ASUS P8Z77-I DELUXE Pro Reviews

So what should we do if we really want to build a high-performance LGA 1155 computer on a Mini-ITX platform today? Our recommendation would be to start from the contrary. First of all you need to exclude those mainboards that limit the overclocking. These are Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI, that doesn’t have any functionality to adjust the voltages, and EVGA Z77 Stinger, which doesn’t work with the memory and has several issues in the BIOS. Then we need to eliminate those mainboards, which cannot save power when the CPU is idle and disable all processor power-saving technologies during overclocking. This will take MSI Z77IA-E53 off the list. Finally, we will exclude slower mainboards, which will mean the end of the race for Zotac Z77-ITX WiFi. As a result, the only two choices remain ASUS P8Z77-I DELUXE and ASRock Z77E-ITX. Asus product boasts very well thought-through design, high performance and a WiFi controller supporting 5 GHz frequency range. However, it suffers from some frustrating issues in the BIOS, heats a lot and is quite expensive. ASRock mainboard, on the contrary, is very affordable, comes with a well-balanced BIOS and an additional mSATA slot, but doesn’t support Bluetooth and has somewhat awkward layout.

Before continuing with our final thoughts on this board, we would like to take this opportunity to give our friends at ASUS a hearty “Thank You” for giving us the pleasure of reviewing the P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard. You never know what to except with a micro-ATX or mini-ITX board. ASUS did a bang-up job in designing the P8Z77-I Deluxe with some creative design decisions instituted to provide a feature rich and high performance solution. The board performance under both stock and overclocked scenarios was stellar with performance numbers matching or exceeding previously tested boards in most cases. ASUS' UEFI BIOS continues to be one of the best designed in the industry, giving this board a further edge. There are two features that really make this board stand out though – the USB 3.0 Boost Mode performance and the 8+2 power phase design built in to the board. USB 3.0 Boost technology enhances performance of any USB 3.0 hard drive type device, with better performance seen when using a UASP-enabled device adapter. With the power phases, ASUS was able to cram a total of 10 power phases (eight for the CPU and two for the integrated graphics) onto the board without at all hampering the feature set or space-constraining the on-board components. They did this by placing all CPU-related power components on an upright daughter board. The board's short-comings were few and far between, but we did run into some issues. The biggest roadblock in testing was that the initial board received for testing died halfway through the test run. We started seeing performance degradation across the board and quickly reported this to ASUS. They were quick to get us out a new retail sample which did not exhibit any of the performance issues seen. The other issue had to due with cooling the daughter-board. The board would not stabilize under overclocked conditions without airflow directed over the daughter board.

This here is a full Z77 board, with all the goodness that entails. And that includes some serious overclocking potential, but we'll come to that later. The P8Z77-I boasts USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, a full-length x16 PCIe 3.0 slot, a dual-band wireless card, all the graphical outputs you could want and a really smart solution to the lack of space on the board for serious power componentry. The Digi+ VRM ITX riser board sticks out at a right angle, carrying all the necessary gubbins to ensure a solid, stable flow of juice to your thirsty PC parts.

The ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini-ITX board is easily one of the best motherboards we have encountered in the Intel Z77 products we have been exposed to. While its size will have you give up the "normal" expanded feature sets we now see on many motherboards it is surprising well appointed for its stature. The ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe is not only adequate for an enthusiast class motherboard, it plainly bears the cachet of its bigger brothers. All this power in a small footprint will run you about $205 after shipping either at Amazon or Newegg. If size and performance are a factor in your build, you just found your motherboard.