Intel Z77 Motherboard Round-up

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The TechSpot crew have rounded up a handful of Intel Z77 motherboards today and put them to the test.

It might seem odd to jump the gun on "next-gen" motherboards, but 7-series platforms are backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge processors, so users have actually been able to buy a Z77 motherboard and use it for a few weeks without Ivy Bridge.
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Good read, though im waiting for a review that touches on the higher end boards such as the Sabertooth and (when its reviewable) Maximus etc. Im on the market for a Z77 board for gaming/HTPC so a nice $200+ board with all the features and fixens is what im looking for.
 
I'm in the opposite boat. what do these boards really offer over a sub-$150 board?

To a gamer a motherboard is really just ports and VRMs. If you are using a video card and onboard sound / LAN, you need a couple SATA ports, a couple USB ports and decent voltage supply... can't a $130 board do that as well as a $200 board? Do I really need to pay $50+ for some heatsinks and 3 more VRM phases?

They need to throw in a couple sub $150 boards to see whether the features of the higher end boards are really worthwhile. I mean does anyone really have more than 4 USB 3.0 devices? I have one external drive that can use USB 3.0. Everything else is 2.0. Who really needs 8 USB 3.0 ports. How many SATA 6.0 Gbps SSDs does the average person have? Most have 1 or 2, so 2 SATA 6 ports are enough. Seems focusing on ~$200ish boards leaves out a significant portion of users... not only those who want sub $150 reviews, but also those who want an extra PCI-e chip for extra lanes in crossfire / SLI.

I guess it's difficult to get enough boards to have a comprehensive round up, but this narrow of a price range really narrows your percentage of readers who will find the review useful.
 
True, and i cant really argue against your point. However do you know if all the software/UI/Bios features are available on those $150 boards and budget boards?
Personally its more my HTPC side that makes me want a board up a few levels from a budget board. I have like 6+ HDD's and will have 1 SSD so its all about SATA ports for me. And those budget boards with only 6 isnt gonna cut it. As for the board im most interested in now, the Sabertooth, its 5 year warranty and unique dust cover/cooling thing (assuming it actually is useful) are worth it. My PC will be on a tech bench so if that cover works right, it will be useful.
 
I sure am glad these 2012 motherboards have such futuristic ports such as PS2 and VGA.

(it has been seven years since I used a PS2 keyboard or VGA monitor at home.. on XP)
 
Concillian said:
I'm in the opposite boat. what do these boards really offer over a sub-$150 board?

To a gamer a motherboard is really just ports and VRMs. If you are using a video card and onboard sound / LAN, you need a couple SATA ports, a couple USB ports and decent voltage supply... can't a $130 board do that as well as a $200 board? Do I really need to pay $50+ for some heatsinks and 3 more VRM phases?

They need to throw in a couple sub $150 boards to see whether the features of the higher end boards are really worthwhile. I mean does anyone really have more than 4 USB 3.0 devices? I have one external drive that can use USB 3.0. Everything else is 2.0. Who really needs 8 USB 3.0 ports. How many SATA 6.0 Gbps SSDs does the average person have? Most have 1 or 2, so 2 SATA 6 ports are enough. Seems focusing on ~$200ish boards leaves out a significant portion of users... not only those who want sub $150 reviews, but also those who want an extra PCI-e chip for extra lanes in crossfire / SLI.

I guess it's difficult to get enough boards to have a comprehensive round up, but this narrow of a price range really narrows your percentage of readers who will find the review useful.
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NEVER POST AGAIN WITH YOUR PRACTICALITY AND NONSENSE.
 
Yep was going to get a z77 sabertooth, but when u compare it to the as rock extreme4, it's has practically the same features ( and even better sound on as rock!) for $100 less, why bother. Can go up 1 Whole video card tier with that. If u look at it all it's just rubbish software that separates most mobos especially the ROGs.
 
HexiumVII said:
Yep was going to get a z77 sabertooth, but when u compare it to the as rock extreme4, it's has practically the same features ( and even better sound on as rock!) for $100 less, why bother. Can go up 1 Whole video card tier with that. If u look at it all it's just rubbish software that separates most mobos especially the ROGs.
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You know its really really (basically impossible) to disagree with you on that point. I am still looking at the Sabertooth but when looking at the specs on that Asrock-Extreme4, it really does take on the Sabertooth and wins with more PCI slots and lower cost. If i was smart or stingy with money i would follow your direction and just get the Extreme4. I will say this though, i am probably the perfect person to need to own that dust-cover/mobo cooler guard on the Sabertooth. My room (cause of all my tech) gets really dusty and i will be having the mobo on a tech bench, so very exposed to dust and changes in weather (if that matters).
 
The ASRock Extreme 6 is looking good. I have the Extreme 4 iteration coming tomorrow. Can't wait to see what it can do.
 
SuperSubZero said:
I sure am glad these 2012 motherboards have such futuristic ports such as PS2 and VGA.

(it has been seven years since I used a PS2 keyboard or VGA monitor at home.. on XP)
Click to expand...

Plus the fact that both have plentiful adapters to USB and DVI respectively.
 
NathanP2007 said:
You know its really really (basically impossible) to disagree with you on that point. I am still looking at the Sabertooth but when looking at the specs on that Asrock-Extreme4, it really does take on the Sabertooth and wins with more PCI slots and lower cost. If i was smart or stingy with money i would follow your direction and just get the Extreme4. I will say this though, i am probably the perfect person to need to own that dust-cover/mobo cooler guard on the Sabertooth. My room (cause of all my tech) gets really dusty and i will be having the mobo on a tech bench, so very exposed to dust and changes in weather (if that matters).
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Dust pose no danger to electronics(the already made ones, to avoid arguing with clean rooms :D), the only bad thing caused by dust is that it can stop long time uncleaned fans inside, but the shield all over sabertooth, is nice looking and so on, but it is not a protection in strict sense, as chips and components on motherboard, including the board itself are already hermetically sealed from the environment. I believe you are happy with your sabertooth because of its appearance, but I had to make it clear for you, that you didn't pay for anti-dust solution.
 
spacing guild said:
The ASRock Extreme 6 is looking good. I have the Extreme 4 iteration coming tomorrow. Can't wait to see what it can do.
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What is the difference between the Extreme 4 and 6? Do you know when it comes out (im assuming its not out yet.)

Acer_Sheep said:
Dust pose no danger to electronics, the only bad thing caused by dust is that it can stop long time uncleaned fans inside, but the shield all over sabertooth, is nice looking and so on, but it is not a protection in strict sense, as chips and components on motherboard, including the board itself are already hermetically sealed from the environment. I believe you are happy with your sabertooth because of its appearance, but I had to make it clear for you, that you didn't pay for anti-dust solution.
Click to expand...

I havent gotten a Z77 yet, so that information is good to know. I had asked before on other threads if it (dust cover) actually did anything on the Sabertooth but no one would ever confirm or deny that it was useful. If what your saying is true, and common sense kinda dictates that it is, why would i get a Sabertooth instead of the AsRock? I think it only comes down to...with the Sabertooth your getting all those Asus software/Bios programs. Are they worth it?
 
NathanP2007 said:
I havent gotten a Z77 yet, so that information is good to know. I had asked before on other threads if it (dust cover) actually did anything on the Sabertooth but no one would ever confirm or deny that it was useful. If what your saying is true, and common sense kinda dictates that it is, why would i get a Sabertooth instead of the AsRock? I think it only comes down to...with the Sabertooth your getting all those Asus software/Bios programs. Are they worth it?
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Never owned sabertooth myself so don't know if it offers something more than just programs, but the shield is definitely a marketing move, if it would be required for proper operation of electronics, than probably most mobos(if not all, and if not all circuit boards together) would be made with it already. And it doesn't seem to serve as cover against dust at all with all of those free spaces around the sides and corners between shield and board.
 
NathanP2007 said:
What is the difference between the Extreme 4 and 6? Do you know when it comes out (im assuming its not out yet.)



I havent gotten a Z77 yet, so that information is good to know. I had asked before on other threads if it (dust cover) actually did anything on the Sabertooth but no one would ever confirm or deny that it was useful. If what your saying is true, and common sense kinda dictates that it is, why would i get a Sabertooth instead of the AsRock? I think it only comes down to...with the Sabertooth your getting all those Asus software/Bios programs. Are they worth it?
Click to expand...


Without any research I think the ASRock Extreme 4 has one less PCI-e 16x slot and probably less SATA and USB ports and probably no Firewire. I also bought mine for $135 shipped, which I believe is an excellent price for basically the same PCB with the solid gold caps.

The power design might be less than desired, but then again; Major overclocking records recently have been obtained with ASrock motherboards.

I had the Z68 Extreme 4 Gen 3 from ASRock with the same dark PCB with gold caps. I loved it...it had a LAN issue so I sent it back for an RMA. But it also had a bent pin, which invalidates the warranty. ASRock sent me back a brand new motherboard in a week and a half.

I might do an unboxing and minireview on the Z77 when I get it tomorrow. I am hoping to get to 5 GHz with a 2500k with reasonable voltages and temps for 24/7. My version of reasonable with probably be [H]ard. :D
 
I like the boards (Extreme4 & 6) but there are some...less than premium features lacking. First off i am hoping for my Z77 to have Intel LAN, the boards only have 6 back I/O usb ports, other mobos having more like 8-10. The Extreme6 does have another PCI-E 16 slot but its 2.0 and x4...so basically useless even IF i quad fired, which i wont ever do (at most ever i would SLI/CF 2 cards).
 
Yeah I guess the Intel LAN is a selling point if that's your thing. And i'm not swamped with USB or hard drives so those aren't issues for me either. I just want SLI and a good overclock. I can't tell the difference between NICs so I don't mind if it's Realtek or whatever. I have a back-up Intel card. It's pretty good, also.

I basically like the price and I like the quality and look of the Asrocks. And I know I can trust the customer service.
 
I know that Intel NIC is better than the Realtek, but its such a small difference that (at least for me) its not even something to consider when buying mobos.

Anyone wonder why there were no Asus boards in the comparison? Did i miss something?
 
NathanP2007 said:
You know its really really (basically impossible) to disagree with you on that point. I am still looking at the Sabertooth but when looking at the specs on that Asrock-Extreme4, it really does take on the Sabertooth and wins with more PCI slots and lower cost. If i was smart or stingy with money i would follow your direction and just get the Extreme4. I will say this though, i am probably the perfect person to need to own that dust-cover/mobo cooler guard on the Sabertooth. My room (cause of all my tech) gets really dusty and i will be having the mobo on a tech bench, so very exposed to dust and changes in weather (if that matters).
Click to expand...

Yea I was pretty on the fence with going for a cheaper Asus lx board or a sabertooth (really wanted esata and Asus die hard) but looking at the extreme 4 it just has everything. My bud has an older sabertooth and his room is gross, I looked at it once and a lot of dust collect inside the fancy shields, so you should just buy some filters from home depot and cover up all your vents in the case. You'll prob get buildup with those extra fans concentrating air in those tunnels.
My last two personal builds were pretty expensive x58 boards and I just feel top tier boards don't really help perf that much and even they can have strange intermittent issues some times. Just seems money is better spent elsewhere when you have such nice choices.
 
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Hmm... I'm wondering why nobody mentioned anything about Intel Board (DZ77GA-70K).
I'm more interested in Intel's board. From experience, Intel's board is quite reliable and hassle free (current system is based on Intel's board, and it is around 9 years old).

So, I would like to hear your thoughts on the Intel Board DZ77GA-70K.
 
SuperSubZero said:
I sure am glad these 2012 motherboards have such futuristic ports such as PS2 and VGA.

(it has been seven years since I used a PS2 keyboard or VGA monitor at home.. on XP)
Click to expand...

Hey, don't get rid of my PS2. I like being able to smash my face into the keyboard and have it pick up every letter.
 
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