Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Published: 27th April 2012 | Source: Gigabyte | Price: £112 | Author: Bryan Waters

Introduction

mATX motherboards have undergone a revolution in the past couple of years. From being a small board designed for HTPC applications they are now very close to their full-size counterparts in both performance and features.

We were big fans of the Z68 D3 motherboard here at OC3D. It provided a lot of capability at an absolute bargain price. So of course we're looking forwards to seeing what the Z77 version, the MX-D3H, has in store.

With the Z77 still fresh in the mind we shall keep the preamble brief and get on with the review.

Technical Specifications

As befits a small form factor motherboard, the feature set is like a leaner version of those you'd find on more enthusiast based boards. So we have SATA 6Gb/s, just two rather than four. Equally the D3H supports only Crossfire/SLI rather than triple-cards. The sound is provided by a VIA VT2021 rather than the Realtek ALC we're more used to finding. It has enough features that 'cut down' would be doing it a disservice, but it's very much a case of 'the same, only less'.

CPU	Support for Intel^® Core™ i7 processors/Intel^® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel^® Core™ i3 processors/Intel^® Pentium^® processors/Intel^® Celeron^® processors in the LGA1155 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Some Intel^® Core™ processors require a graphic card, please refer "CPU support List" for more information.)
Chipset	Intel^® Z77 Express Chipset
Memory	4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 2400(OC)/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)
Onboard Graphics	Integrated Graphics Processor: 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 * The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter. 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
Audio	VIA VT2021 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN	Atheros GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots	1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. * The PCI Express x16 slots support up to PCI Express 2.0 standard when an Intel 32nm (Sandy Bridge) CPU is installed. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) 1 x PCI Express x1 slot (The PCIEX4 and PCIEX1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
Multi-Graphics Technology	Support for 2-Way AMD CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology (PCIEX16/PCIEX8) * The PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode when AMD CrossFireX™NVIDIA SLI is enabled.
Storage Interface	Chipset: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0/1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2 2/3/4/5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * When a RAID set is built across the SATA 6Gb/s and SATA 3Gb/s channels, the system performance of the RAID set may vary depending on the devices being connected.
USB	Chipset: Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB headers) * In Windows XP, the Intel USB 3.0 ports can support up to USB 2.0 transfer speed. Up to 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
Internal I/O Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 2 x system fan headers 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
Back Panel Connectors	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x HDMI port 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller	iTE I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring	System voltage detection CPU/System temperature detection CPU/System fan speed detection CPU overheating warning CPU/System fan fail warning CPU/System fan speed control * Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/system cooler you install.
BIOS	2 x 64 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI EFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a
Unique Features	Support for @BIOS Support for Q-Flash Support for Xpress Install Support for Xpress Recovery2 Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D) Support for Auto Green Support for ON/OFF Charge Support for Q-Shar Support for 3D Power Support for LAN Optimizer (Intelligent optimization network management tool)
Bundle Software	Norton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel^® Rapid Start Technology Intel^® Smart Connect Technology Intel^® Smart Response Technology LucidLogix Virtu MVP * Make sure the monitor cable has been connected to the integrated graphics port on the back panel.
Operating System	Support for Microsoft^® Windows 7/XP
Form Factor	Micro ATX Form Factor; 24.4cm x 24.4cm