Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications

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

Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H Review  

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
  1. Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1155 package
  2. L3 cache varies with CPU
(Some Intel® Core™ processors require a graphic card, please refer "CPU support List" for more information.)
Chipset
  1. Intel® Z77 Express Chipset
Memory
  1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory
    Dual channel memory architecture
  2. Support for DDR3 2400(OC)/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
  3. Support for non-ECC memory modules
  4. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)
Onboard GraphicsIntegrated Graphics Processor:
  1. 1 x D-Sub port
  2. 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
    * The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
  3. 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
Audio
  1. VIA VT2021 codec
  2. High Definition Audio
  3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
  4. Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN
  1. Atheros GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
  4. 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
    (The PCIEX4 and PCIEX1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
Multi-Graphics Technology
  1. 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 InterfaceChipset:
  1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0/1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
  2. 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2 2/3/4/5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  3. 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.
USBChipset:
  1. 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.
  2. 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. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  2. 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
  3. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
  4. 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
  5. 1 x CPU fan header
  6. 2 x system fan headers
  7. 1 x front panel header
  8. 1 x front panel audio header
  9. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  10. 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header
  11. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  12. 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
  13. 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
Back Panel Connectors
  1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
  2. 1 x D-Sub port
  3. 1 x DVI-D port
  4. 1 x HDMI port
  5. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
  6. 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  7. 1 x RJ-45 port
  8. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  9. 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller
  1. iTE I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring
  1. System voltage detection
  2. CPU/System temperature detection
  3. CPU/System fan speed detection
  4. CPU overheating warning
  5. CPU/System fan fail warning
  6. 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
  1. 2 x 64 Mbit flash
  2. Use of licensed AMI EFI BIOS
  3. Support for DualBIOS™
  4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a
Unique Features
  1. Support for @BIOS
  2. Support for Q-Flash
  3. Support for Xpress Install
  4. Support for Xpress Recovery2
  5. Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)
  6. Support for Auto Green
  7. Support for ON/OFF Charge
  8. Support for Q-Shar
  9. Support for 3D Power
  10. Support for LAN Optimizer (Intelligent optimization network management tool)
Bundle Software
  1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
  2. Intel® Rapid Start Technology
  3. Intel® Smart Connect Technology
  4. Intel® Smart Response Technology
  5. LucidLogix Virtu MVP
    * Make sure the monitor cable has been connected to the integrated graphics port on the back panel.
Operating System
  1. Support for Microsoft® Windows 7/XP
Form Factor
  1. Micro ATX Form Factor; 24.4cm x 24.4cm

 

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Most Recent Comments

27-04-2012, 09:37:24

dugdiamond
link is broken fixed link

moving on..... awesome mobo for the priceQuote

27-04-2012, 12:06:56

SPS
The light blue and white are awful coloursQuote

28-04-2012, 21:44:55

MaXiMiZe
Wicked price Quote
Reply

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