in a four-lane PCIe 2.0 slot to permit three-way SLI. Yet, we still have to admit that Biostar beats ASRock (two x8 slots) and especially Asus (two slots running x16/x4) by way of graphics support at this price.
The TZ77XE3 also has a handy Port 80 diagnostics display to help overclockers interpret boot failures, and Biostar even includes bench-tester-friendly on-board power and reset buttons. Since those buttons are often inaccessible in a finished build and redundant to case buttons, we aren't giving away any value points for a feature that primarily seems to excite other reviewers.
Biostar’s overclocking theme extends to its voltage regulator, matching Asus' board with 16 phases. Asus claims a digital design advantage, while Biostar typically aims for increased capacity. Our overclocking tests have the potential to demonstrate which brand is best.
We always make a point to look over layout issues that novice builders often miss, but didn’t find anything seriously wrong in Biostar’s design. Its perpendicular SATA headers are, for example, low enough to clear extra-long double-slot graphics cards installed into the board’s middle slot, though a rare triple-slot card might run into issues. Older cases often lack the clearance to fit forward-facing cables, though, so perpendicular connectors have some merit in the budget market.
Locating the front-panel audio connector along the middle of the TZ77XE3’s back edge requires most builders to drag an ugly cable over the top of the board. Again, though, if you have an older case with a short front-panel cable, you'll find merit in this placement. Score another point for function dictating form.
Biostar's USB 3.0 front-panel header is placed just above the leading edge of the TZ77XE3’s third graphics slot. While this location should yield adequate clearance for nearly any graphics configuration, we simply couldn’t come up with a good reason for it to be there. Perhaps Biostar ran out of space to put it elsewhere when optimizing its circuit design for over-stock frequencies?
Biostar beats ASRock by including four SATA cables in the TZ77XE3’s installation kit, adds an extra CrossFire bridge, and further damages Asus by supporting SLI.
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LAN performance .. ISC performance ... USB 3 .. well that's it then.
LAN performance .. ISC performance ... USB 3 .. well that's it then.
Tom's Hardware has several controller comparisons, and publishes new ones frequently. So unless you think one of the boards has a broken controller, wysiwyg.
The things that actually get screwed-up are typically related to the clock generator, multiplier control, memory timings and power options.
I would place the ASRock and Gigabyte on the top as well : )
Nice review.
I always appreciate your Articles!
I know how much work you do to get them done.
You're kidding - Biostar. I guess this article is not about the 'Best Sub-$160 Z77' MOBO's but about the best manufacturers sent you. The cheapest MOBO I recommend for the SB/IB (K) is the ASUS P8Z77-V which pops your 'unique' budget cap depending where you shop; found it here for $159.99 - http://www.gadgetneeds.net/asus-p8 [...] therboard/
Interesting you didn't get an ASUS P8Z77-V LK ~$120 which offers SLI. The ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and Gigabyte Z77X-D3H for the price aren't bad.
There's NO WAY I'm recommending Biostar in the forum, folks and myself would thing I've lost my mind.
It would be nice to see the CPU voltage for every board when overclocking.
It would be nice to see the CPU voltage for every board when overclocking.
1.25V
No peripherals performance tests? Those are the only tests that differentiate those motherboards from each other.
Would really like to see how the UD3X Atheros Ethernet controller fares against the Intel and broadcom ones.
No peripherals performance tests? Those are the only tests that differentiate those motherboards from each other. Would really like to see how the UD3X Atheros Ethernet controller fares against the Intel and broadcom ones.
I'll let the integrated controller guy know you'd like to see those parts compared
Thank you!
I would have liked to see the Asus P8Z77V-LK version instead of the LX since it is better equipped.
I would have liked to see the Asus P8Z77V-LK version instead of the LX since it is better equipped.
It's also mentioned in the article. It was over $160 (at $165) when the comparison was set up.
Why are there no DCP latency tests ? These differentiate the motherboards
This is what differentiates them performance wise.
Wow, Biostar...? I wonder what the longevity of that board is...
Wow, Biostar...? I wonder what the longevity of that board is...
It's hard to tell, but the last Biostar board I had in a system lasted 12 years before it got dismantled for its entire processor selection being too slow.
Nice to see a Mobo review where the charts are not all identical bars lol. It has been a long time sense the stock performance has had much of any variance between brands, and we are getting much more feature variety as well. I thought as more and more parts became integrated into the CPU that the bars would become more and more similar, and mainstream features would become more and more homogeneous.
Also, I love the True Studio Pro software, if you are running digital audio it really makes any idea of a dedicated sound card a thing of the past. Every computer I build now either has True Studio Pro with the mobo, or I purchase the MB2 software suite, it makes such a difference if using headphones or quality speakers, and much less buggy that Creative's sound cards and driver issues that we all know and love.
On-motherboard start buttons are a useless feature. Anyone who could actually use it should know they can just short across the power switch header using any piece of metal.
At this point SATA 6GB, USB 3 and PCI-e 3.o should be a standered and not a side option.
As good as Asus motherboards are - why do they include such poorly made I/O brackets? Even Biostar and ECS include ones that are better made than Asus does.
Another comment about why the P8Z77V-LK board was not reviewed. I own this board now after a total disaster with one of the boards you awarded so why is it missing? The ASUS P8Z77V-LK was priced at $149.99 when I purchased it and is now $139.99 with a rebate down to $119.99 after a quick check this morning. Based on your comments about the Biostar and ASRock boards having additional features like SLI/CF or additional USB 3 ports it is hard to understand why this board was not reviewed. The P8Z77V-LE is priced at $165 not the LK board. As to the 4-dimm testing, did you try the DDR3-2666 ratio or is the test overclocking the 2400 ratio?