EVGA Z77 Mini ITX Motherboard Detailed

[btarunr]

Here are some of the first pictures of EVGA's upcoming Z77 Mini ITX motherboard. EVGA's newest creation is one of the first mini-ITX motherboards with CPU socket north of the chipset, clearly a response to community feedback. EVGA's Z77 Mini ITX is geared for overclocking, with the LGA1155 socket bolstered by an 8-phase VRM that uses International Rectifier PowIRphase driver-MOSFETs. The board draws power from 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. The LGA1155 socket is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory; and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot.

In terms of storage connectivity, the EVGA Z77 Mini ITX is equipped with two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and an mSATA 3 Gb/s slot wired to the Z77 PCH; and two eSATA 6 Gb/s driven by a Marvell-made controller. Display connectivity includes HDMI and mini-DisplayPort. High-bandwidth connectivity includes six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two via headers), and two eSATA 6 Gb/s. 8+2 channel HD audio (Realtek ALC898 CODEC), gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS. Find more pictures at the source.



Source: OCaholic

[Delta6326]

Not bad. I wish we could get more itx in the market. I wounder how this stacks up to the ASUS itx board.

[TheLostSwede]

If only it actually had Thunderbolt, the source site got it wrong - http://uk.hardware.info/news/29504/n...oard-after-all

[Elmo]

I don't like the spacing of the usb3 header...

[TheLostSwede]

Originally Posted by Elmo

I don't like the spacing of the usb3 header...

So don't use it then

[m1dg3t]

I was all "Like OMG!" then I saw no WiFi! Like wTf?

A lot of nice things about this board/layout/colour scheme but no WiFi is a massive misstep

Unless I missed something?

[lZKoce]

Why no WiFi would be a "massive" misstep in any case? I personally don't care less about a miniITX board not having WiFi. I'd say it depends on the intended use.

[nickbaldwin86]

Originally Posted by Delta6326

Not bad. I wish we could get more itx in the market. I wounder how this stacks up to the ASUS itx board.

I have a feeling that the ASUS itx will take the win on this battle... overclocking and performance....and features too

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

I was all "Like OMG!" then I saw no WiFi! Like wTf?

A lot of nice things about this board/layout/colour scheme but no WiFi is a massive misstep

Unless I missed something?

I hope to see WiFi in the mPCIe slot, since the space there is too small for mSATA devices. If the WiFi is not included, these mPCIe cards are pretty cheap...and many boards do not hazve WiFi.

What IS weird to me is hte inclusion of Bluetooth, but no WiFi. Usually the two go hand-in-hand.

Honestly, I see they've packed a whole heck of a lot of stuff on that board. Due to popular requests, I'll be doing a series of mITX reviews soon, probably starting by the end of the month. I've seen a TONNE of great mITX products that I cannot wait to get my hands on!

[jateruy]

in terms of the specs, i could realize this board is going to compete with the p8z77-i. the layout of the connectivities are almost exactly the same lol.

[nickbaldwin86]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

I hope to see WiFi in the mPCIe slot, since the space there is too small for mSATA devices. If the WiFi is not included, these mPCIe cards are pretty cheap...and many boards do not hazve WiFi.

What IS weird to me is hte inclusion of Bluetooth, but no WiFi. Usually the two go hand-in-hand.

Honestly, I see they've packed a whole heck of a lot of stuff on that board. Due to popular requests, I'll be doing a series of mITX reviews soon, probably starting by the end of the month. I've seen a TONNE of great mITX products that I cannot wait to get my hands on!

Please review mITX against other mITX

I really hate these reviews that review a mITX against a E-ATX and then they say..."oh that mITX is junk because it didn't benchmark out to the E-ATX". and in the end it is a whole 1 or 2 frames away

I would love to build a mITX and I know if I did I would get the ASUS board, it has everything and more and the reviews I have read claim it to be the best... sorry but I think EVGA is just behind on the marks for this one.

Like to know which board OCs better... both run a 8 -phase CPU VRM but the ASUS does have the additional 2 phase for the iGPU... dont know if EVGA has something like it but just not stated.

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by nickbaldwin86

Please review mITX against other mITX

I really hate these reviews that review a mITX against a E-ATX and then they say..."oh that mITX is junk because it didn't benchmark out to the E-ATX". and in the end it is a whole 1 or 2 frames away

I would love to build a mITX and I know if I did I would get the ASUS board, it has everything and more and the reviews I have read claim it to be the best... sorry but I think EVGA is just behind on the marks for this one.

That's jsut how I do my reviews. Scores are listed for all boards currently, but when it comes to final scoring, I consider the board makers past products, and differnces with new of the same type, other products that are intended for the same market(ie, mITX vs mITX, , entry vs entry, high-end vs high-end), and then cost.


I'll reserve judgement on who is best after I get products in-hand. I don't currently have a working relationship with EVGA, but I do hope to change that.

[m1dg3t]

We shouldn't HAVE to add WiFi, especially when they already put Blutooth on there. Everybody else includes it in their "top" boards. Whether or not you get antennas is another story. When I buy a full featured board, it has full features! Gimping your products isn't the way to my "heart" Especially on iTX. I mean whats the point to having a small, portble, versatile box if you need to add a bunch of stuff and wires? Wires are so '80s

From what I have been able to understand, which is extremely limited, the best choice available right now is the Asrock board. Most complete feature set (mSATA on the backside is another selling point for me), good OCability and great pricing. I can get the Asrock for $40 less than the Asus YES, I mentioned mSATA lol Pretty sure I'll finally get an SSD. A small 1 on the backside for OS and a larger one in the side panel for everything else. Nice and clean

I'm still waiting to see what else comes to market, I mean I got nothing else to do while Bitfenix & NCIx continue to Dick me around on my case that has been ordered since July 2nd...

NCIx has officialy made it onto my list and Bitfenix is teetering on the verge. A shame really, considering I just started dealing with both of them

@ Dave: I was hoping to have my rig put together and busting your chopz by now on how to make everything work! Guess I will make use of those reviews afterall? Lol

[Cortex]

Originally Posted by lZKoce

Why no WiFi would be a "massive" misstep in any case? I personally don't care less about a miniITX board not having WiFi. I'd say it depends on the intended use.

$13 solution: http://www.techpowerup.com/171167/TP...y-Package.html

[nickbaldwin86]

Originally Posted by Cortex

$13 solution: http://www.techpowerup.com/171167/TP...y-Package.html

Ya personally I wouldnt even care or use the wifi... wifi is slow and it hurts to game on it so what is point? you going to buy a $200 board, $300 CPU and a $500 GPU to watch reruns of friends? ya I doubt many that buy this board are going to use it as a HTPC. my current HTPC is wired in... again wifi is slowwwwww.

but if you need wifi and love this board built-in/bundled wifi isn't the only way

I am sure EVGA has many reason they left it out

[m1dg3t]

When I spend $$$ on an item I don't want to spend more to get it to where it should have been in the first place! Keep accepting subpar packages @ full price

I'm guessing you guys drive modified Hondas

[nickbaldwin86]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

When I spend $$$ on an item I don't want to spend more to get it to where it should have been in the first place! Keep accepting subpar packages @ full price

I'm guessing you guys drive modified Hondas

No one is telling you to buy it

[Easy Rhino]

stick an i5 in that with a samuel 17 cooler, 2x4 gigs 1600, 660ti, and a 256gb ssd and you have yourself on little awesomesauce mini desktop.

[m1dg3t]

ProTip: Include all features in/on your FEATURED products

Originally Posted by nickbaldwin86

No one is telling you to buy it

NO SHIT!

Did you figure that out all on your own?

Good day news post

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by Easy Rhino

stick an i5 in that with a samuel 17 cooler, 2x4 gigs 1600, 660ti, and a 256gb ssd and you have yourself on little awesomesauce mini desktop.

Use one of the new bitfenix mITX cases like my wife is, and you can toss in 3770K under an H80, no problem.

But she needs WiFi.


I'm loving the new nvidia cards jsut becuase they are so short, and seem a perfect match for mITX!

[Easy Rhino]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

Use one of the new bitfenix mITX cases like my wife is, and you can toss in 3770K under an H80, no problem.

But she needs WiFi.


I'm loving the new nvidia cards jsut becuase they are so short, and seem a perfect match for mITX!

those bitfenix mITX cases look really nice!

[ERazer]

nice board, might need update my mini server

[m1dg3t]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

Use one of the new bitfenix mITX cases like my wife is, and you can toss in 3770K under an H80, no problem.

But she needs WiFi.


I'm loving the new nvidia cards jsut becuase they are so short, and seem a perfect match for mITX!

Was gonna leave, now I have questions! Lol

Dave is she using the Prodigy? Where did you get it at? Been waiting almost 2 months for mine from NCIx Those cases beg for so much more than an h80 IIRC they can fit up to 11" GFX card quite easily...

Stay tuned for my build, when I eventually get the case lol Everything else is here already or easily got