Combining the newest features with moderate expandability, Intel’s mainstream platforms provide high value to most gaming and overclocking enthusiasts. We compare six examples with Z77 Express to find the best features, overclocking, and efficiency.
The components of Intel’s Maho Bay platform, including the Z77 Express chipset and IVY BRIDGE-based processors, have been floating around our SoCal lab all year. And yet, the company waited until April to to slowly roll its parts out, allowing channel partners to clear as many SANDY BRIDGE-based machines as possible before relegating the architecture to "prior-gen."
The Z77 Express chipset was quickly followed by Ivy Bridge-based processors, and both of our stories on those parts came to the same conclusion: mainly, that the new generation of hardware is barely better than the Z68 Express and SANDY BRIDGE ARCHITECHTURE it replaces.
Nevertheless, Maho Bay's improvements still make it the preferred choice for anyone replacing an older system. If you're already running a machine that center on Sandy bridge, an upgrade doesn't make sense. But if you're stuck with a Core 2- or Phenom-based box, Z77 Express and an Ivy Bridge-based processor are the logical path forward.
If you're patient enough to hold off on Sandy Bridge, sticking with two- or three-year-old hardware for this long, then X79 is probably totally out of the question. It's a good thing, then, that the Maho Bay platform inherits its predecessor's mainstream pricing. On the other hand, if you're savvy enough to read Tom's Hardware, then you probably also share our high expectations for quality, stability, and robust features.
With that degree of frugality in mind, we begin our Z77 Express-based motherboard round-ups right in the middle of the enthusiast market: between $160 and $220.
| Motherboard Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock Z77 Extreme6 | Asus P8Z77-V Pro | Biostar TZ77XE4 | |
| PCB Revision | 1.02 | 1.02 | 5.0 |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 Express | Intel Z77 Express | Intel Z77 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Twelve Phases | Sixteen Phases | Twelve Phases |
| BIOS | P1.30 (04/12/2012) | 0906 (03/26/2012) | Z77CF412 (04/12/2012) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 100.46 (+0.46%) | 100.30 (+0.30%) | 100.01 (+0.01%) |
| Internal Interfaces | |||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | 1 (4 lanes from PCH) | 1 (4 lanes from PCH) | 1 (4 lanes from PCH) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | 1/0 | 2/0 | 1/0 |
| Mini PCIe | 1 | None | None |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6 ports) | 4 (8 ports) | 2 (4 ports) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2 ports) | 2 (4 ports) | 1 (2 ports) |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | None |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 (1 shared w/eSATA) | 4 | 4 |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 4 (1 shared w/eSATA) |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 4 | None | 2 |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
| Power Button | Yes | No | Yes |
| Reset Button | Yes | No | Yes |
| CLR_CMOS Button | No | No | Yes |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Pass/Fail LEDs | Numeric |
| Legacy Interfaces | Serial, Floppy, 2 x PCI | 2 x PCI | Serial, 2 x PCI |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | None |
| Network | Single | Single | Single |
| eSATA | 1 (shared w/SATA) | None | 1 (shared w/SATA) |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Yes | No | No |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical Only | Optical Only | None |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Video Out | VGA, DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI | HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, DVI-D | DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA, DVI-D |
| Other Devices | None | 802.11n Wi-Fi Module | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||
| Chipset SATA | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 shared w/eSATA | ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s | ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| USB 3.0 | EJ168A PCIe Intel Z77 Integrated | 2 x ASM1042 PCIe Intel Z77 Integrated | Z77 Integrated Only |
| IEEE-1394 | VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s | None | None |
| Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Primary LAN | BCM57781 PCIe | WG82579V PHY | RTL8111E PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | AR9485 PCIe Wi-Fi | None |
| Audio | |||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC898 | ALC892 | ALC898 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | Not Specified | DTS Connect | Not Specified |
| Motherboard Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ECS Golden Z77H2-A2X | Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H | MSI Z77A-GD65 | |
| PCB Revision | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 Express | Intel Z77 Express | Intel Z77 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Eight Phases | Eight Phases | Twelve Phases |
| BIOS | 120328 (03/28/2012) | F7 (03/28/2012) | V10.3 (03/27/2012) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 99.77 (-0.23%) | 100.89 (+0.89%) | 100.0 (+0.0%) |
| Internal Interfaces | |||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 3 (x16/x0/x0, x8/x8/x0, x8/x4/x4) |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | None | 1 (4 lanes from PCH) | None |
| PCIe x1/x4 | 2/0 | 3/0 | 4/0 |
| Mini PCIe | 1 | None | None |
| USB 2.0 | 1 (2 ports) | 3 (6 ports) | 3 (6 ports) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2 ports) | 1 (2 ports) | 1 (2 ports) |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | 1 |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 2 | 4 (1 shared w/mSATA) | 4 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 2 | None | 2 |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | None |
| Power Button | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reset Button | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CLR_CMOS Button | No | Yes | No |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Numeric | Numeric |
| Legacy Interfaces | Serial, 2 x PCI | None | None |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||
| P/S 2 | None | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 4 | None | 4 |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
| Network | Single | Single | Single |
| eSATA | 1 | 2 | None |
| CLR_CMOS Button | No | No | Yes |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical Only | Optical Only | Optical+Coaxial |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Video Out | VGA, DVI-D, HDMI | VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DiplayPort | HDMI, VGA, DVI-D |
| Other Devices | Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi | None | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||
| Chipset SATA | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 2 x SATA 3Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s | 88SE9128 PCIe 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s | ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| USB 3.0 | ASM1042 PCIe Intel Z77 Integrated | VL800-Q8 PCIe Intel Z77 Integrated | Z77 Integrated Only |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | VT6315N PCIe 1 x 400 Mb/s |
| Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Primary LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | AR8151 PCIe | WG82579V PHY |
| Secondary LAN | AR9271 USB Wi-Fi | None | None |
| Audio | |||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | VT2021 | ALC898 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | Not Specified | Not Specified | Not Specified |
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