Intel DZ77GA-70K Motherboard Components Review

Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Model Number: DZ77GA-70K
Product Name: Intel Z77 Express motherboard
Price: $224.00-$240.00 MSRP

Full Disclosure: Intel Corporation provided the product samples used in this article.

Intel motherboards are not exactly on most enthusiasts' radar. But they do have a wide range of motherboards: in fact there are six motherboard product families: Classic, Essential, Executive, Media, Innovation, and Extreme. So there's actually a number of products to choose from, although still not as many as most other vendors. For example, there are only three Z77 Express-based motherboards, as opposed to the twelve that ASUS currently offers, or the five that MSI has available.

As a reviewer I've only ever received the Extreme motherboards, presumably because they're the most interesting to our readership. I have not been impressed with the Intel motherboards I've reviewed in the past: while they all worked reliably, their performance (especially overclocking performance) has been sub-par; the BIOSes delivered with the boards have been buggy, and although Intel makes many technical details available I have yet to receive a board with a manual...although they do often come with nice large mouse pads.

The box for this motherboard does need some work. I think Intel's trying a little too hard with the giant skull, and pronouncements like "Highly Optimized For Intel -K Processors" seem a little silly. That said, the back of the box does do a reasonably good job of listing the board's features.

Join me in the next section as I examine this new Intel motherboard.

Previous Page - Next Page >>