Z77 mini itx, ASUS or ASRock?

[bleucharm28]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...157%2D312%2DTS

I can't decide which mini itx i should get. The Asrock looks awsome, love the theme color and price and is about $50.00 cheaper compared to Asus.

The color on the Asus board looks meh, is ok. But the Digi VRM makes this mini itx will Overclock like no other mini itx out there and cost about 50 bucks more compared to ASrock.

The processor will most likely be i5 3570K and the enclousre is Silverstone SG-07 B/W

 

[Kenmitch]

i5 3570K's can get pretty toasty when overclocking. Throwing a mini-itx rig together and wondering which motherboard would overclock better seems kinda silly to me.

I'd think that either board would work out fine for you. I also like the look of the Asrock board better. The Asus board would most likely overclock better on the high end but you have to remember your overclock will be dictated by your temps under load anyways.

 

[radu_matei_2007]

I got the same question but I ordered the ASUS... it seems to be more solid

 

[ShintaiDK]

Asrock. The 50$ more for the Asus is just a waste. Only benefit of the Asus is the Intel NIC. But the Asrock got a mPCIe slot.

 

[WildW]

I'm considering one of these two (when stock becomes available) to replace my H61 board that has always held back my 2500k to stock speed.

I'm thinking the Asrock looks better to me - prefer the layout to be honest, position of the SATA sockets on the Asus board looks awkward, too close to the pcie x16 slot. just waiting to see a good review of the Asrock board, and for stock to become available here in the UK. would just like to see some confirmation of the Asrock's overclocking ability before going ahead, as most of the Z68 boards had some sort of issues one way or the other.

 

[bleucharm28]

Asrock. The 50$ more for the Asus is just a waste. Only benefit of the Asus is the Intel NIC. But the Asrock got a mPCIe slot.

i notice your sig has mini itx build. What type of after market cooler are you using?

I took the PSU out of the case and notice the 24pin cable is about 25 inches long. I WAS LIKE WTH! I might have some one to sleeve and trim 24pin cable down to 8 inches or so.The other cables are fine. I have no clue why Silverstone put in such long cables for mini itx case.

 

[bleucharm28]

I'm considering one of these two (when stock becomes available) to replace my H61 board that has always held back my 2500k to stock speed.

I'm thinking the Asrock looks better to me - prefer the layout to be honest, position of the SATA sockets on the Asus board looks awkward, too close to the pcie x16 slot. just waiting to see a good review of the Asrock board, and for stock to become available here in the UK. would just like to see some confirmation of the Asrock's overclocking ability before going ahead, as most of the Z68 boards had some sort of issues one way or the other.

I'm waiting for review as well. The Asrock definitely looks better, and cheaper is a plus.

 

[ShintaiDK]

i notice your sig has mini itx build. What type of after market cooler are you using?

I took the PSU out of the case and notice the 24pin cable is about 25 inches long. I WAS LIKE WTH! I might have some one to sleeve and trim 24pin cable down to 8 inches or so.The other cables are fine. I have no clue why Silverstone put in such long cables for mini itx case.

Im just using the stock Intel cooler. My board is also a H77 based, so no OC.

Ye, the cables could be shorter. Thats for sure.

But besides that, I´m very happy about the case. I did however remove the optical bay part since I dont have an optical anymore. So I got alittle more space for cables there.

 

[Medikit]

Is there a point to getting the z77 if you aren't going to overclock? I'm liking the H77 for $50 cheaper.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Is there a point to getting the z77 if you aren't going to overclock? I'm liking the H77 for $50 cheaper.

Nope.

 

[Kenmitch]

Is there a point to getting the z77 if you aren't going to overclock? I'm liking the H77 for $50 cheaper.

None....As long as it has the features you need then save the dollars. Just compare the features to make sure the z77 chipset doesn't offer anything that you would need now or possibly later.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Z77 only offers split of the x16 into 2 x8 (Useless on MiniITX) and overclocking for the unlocked K models compared to H77.

 

[Medikit]

I do see a negative on the H77 asrock, moving the ATX power connector to the side of the board rather than the front can cause problems in some tighter enclosures. Especially if trying to use a pico PSU. The Asus P8H77 has a better placement of this connection point.