The best mini-ITX motherboard we've seen
Considering its huge influence in the
motherboard market, Asus has been strangely reserved in the mini-ITX arena. Its
offerings have so far usually focused on Intel Atom, Nvidia Ion or AMD embedded
models, rather than open-socket, enthusiast-orientated boards. All that changes
with the P8Z77-I Deluxe, though.
Asus
P8Z77-I Deluxe
If ever there was a mini-ITX fan boy's
dream motherboard, the Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe is the closest we've seen to it
becoming a reality. The board has 10-phase digital power delivery-considerably
more than either the ASRock or Zotac. This comes courtesy of the large VRM
daughterboard that sticks out at a right angle at the top of the motherboard.
It's a rare and inherently expensive feature to have on a motherboard, but
despite this extravagance, the P8Z77-I Deluxe only costs $30 more than its two
competitors in this Labs test.
The daughterboard also houses the VRMs, so
they aren't peppered across the PCB, further reducing its already limited
real-estate. As a result, items such as the 8-pin EPS12V connector and USB 3
header have been located at the edge of the PCB, rather than the middle.
There's also a lot of room around the CPU socket, so water blocks and large air
coolers shouldn't have compatibility issues.
However, there is one sizeable issue, and
that's the on-board audio header. It's located below the back of the PCI-E
graphics slot and, with a case audio connector plugged in, it fouls most
graphics cards. Our test setup only just worked with the header connected but
we needed to use a fair amount of force on the graphics card to make it fit,
which caused the motherboard to bend in the process.
Thankfully, the P8Z77-I Deluxe doesn't
disappoint in terms of features. It has more USB ports than any other board on
test - a total of eight USB 2 and six USB 3, and is the only board to offer
Bluetooth as well as WiFi. Like the ASRock, it also features single
DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI outputs, along with two SATA3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps
ports, plus an additional pair of eSATA6Gbps ports.
While it has noon-board power or reset
buttons, or POST error code readout, there's a CMOS clear switch on the I/O
panel, as well as a button for Asus' USB BIOS Flashback, a nifty feature that
enables you to flash the BIOS without powering on the board -you don't even
need a CPU in the socket.
The board also includes Asus' AI Suite II
software, which includes a vast array of useful tweaking and monitoring
utilities. For example, Fan Xpert provides hands-on control over fans connected
to the motherboard, and you can even set fan profile curves and automatic
temperature responses.
Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi Go! software uses the
included Wi-Fi module and antennas to essentially turn the P8Z77-I Deluxe into
a wireless access point, enabling you use it as a DLNA streaming hub, and
control your PC using your mobile phone.
Performance
Unlike the other two boards tested in this
labs test, the P8Z77-I Deluxe managed to Turbo Boost to 3.9GHz, giving it a
dear lead in our benchmarks at stock speeds - a 127-point lead in our video
encoding test, and a 70-point lead overall. In Arma II, it was 6fps faster than
the next best result too, with a minimum frame rate of 129fps. It also had the
fastest SATA 6Gbps speeds on test, although only by a whisker over the ASRock.
Overclocking the P8Z77-I Deluxe was also
incredibly easy. We simply needed to gradually work our way up to our maximum
CPU frequency, but even when we were a little over-zealous, the P8Z77-I Deluxe
recovered instantly, so we could carry on.
There's a wealth of overclocking options
too, though not quite as many as you'd see on a current Asus RoG motherboard.
Even so, there was enough flexibility to
push our Intel Core i7-3770Kto its 4.8GHz limit using a 1.28V vcore. Here, the
CPU had a toasty temperature of 97°C at load, but it was still perfectly
stable. This yielded huge gains in our benchmarks, with the overall score
rising from 2,210 to 2,868, while the Arma II minimum frame rate rose to 135fps.
The
10-phase digital power delivery comes courtesy of a large VRM daughterboard at
the top of the motherboard.
Conclusion
The Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe is expensive for
mini-ITX board. Infact, Asus' larger micro-ATX Maximus V Gene costs only a
little more and has far more features. However, if you're considering a
mini-ITX system, you're probably already comfortable with the idea of shunning
expansion slots and exotic on-board audio systems in favor of reduced size, and
the P8Z77-I Deluxe is a marvel for its size.
It's fast, loaded with features and very
easy to use; the only slight issue with it is the PCB layout. Asus hasn't only
joined the enthusiast mini-ITX party, but also thrown in a case of champagne.
Pros and
cons
P8: Excellent EFI; loaded with features;
great over clocker
P45: Same price as good micro-ATX boards;
lacks expansion; on-board sound header fouls graphics card
How
much?
Price: $216 inc VAT
Scores
Speed: 41/45
Features: 28/30
Value: 21/25
Overall: 90%
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