Asrock Z87E-ITX

Dark79 said:
Anyone knows how the audio compares to the Asus ROG Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX? I don't see "Purity Audio" in the specs or on the board, but it is running the Realtek ALC1150. The headphone amp and DTS connect are very welcome though.

I just want a mITX board with decent sound for once. I'm not sure I want to sacrifice the mSATA or 2 additional SATA ports just to go for the Asus which is going to definitely be more expensive.
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The impact uses M.2/NGFF, which is better(faster) than mSATA so you aren't losing any capability with the Asus board. As for losing two SATA ports when going the Asus route, wellm on the Asrock, SATA5 and SATA6 ports are shared. You can't use SATA5 and mSATA, and you can't use SATA6 and eSATA. The Asus board just ditches the SATA ports as they are used by the NGFF and eSATA.

As for sound, IIRC the Impact uses the same realtek audo chip, different(better) headphone amp and different(better) capacitors. The implementation on the Impact is likely to be better, but how much better can't be determined until sound testing comparisons.
 
wreckem said:
The impact uses M.2/NGFF, which is better(faster) than mSATA so you aren't losing any capability with the Asus board. As for losing two SATA ports when going the Asus route, wellm on the Asrock, SATA5 and SATA6 ports are shared. You can't use SATA5 and mSATA, and you can't use SATA6 and eSATA. The Asus board just ditches the SATA ports as they are used by the NGFF and eSATA.
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NGFF is connected directly to the PCIe 2.0 lanes off the Z87 chipset, so it shouldn't be "using" any of the SATA ports. They should have just ditched eSATA and given it 6 SATA ports.
 
ND40oz said:
NGFF is connected directly to the PCIe 2.0 lanes off the Z87 chipset, so it shouldn't be "using" any of the SATA ports. They should have just ditched eSATA and given it 6 SATA ports.
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M.2/NGFF socket 2 uses both PCI Express x2 and SATA.
M.2/NGFF socket 3 uses PCI Express x4.

Its possible the Impact uses socket 3 and they just made the ridiculous design decision that MSI and Gigabyte made and only used 4(5) of the 6 SATA ports the chipset has built in. Both the MSI and Gigabyte Z87 boards, only have 4 SATA ports, no mSATA and no eSATA. All that said I believe the more likely scenario is the Impact uses M.2/NGFF socket 2.
 
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wreckem said:
The impact uses M.2/NGFF, which is better(faster) than mSATA so you aren't losing any capability with the Asus board. .

As for sound, IIRC the Impact uses the same realtek audo chip, different(better) headphone amp and different(better) capacitors. The implementation on the Impact is likely to be better, but how much better can't be determined until sound testing comparisons.
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My point is that I already have a mSATA SSD on the Z77E-ITX that won't transfer over. Are there even any M.2 SSDs yet?

wreckem said:
As for losing two SATA ports when going the Asus route, wellm on the Asrock, SATA5 and SATA6 ports are shared. You can't use SATA5 and mSATA, and you can't use SATA6 and eSATA. The Asus board just ditches the SATA ports as they are used by the NGFF and eSATA.
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Doh! Didn't even think that they'd be shared. So I guess I won't really lose any SATA ports in the end. Good to know!

Decisions, decisions...
 
Dark79 said:
My point is that I already have a mSATA SSD on the Z77E-ITX that won't transfer over. Are there even any M.2 SSDs yet?

Decisions, decisions...
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Yeah you are screwed if you already have a mSATA drive.

Probably not until sometime in Q3. Asus has been working with two companies(Adata and someone else) to get drives shipped but it doesn't look like any will hit retail channels until sometime in Q3. Its possible some will be out by time the Impact hits retail in mid July.

With the Asus board if you don't use/don't plan to use eSATA you are losing 1 SATA port.
 
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ND40oz said:
Asus is saying it uses PCIe 4x, so I hope that means it's both socket 2 and 3 compatible and they didn't just route SATA lanes to it. Socket 2 is PCIe 2x or SATA.

http://rog.asus.com/238712013/maxim...-the-best-choice-for-maximus-vi-motherboards/
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I hadn't seen that yet. It looks like Asus cut a SATA port then. I wish they'd go ahead and put the Impacts website up already so we can have a full spec sheet. That way it would be easier to decide if its worth waiting for.

I'm glad its socket 3 though.
 
Dark79 said:
Anyone knows how the audio compares to the Asus ROG Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX? I don't see "Purity Audio" in the specs or on the board, but it is running the Realtek ALC1150. The headphone amp and DTS connect are very welcome though.

I just want a mITX board with decent sound for once. I'm not sure I want to sacrifice the mSATA or 2 additional SATA ports just to go for the Asus which is going to definitely be more expensive.
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The Imapct has an NGFF slot tho.
 
So tell me... What's the best mini-itx lga 1150 board with decent audio? I'm not understanding all this mSata talk :)
 
Well, it's going to be between this AsRock Z87E-ITX, the Maximus VI Impact, and EVGA Z87 Stinger audio-wise.

Await reviews.
 
Stay away from EVGA boards. EVGA's engineers don't know how to program a proper, working BIOS.
 
Got a new system setup with the Z87E-ITX. The mSATA slot isn't working properly though. If I screw the mSATA SSD down, the Z87E-ITX won't detect it. If I leave the mSATA SSD flipped up and not screwed in, the Z87E-ITX does detect it.

On the phone now with Newegg to try and get the board replaced.

Another thing; On the Z77E-ITX, when a mSATA SSD was in the slot, the UEFI would show it in the system browser. In the Z87E-ITX, if a mSATA SSD is in the slot, the system browser will show the slot as empty, but SATA port 4 in use by the SSD. I guess this is because SATA port 4 and the mSATA slot share that port.

When I removed the mSATA SSD and put a mini-PCIe wifi card, USB card or TV tuner card in, the system browser would then show something in the mSATA slot.

Other than those quirks and issues, the board is great. I wish that they put the 8-pin CPU power connector and SATA ports on the edge of the board though.
 
Found another "bug". Connected an eSATA dock to the board and the system browser does not show anything plugged into that port. When I go to the page that shows the SATA ports where you can configure each one as hot-swappable, the drive in the dock does appear there.
 
Synomenon said:
Got a new system setup with the Z87E-ITX. The mSATA slot isn't working properly though. If I screw the mSATA SSD down, the Z87E-ITX won't detect it. If I leave the mSATA SSD flipped up and not screwed in, the Z87E-ITX does detect it.

On the phone now with Newegg to try and get the board replaced.

Another thing; On the Z77E-ITX, when a mSATA SSD was in the slot, the UEFI would show it in the system browser. In the Z87E-ITX, if a mSATA SSD is in the slot, the system browser will show the slot as empty, but SATA port 4 in use by the SSD. I guess this is because SATA port 4 and the mSATA slot share that port.

When I removed the mSATA SSD and put a mini-PCIe wifi card, USB card or TV tuner card in, the system browser would then show something in the mSATA slot.

Other than those quirks and issues, the board is great. I wish that they put the 8-pin CPU power connector and SATA ports on the edge of the board though.
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That's weird... is there a dip switch or bios entry to flip that slot from mpcie to msata compatability (I remember hearing something about "dual capable" mini slots at one point.
 
Fa11acy said:
ah, thank you, why is it that they changed the socket from 1155?
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Primarily because of the FIVR (on-die VRM). Essentially Intel has integrated what used to be part of the motherboard VRM onto the CPU, which means the architecture for feeding it power has changed.

The Anandtech review has all the details you could possibly want. :)
 
Machupo said:
That's weird... is there a dip switch or bios entry to flip that slot from mpcie to msata compatability (I remember hearing something about "dual capable" mini slots at one point.
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No switch anywhere. It's automatic. When you put a mSATA SSD in, the slot shares SATA port 4. When you put any other non-storage mini-PCIe card in, they work how they're supposed to.
 
ScabSE said:
Primarily because of the FIVR (on-die VRM). Essentially Intel has integrated what used to be part of the motherboard VRM onto the CPU, which means the architecture for feeding it power has changed.

The Anandtech review has all the details you could possibly want. :)
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ah, ill stick with my ivy :p

also what is the best z77 ITX mobo? im looking to build a small form factor pc
 
I couldn't say. I'm sure you'd get a good answer over in the Intel MoBos section or one of the Z77 threads.
 
So, Newegg sent me a replacement Z87E-ITX. It's having the same issue with my mSATA SSD being detected intermittently.

What I discovered was that when the mSATA SSD is left plugged into the slot, but not screwed in, at certain angles, the Z87E-ITX would detect it.

What I mean by "certain angles" is when you insert a mSATA SSD, you insert it at an angle into the slot. Once it is inserted into the slot, you push the mSATA SSD down until it's parallel with the motherboard and you can screw it in.

I know for sure this mSATA SSD works properly as my laptop and my Z77E-ITX detect it without any issues.

The mSATA SSD I'm using is a 480GB Edge Boost Pro.:
http://www.macmall.com/p/Edge-Memory-Portable/Removable-Drives/product~dpno~9439963~pdp.iafgfif

It's the same SSD as the Mushkin Atlas 480GB:
http://poweredbymushkin.com/index.php/catalog/item/28-atlas-msata/724-atlas-msata-480gb
 
I got the mSATA SSD inserted and held in place in a position where it doesn't "disconnected" and is always detected.

I after Windows booted, I ran AS SSD, ATTO and CrystalDisk Mark. AS SSD and ATTO finish their tests, but when I run CrystalDisk Mark, the mSATA SSD disappears like it has become unplugged from the mSATA slot. When I reboot the system, the mSATA SSD shows up again.

This is weird and I don't want to deal with this in a brand new system. With these issues coupled with the Z87 USB3.0 bug I just learned about, I'm going back to my Ivy Bridge setup. I'm returning the board and processor and will wait until ASRock releases boards with the "fixed" Z87 chipset and hopefully a fixed mSATA slot too.
 
Synomenon said:
I got the mSATA SSD inserted and held in place in a position where it doesn't "disconnected" and is always detected.

I after Windows booted, I ran AS SSD, ATTO and CrystalDisk Mark. AS SSD and ATTO finish their tests, but when I run CrystalDisk Mark, the mSATA SSD disappears like it has become unplugged from the mSATA slot. When I reboot the system, the mSATA SSD shows up again.

This is weird and I don't want to deal with this in a brand new system. With these issues coupled with the Z87 USB3.0 bug I just learned about, I'm going back to my Ivy Bridge setup. I'm returning the board and processor and will wait until ASRock releases boards with the "fixed" Z87 chipset and hopefully a fixed mSATA slot too.
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Bad news for haswell :/
it seems Gigabyte have the best boards in terms of quality (for a decent price), the Asus boards might be good but they are usually pretty expensive :/
 
Phuncz said:
Considering Haswell is a CPU and the mSATA problem Synomenon has, seems to be with the mSATA slot, I can't make the link.
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No, since the difference in performance is too little from ivy bridge.
Haswells advantage was mostly from the motherboards and mSata3.
 
Well the whole problem could just be contact / msata socket related, even the drive dropping out under load. Would be a little odd they never tested a mSATA SSD in the board before going to production, so the sockets may be defective in a batch or something.

Or it just doesn't like the OP's SSD for some reason.
 
Just got a Z87E! It'll be sitting in a box waiting for other components to arrive for around a week, if anyone wants any specific measurements just let me know here. :)
 
Must be nice, I have the opposite problem. :D

I now have all my other parts (well, the case is only a temporary cheap one for now), but have to get a new one of this board because the socket pins got bent during the (properly-done, just bad luck) install.
 
Does anyone know if this board will fit a noctua c12p in an sg07/sg08? Does the socket placement work?
 
I confirmed with Newegg that they weren't going to cover it under my warranty, and Asrock wanted $50 to repair the board, so I just attempted bending the pins back myself, and shockingly got it to boot.

For what it's worth, my Plextor 256GB mSATA drive has no issue being detected when screwed down. Still setting up though, so I haven't run Crystal Disk Mark or anything.

Edit: Ran through CrystalDiskMark twice in a row, and no issues at all with my mSATA drive yet.

I do apparently have an issue with a USB 3.0 flash drive (not the bug that Intel is talking about, but something different), but my other two USB 3.0 drives (one flash drive, one hard drive) work fine. I've seen it with this drive on one other computer (both this one and that one use a UEFI and not a BIOS so I wonder if it's something with that), but somehow when I try plugging in the drive before boot, or when I try plugging it in while already in the UEFI settings, all USB peripherals such as my keyboard and mouse are no longer detected. But like I said, I'm inclined to think that it's something with the specific drive and not a motherboard issue.

Anyway, I'm running through Furmark and Prime95 for the day while I'm at work to make sure everything is stable after my self-repair of the pins. So far, working great though.
 
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JoeH823 said:
I do apparently have an issue with a USB 3.0 flash drive (not the bug that Intel is talking about, but something different), but my other two USB 3.0 drives (one flash drive, one hard drive) work fine. I've seen it with this drive on one other computer (both this one and that one use a UEFI and not a BIOS so I wonder if it's something with that), but somehow when I try plugging in the drive before boot, or when I try plugging it in while already in the UEFI settings, all USB peripherals such as my keyboard and mouse are no longer detected. But like I said, I'm inclined to think that it's something with the specific drive and not a motherboard issue.
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I have an Asus P5E-VM HDMI motherboard that's also finnicky with USB. Most of the time it will boot with the keyboard, mouse, USB soundcard and Razer Nostromo attached, sometimes it won't and I have to disconnect one to get it to boot. Oh well, :)

My Z87E-ITX is arriving tomorrow to replace my current setup, I don't have anything USB 3.0 yet so I can't test those problems.
 
The problem with my mSATA SSD is probably related to the model. My mSATA SSD (which works just fine in my ASRock Z77E-ITX and in one of my laptops) is a 480GB Boost Pro. by Edge Tech.. It's the same model as the Mushkin 480GB Atlas mSATA SSD.

These models use two PCBs sandwiched together:
920032.jpg



It is thicker, but the "thicker" part / the part which protrudes is the part facing away from the motherboard when the SSD is inserted into the mSATA slot so I don't see why there would be any problems with this SSD in the Z87E-ITX. I went through two Z87E-ITX boards though and neither would work properly with this SSD.

I guess ASRock didn't test dual-PCB mSATA SSDs in the Z87E-ITX (not that there's any reason they shouldn't work since they work just fine in the Z77E-ITX).
 
My Z87E-ITX arrived today, along with a Core i5-4670K and 2x Crucial 8GB 1600MHz VLP memory. It works like a charm, Windows 7 even didn't make a problem going from my Intel G35 chipset to the Z87 chipset, just needed to install the drivers.

Overall a nice motherboard with a decent layout and good quality, although I think it's odd they supply latching SATA cables when the SATA sockets are so close together. But they are atleast of decent quality. Haven't tried overclocking since I'm running with the boxed cooler (old cooler won't fit) and only completed the system rebuild a few hours ago.
 
Mine is still working great after bending back the pins, again much to my surprise.

I'm not really a fan of the Bluetooth chip they used, though. It's not generic enough for me to update with Broadcom's own drivers (I instead get a response to check with the OEM for a driver update) and it doesn't work with Microsoft's built in Bluetooth drivers (even in Windows 8). Asrock's drivers are slightly older. Plus, I've got a couple different Bluetooth keyboards and all of them are getting disconnected pretty frequently (and then there's a driver popup on the desktop that temporarily displays a message about starting Bluetooth services).

Other than that and the nitpick with the one USB 3.0 drive, everything is working perfect, and I'm VERY happy with the setup.

With a i7-4770S, 16GB of Crucial 1.35V VLP RAM, and a GTX 780, my system is using drastically less power (~30W at idle, compared to ~160W, and maxes out at around 340W) than my Q6600 / Radeon 6850 system... while being dramatically faster, much more stable with regards to sleep/wake, and even quieter as well.

Now if only I could find a case I actually LIKE. I'm temporarily just using a cheap Elite 120, but it's way too large.
 
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I actually didn't install the Bluetooth driver yet, because I can't really wrap my head around a 304MB (no typo) Bluetooth driver. I'll wait a while for a newer, hopefully slimmer version.
 
Once they fix compatibility with dual-PCB 480GB mSATA SSDs AND impliment the C2 revision of the Z87 chipset, it will be even better...
 
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