ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini-ITX Motherboard Reviewed
The Mini-ITX hits just keep on coming. With the diminutive platform becoming increasingly popular with the DIY crowd, we are seeing more manufacturers offering a greater variety of motherboards and more sites running reviews of those offerings. In this case, the ASRock Z77E-ITX is on the review table. As the name implies, the Z77E-ITX is a Mini-ITX board based on the Intel Z77 chipset, which means it comes packing a PCI Express 3.0 slot, onboard USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps ports, and support for not only Ivy Bridge, but also support for K-series unlocked processors. ASRock also throws in extra USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel, full-size DIMM slots, and a WLAN card in the mini-PCI Express slot with antenna connectors on the rear panel. The Z77 chipset is aimed at the enthusiast segment of the market and most HTPC builders are probably fine settling for a board based on the H77, but it is still refreshing to see so many manufacturers opting to use the Z77 given the chilly reception that the Z67 chipset received for Mini-ITX.
Small form factor PC’s seem to be growing in popularity since you can run all of the latest gear. Today we are going to look at our first Intel Z77 mini-ITX motherboard to come across my bench. The ASRock Z77E-ITX is, as the name suggests an Intel Z77 motherboard which supports the latest Intel 22nm ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors in the LGA1155 package. The key feature to the ASRock Z77E-ITX is clearly the mini-ITX small form factor.