Z87 rules the PC enthusiast market by exposing the Haswell architecture's full feature set. We're particularly interested in mini-ITX-based platforms able to integrate Z87 in a compact form factor. Five boards contend for supremacy of compact computing.
Every time we hear about the death of the desktop PC, that conclusion seems to be based on slowing sales from big tier-ones like Dell and HP. But we know from talking to boutique builders that the demand for high-end gaming PCs and workstations continues to increase. It's a good time to be an enthusiast, and games like Battlefield 4 help illustrate why.
At least some of the excitement comes from high-performance, high efficiency hardware, which is allowing the community to construct faster machines in smaller enclosures. It's no longer necessary to drop a big case next to your desk with two or three 250 W graphics cards for playable frame rates in the latest titles. Now we can get plenty of speed in small machines that look more like living room appliances, but are every bit PCs.
Up until recently, the mini-ITX form factor was all about compromise. You'd give up most of your motherboard's slots and room for integrated extras to fit into tighter spaces. But as this segment grows, more and more companies are recognizing a desire for premium-class platforms with all of the on-board features expected from a larger ATX board. Drop in a high-end, overclockable processor, one dual-slot graphics card with multiple display outputs, and some solid-state storage. Sounds about as sexy as any monolithic gaming box we've ever seen.
So, which motherboard would we choose to serve as the foundation for a build like that? There are certainly many options on the market, and five of the industry’s top performance-oriented brands sent us a sample to compare.

| LGA 1150-Based Mini-ITX Motherboard Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock Z87E-ITX | Asus Z87I-Deluxe | EVGA Z87 Stinger | Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi | MSI Z87I | |
| PCB Revision | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Chipset | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Six Phases | 12 Phases | Four Phases | Four Phases | Four Phases |
| BIOS | P2.10 (10/04/2013) | 0702 (08/30/2013) | 102 (08/07/2013) | F4 (08/03/2013) | V1.4 (09/30/2013) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 100.10 (+0.10%) | 99.94 (-0.06%) | 100.12 (+0.12%) | 99.77 (-0.23%) | 100.01 (+0.01%) |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | None | None | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Network | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | 1 | 1 | 1 | None | 1 |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Video Out | DVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMI | DVI-I, HDMI, DisplayPort | DisplayPort, HDMI | Dual HDMI, DVI-I | HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-I |
| Other Devices | eSATA, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | USB BIOS Flashback, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | Bluetooth Transceiver | Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module GO2BIOS button |
| Internal Interfaces | |||||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | None | None | None | None | None |
| PCIe 2.0 x1 | Mini-PCIe (filled) | None | Mini-PCIe | Mini-PCIe (filled) | Mini-PCIe (filled) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 6 x (shared with eSATA, mSATA) | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 3-Pin Fan | None | None | None | None | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | None | Output Only | None | Output Only | None |
| Internal Buttons | None | MemOK | Power, Reset | None | None |
| Internal Switch | None | None | None | None | None |
| Diagnostics Panel | None | None | Numeric | None | None |
| Other Devices | None | None | None | Serial COM port | Serial COM port |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||||
| Chipset SATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s (Total) Shared w/eSATA, mSATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | None | None | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only |
| Networking | |||||
| Primary LAN | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | 8111G PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | None | None | AR8161 PCIe | 8111G PCIe |
| Wi-Fi | BCM4352 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band | BCM4352 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band | None | Intel 2230 PCIe 802.11n Single-Band | Intel 2230 PCIe 802.11n Single-Band |
| Bluetooth | By 802.11ac Combo | By 802.11ac Combo | AR3011 USB | By 802.11n Combo | By 802.11n Combo |
| Audio | |||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | CA0132 (Core3D) PCIe | ALC892 | ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | DTS Connect | DTS Connect | None | None | None |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years |
- The Mini-ITX Market Is Small, But Growing...
- ASRock Z87E-ITX
- Z87E-ITX Software
- Z87E-ITX Firmware
- Asus Z87I-Deluxe
- Z87I-Deluxe Software
- Z87I-Deluxe Firmware
- EVGA Z87 Stinger
- Z87 Stinger Software
- Z87 Stinger Firmware
- Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi
- Z87N-WiFi Software
- Z87N-WiFi Firmware
- MSI Z87I
- Z87I Software
- Z87I Firmware
- Test Hardware And Benchmark Settings
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Energy, Heat, And Efficiency
- Overclocking
- Which Mini-ITX Motherboard Would We Buy For Haswell?
Yes, they've sent one for another article. If the site did multiple items per manufacturer the article would take weeks to finish. That wouldn't be a problem if all Tom's Hardware did was motherboards
More room between the PCI-E and CPU LGA is nice on the Asus as are all the features.
I am still running an older H55n usb3 24/7 and it has been quite stable and cool and low on power consumption. Shame that this new gigabyte board has higher power and temperature levels.
Overall it's good to see the roundup. Would have liked to see post times. With SSD storage, motherboard post times are now becoming the longer wait in a system boot up.
Also interested in thoughts on reasons for Z87 mobos for a standard non-overclocking build. For a non-overclocked gaming ITX PC, say with an I3 or low-end I5, are there any compelling reasons to pay the Z87 premium over, say an H81, which can run $100 cheaper?
I thought Intel did away with allowing non-k processors to use the four 100 MHz bins with Haswell. It only applies to Sandy and Ivy. At least that was what has been reported:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2013/06/14/haswell-overclocking/1
Now that looks interesting.
I don't see how this is even a consideration. How many people have the need to plug in the connector AFTER installing the cooler? Or for that matter, BEFORE removing the cooler? The only need to move this at all would be during a PSU swap, which is probably very infrequent for most.
Now that looks interesting.
Yep that does look interesting.
Some other itx boards, not as cool as that MSI, but worth sharing.
http://www.asus.com/Commercial_Servers_Workstations/P9DI/
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Q87T/
http://www.asrock.com/server/overview.asp?Model=E3C226D2I
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4463#ov
Not ITX but worth sharing too
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/CSB/
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/VANGUARD_B85/
Yep the Deluxe has Wifi AC and pro has Wifi N