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This mainboard has unprecedentedly rich functionality, including unique support for a large number of SATA drives. Besides, it has a number of other advantages and very few drawbacks with one of them standing out among the rest.
<p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 1px;">While most of the focus for motherboards is on the big models, what happens when we get down to the lower price points? If you want a basic ATX Z77 motherboard with all the IGP video outputs, Gigabyte has you covered at $120 with the Z77-HD4. At this price point we are dealing with an overclockable chipset designed for a single GPU but still has basic audio and all Z77 features. Typically using HDMI invokes a small price premium due to the licensing, and in a budget board stripping down everything is the number one priority. Gigabyte wanted to have that stripped down Z77, but also offer a full video output set without pushing the price up too high.</span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6964/gigabyte-z77hd4-review" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more...</span></a></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 1px; background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);">Competition between gaming mATX boards doesn’t get any tougher than this. In the red corner, weighing in at $200 and from the Republic of Gamers’ range, we have the ASUS Maximus V Gene. In the green corner, weighing in at $170 and providing the competition, we have the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3. Let’s get ready to review!</span></span></span></p>
<div><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6947/asus-maximus-v-gene-vs-gigabyte-g1sniper-m3-review" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 1px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more...</span></a></div>
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After the launch of the Intel Z77 chipset it became possible to deliver the functionality of a large computer system in Mini-ITX form-factor. Today we are going to talk about six mainboards that could be used as a basis for a compact gaming or overclocking system. These will be the products from ASRock, Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte MSI and Zotac.
MSI mainboards look great, have very convenient layout and use only high-quality components. These boards are energy-efficient, fast and work well with default settings. However, there are quite a few things in their BIOS that could use some extra work and the boards do not keep the power-saving technologies up and running during overclocking. Everything we have just said is true for the main hero of our today’s review.
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This mainboard from ASRock has almost the same accessories bundle, design and technical specifications as other top Socket FM2 mainboards out there. Moreover, it can boast a variety of unique advantages that its competitors do not have. </span></span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asrock-fm2a85x-extreme6.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></span></div>
ASUS, ASRock and Gigabyte all having gaming ranges as part of their motherboard lines – now it is MSI’s turn.
This mainboard looks great, is convenient to work with, offers rich functionality and high performance. However, its price is pretty high and the board is not very energy-efficient. It does have other advantages and a few other drawbacks, which we will unveil in the following review.
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The motherboard market is tough – the enthusiast user would like a motherboard that does everything but is cheap, and the system integrator would like a stripped out motherboard that is even cheaper. An overclocker would like a minimalist setup that can push the limits of stability, and the gamer would like an all singing, all dancing everything. The ASUS Maximus V Formula is designed to cater mainly to the gamer, but also to the enthusiast and the overclocker, for an all-in-one product with a distinct ROG feel. With the combination air/water VRM cooling system, a mini-PCIe combo card with dual band WiFi and an mSATA port, one of the best on-board audio solutions and the regular array of easy-to-use BIOS/Software, ASUS may be onto a winner – and all they ask for is $270-300. </span></p>
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<div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6850/asus-maximus-v-formula-z77-rog-review" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></div>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Aside from Gigabyte’s gaming motherboards (</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">the G1 Series</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">) and its channel motherboards (such as the</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">UP4 TH</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">MX-D3H</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">), there exists the OC Oriented series of motherboards. The first participant in this specific range was the X58A-OC, a stripped down LGA1366 motherboard for Gulftown CPUs to focus on the top overclocking scores with up to 4-way GPU action. The latest in the line is the Z77X-UP7, a strike at the heart of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs, which we are testing today. With a fuller feature set than the X58A-OC, our black and orange UP7 is designed to take world records by extreme overclockers, while perhaps still being a motherboard for the high end enthusiast with a deep wallet.</span></span></p>
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<div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/6786/gigabyte-z77xup7-review-oc-oriented-orange-overkill" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></span></div>