What are the best Z77 boards out there?

[Turbonium]

I'm on the market for a Z77 board, as I'm likely building an Ivy Bridge system very soon.

What are some of the best boards out there, taking into account stability first and foremost? I've already looked at Intel boards, and they seem good (though I'm not a fan of the skull theme they have going on their upper-tiered boards... seems tacky).

Keep in mind I don't need dual video cards or anything. I also don't need integrated wireless (if that's even offered). I just want a rock-solid, stable board, that is built well. Top quality is what I'm looking for (hence why I'm considering Intel-made boards).

 

[EXCellR8]

Which end of the market are you looking at? There are plenty of good picks I'd just go with whatever has the features you need/want. If you want stable for OC... there are lots of enthusiast boards that are built for it. These will be more expensive but you'll be able to tweak them more freely and not worry about breaking them.

I have an ASUS P8Z77-V LE in one of my machines with a i5-3750k and it's a pretty decent board, but I wouldn't consider it high end. Compared to my older i7 machine it's almost just as powerful, and has all of the newer features so I love it.

 

[Turbonium]

Actually, I won't be overclocking. I'm going to be running at stock. I just value stability over everything else (even over features).

I realize virtually all decent boards are "stable", but I literally want the best quality components and the highest reliability (even if it's by 0.01% or whatnot).

 

[EXCellR8]

If you just want a rock solid machine that isn't going to be overclocked or stressed, ASUS and Gigabyte have some of the best general purpose boards. I recommend going with all solid-state caps and picking RAM that is on the QVL and runs at the native speed. Keep in mind if it's not stable out of the box, you may just need to dial in some manual settings in BIOS instead of leaving everything on 'Auto.'

to narrow it down, what features would you like to have? this includes but is not limited to: maximum amount of RAM, number of graphics slots, SATA port speed, USB speed etc. we'll be able to recommend you some boards if you can think of what you'll need in a board.

 

[Turbonium]

• Either ATX or mATX
• all solid-state caps
• 32 GB maximum RAM is sufficient (I'm probably only getting 8 GB anyway; perhaps 16 GB)
• SATA 3 speeds (for 2 HDDs I'm going to RAID)
• 2 internal USB 3.0 headers, 2 internal USB 2.0 headers; no USB 3.0 ports necessary
• internal mic and headphone headers (I'm guessing this is standard)
• single GPU slot (PCIe 2.x should be fine I'm assuming... tell me if I'm wrong)

Tell me if I missed anything. Price is no concern.

 

[EXCellR8]

I prefer the full size ATX boards but if you're needing only one PCIe slot you'll be able to get away with the smaller form factor. I would also suggest going with Sata-III SSD boot drive instead of RAID but it's up to you. RAM speed is also not too important. DDR3-1600+ is a popular speed on Z77 boards.

If price is no concern the ASUS Gene is a pretty solid little board from what I hear. Tons of features but may actually be overkill in your case. I'll do some searching, I suggest you browse and compare some boards on Newegg.

 

[Turbonium]

I'm doing some searching right now as well (on NCIX and Newegg.ca). Thanks for your help though, I really appreciate it.

Also: let me know what you think of Intel-made boards. Yes, they are a bit pricier for what you get, but they are as stable as you can get, right?

 

[Turbonium]

Does this include an internal mic header?: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813131832

Just trying to get a handle on ASUS boards...

 

[EXCellR8]

Mic header? As in onboard audio? It has the front panel audio header so I would say yes.

Also: let me know what you think of Intel-made boards. Yes, they are a bit pricier for what you get, but they are as stable as you can get, right?

Intel boards are made from the same materials as the rest of 'em, so unless they have some secret super magic spray that they apply after manufacturing for stability, I doubt you could actually prove that

The price is purely marketing (i.e. the Intel brand)

 

[Turbonium]

Intel boards are made from the same materials as the rest of 'em, so unless they have some secret super magic spray that they apply after manufacturing for stability, I doubt you could actually prove that

What? You mean they don't have a super magic spray? But it's Intel! Maybe they cast a spell on the motherboard at the end of the assembly line just before boxing it?

This is the most suitable Intel board I've found so far by the way: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...&Tpk=DZ77SL50K

 

[EXCellR8]

I'm not saying Intel boards are bad by any means, but unless you really want the brand (maybe to match other components) you can get the same specs with a different brand for a lower price.

FYI: customer reviews can be hard to go by because you don't know what every persons experience or knowledge level is. Someone who is having issues with a board and gives it a 1 out of 5 or something doesn't make it a bad board and vice versa.

 

[Turbonium]

FYI: customer reviews can be hard to go by because you don't know what every persons experience or knowledge level is. Someone who is having issues with a board and gives it a 1 out of 5 or something doesn't make it a bad board and vice versa.

Alright. The board I pointed out by the way tends to have so-so reviews, and a few of them. Something about bad QC. Not sure if it's a real issue or not. :/

 

[btadler]

I just put this in my new rig and it seems pretty decent so far. Has average of 4 eggs on newegg.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813157306

 

[Turbonium]

Do Intel boards have Intel-made ethernet controllers (vs. Realtek ones on Asus boards)? Seems like they do. Also: seems like Intel ones are just way better at handling high network traffic loads.

 

[Deltaechoe]

Thing about ASRock boards is I hear that they misreport stats like voltage, I was thinking about getting one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131854 (Asus Maximus V Formula if the redirect isn't working)

sure they are expensive, but you pay for the quality

 

[Turbonium]

Thing about ASRock boards is I hear that they misreport stats like voltage, I was thinking about getting one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131854 (Asus Maximus V Formula if the redirect isn't working)

sure they are expensive, but you pay for the quality

Thanks.

 

[Raincity]

I am running currently running two Intel DH77EB boards with zero issues. One with a I5 3450 and the Steam box has a I3 3225. Both are rock stable at stock settings with Samsung 1600 green ram. It has a real Intel NIC instead of the Realtec and Via NIC's that the low end boards use. Quality is excellent since Intel holds Foxconn at a high standard when they produce the Intel boards.

 

[Turbonium]

H77 chipset? Was that designed for IB as well? Seems like it.

Wow, I never even considered the H77 until now. That really opens up my options, especially considering I'm never going to get dual video cards (seems like it's the only real difference between the two chipsets).

Again, too much research for one day. I definitely need to look into this more.

 

[Raincity]

H77 chipset? Was that designed for IB as well? Seems like it.

Wow, I never even considered the H77 until now. That really opens up my options, especially considering I'm never going to get dual video cards (seems like it's the only real difference between the two chipsets).

Again, too much research for one day. I definitely need to look into this more.

I think you hit the head on the nail. If not interested in a dual GPU or OC then H77 offers everything else the Z77 chipset offers. They are Ivy ready right out of the box.

 

[Turbonium]

I am running currently running two Intel DH77EB boards with zero issues. One with a I5 3450 and the Steam box has a I3 3225. Both are rock stable at stock settings with Samsung 1600 green ram. It has a real Intel NIC instead of the Realtec and Via NIC's that the low end boards use. Quality is excellent since Intel holds Foxconn at a high standard when they produce the Intel boards.

The DH77EB supports RAID, right?

The reason I ask is that the following page says it doesn't: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-motherboard-boxdh77eb

:| ?

 

[dac7nco]

Intel boards, in my experience, are rock-solid... but they are also weird. The Intel UEFI/BIOS is strange, but quite workable. Their slot layout is often unusual. They almost never have PS/2 ports; they only have PCI slots grudgingly (this is good). They ALWAYS have Intel LAN chips. They don't break overclocking records, but they're not bad. Fan controls are odd.

I like them.

Daimon

 

[Turbonium]

I'm actually torn between the EB and KC versions of the H77 board. One is ATX (with PCI), the other is mATX (without PCI).

 

[Raincity]

The DH77EB supports RAID, right?

The reason I ask is that the following page says it doesn't: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-motherboard-boxdh77eb

:| ?

I don't know the specifics of the raid host since I don't use raid in a desktop setting. I did boot into the bios and check and there is the raid option under the SATA controller setting.

 

[Raincity]

Intel boards, in my experience, are rock-solid... but they are also weird. The Intel UEFI/BIOS is strange, but quite workable. Their slot layout is often unusual. They almost never have PS/2 ports; they only have PCI slots grudgingly (this is good). They ALWAYS have Intel LAN chips. They don't break overclocking records, but they're not bad. Fan controls are odd.

I like them.

Daimon

Did you upgrade the bios, Intel did a radical changeover in the UEFI and made it more user friendly. I find the fan control comparable to what's available on my Asus P8Z77-V board in my main machine. I believe that the ATX version still has 1 PS2 port and a PCI slot or two. Since these where complete new builds. I opted for the MATX versions to save $10. Intel does seem to place the SATA ports on the bottom of the board but I can live with it.

 

[dac7nco]

Did you upgrade the bios, Intel did a radical changeover in the UEFI and made it more user friendly. I find the fan control comparable to what's available on my Asus P8Z77-V board in my main machine. I believe that the ATX version still has 1 PS2 port and a PCI slot or two. Since these where complete new builds. I opted for the MATX versions to save $10. Intel does seem to place the SATA ports on the bottom of the board but I can live with it.

Huh... I never really looked at their Z77 boards - I thought they were done with PS/2 at least (on X79 they are). I'll generally update my BIOS after it's been around for awhile, as I have a history of BIOS updates breaking compatibility with RAID controllers, capture cards, etc. I like my DX79SR as is, though, so consider it a positive Intel motherboard review.

Daimon