Gigabyte Z77N-WiFi mITX Intel LGA 1155

cadaveca · Jan 8, 2013

Looking to build a tiny HTPC, or a diminutive LAN box? Shopping for a board that fits? Today, we take a look at the Gigabyte Z77N-WiFi, a mini-ITX Intel Z77 Express motherboard fitted with a slew of options including Intel's WiDi for wireless video connectivity.

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TheMailMan78 · Jan 14, 2013

1337 review as always man.

Frick · Jan 14, 2013

The picture with the cooler and the GPU cracked me up. You really forget how tiny mITX is. :laugh:

stinger608 · Jan 14, 2013

Looks like an awesome little board!! Lots of options and having the built on wireless is a sure +++

And as always, awesome review Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HammerON · Jan 14, 2013

Frick said:
The picture with the cooler and the GPU cracked me up. You really forget how tiny mITX is.

Agree with Frick here. When I saw the pics with the cooler and HD 7950 I started to laugh :laugh:

Nice review Dave :toast:

Jetster · Jan 14, 2013

Excellent review

Major_A · Jan 14, 2013

Intel makes the best NICs that I've ever used. When I get a laptop the first thing I do is throw in an Intel WiFi NIC. Glad to see they bundled that with the board, considering the Intel NIC is ~ $25 by itself.

Cold Storm · Jan 14, 2013

HammerON said:
Agree with Frick here. When I saw the pics with the cooler and HD 7950 I started to laugh
Nice review Dave

Thank God for the CPU cooler.. With out it being that size, I bet the GPU would make it tip..

Great review Dave. :toast:

Nice Combo price for a MITX if you buy smart.

HammerON · Jan 14, 2013

Good point!!!

D1RTYD1Z619 · Jan 15, 2013

I wish someone, especially Gigabyte, would find a way to fit an msata connecter on a mini atx motherboard. That the only thing keeping me from making the switch. The sound quality of the audio chipset doesnt really matter if youre using the hmdi port on the vid card with a tv.

Wrigleyvillain · Jan 15, 2013

Glad to see you branching out to this form factor, Dave...

Agreed re. the Intel NICs, be nice to see Intel ethernet too (though that mainly is a true benefit if you want to run ESXi). I think the EVGA Stinger has Intel ethernet, ftr.

minutecore · Jan 15, 2013

I have this board and it has some issues when installing with Corsair H100i cooler. A line of capacitor is too close to the base that you have to make sure that the base of the cooler touches the CPU on that side.

cadaveca · Jan 15, 2013

minutecore said:
I have this board and it has some issues when installing with Corsair H100i cooler. A line of capacitor is too close to the base that you have to make sure that the base of the cooler touches the CPU on that side.

Good info! Thanks!

mediasorcerer · Jan 15, 2013

I had a good read and browse, it read like you put a lot of thought into it. Thanks.

Like the board for the price too..

McSteel · Jan 15, 2013

D1RTYD1Z619 said:
I wish someone, especially Gigabyte, would find a way to fit an msata connecter on a mini atx motherboard. That the only thing keeping me from making the switch. The sound quality of the audio chipset doesnt really matter if youre using the hmdi port on the vid card with a tv.

ASRock puts an mSATA connector on the underside of the board in their Z77E-ITX. Would be nice if Dave could review that one

stupido · Jan 15, 2013

+1 for a review on the ASrock's ITX board...

mcloughj · Jan 15, 2013

Just bought one of these before Christmas but haven't gotten around to finishing the build yet, but I'm very happy to read that it got such a strong recommendation! Excellent review!

badtaylorx · Jan 15, 2013

i really dont think this specific layout is deserving of a 9.8....seems like a good product, BUT....

soooo many limitations

Wrigleyvillain · Jan 15, 2013

McSteel said:
ASRock puts an mSATA connector on the underside of the board in their Z77E-ITX. Would be nice if Dave could review that one

Indeed it would (I have one). Though it's a bit of a bummer that the port is only SATA II. Can easily be obstructed by a cooler back plate too.

cadaveca · Jan 15, 2013

badtaylorx said:
i really dont think this specific layout is deserving of a 9.8....seems like a good product, BUT....

soooo many limitations

I understand. You know, I thought long and hard about this board. At first..I wanted more.

But then, I read back on the conversations I had with Gigabyte about it...as I have had this product for a few months now(since September, actually), and going back over the initial emails, Gigabyte had originally wanted this product, designed this product...for business users. Not for home users.

Are you looking at this board for business use, or for HTPC/gaming? The context to which it is considered plays a large role in how well it should be viewed.

This board is not for overclocking. But used as the base for a "Do it All" system, with low-power, stability and longevity first priorities, since these are primary principals for the business market - It very plainly delivers on each of these. Bringingh that functionality...that stability..into the living room...that's a good thing.

Those other mITX products out there...they have different design ideals. size of the board alone does not make it an equal avenue for comparison. This difference is a big thing...you don't take a plain rubber rain boot, and compare it with a bunch of artic Sorrel boots, and how well it does at -40 C. Sure, they are both "boots"...but clearly a plain rubber boot isn't meant for sub-zero temperatures.

TheMailMan78 · Jan 15, 2013

cadaveca said:
I understand. You know, I thought long and hard about this board. At first..I wanted more.

But then, I read back on the conversations I had with Gigabyte about it...as I have had this product for a few months now(since September, actually), and going back over the initial emails, Gigabyte had originally wanted this product, designed this product...for business users. Not for home users.

Are you looking at this board for business use, or for HTPC/gaming? The context to which it is considered plays a large role in how well it should be viewed.

This board is not for overclocking. But used as the base for a "Do it All" system, with low-power, stability and longevity first priorities, since these are primary principals for the business market - It very plainly delivers on each of these. Bringingh that functionality...that stability..into the living room...that's a good thing.

Those other mITX products out there...they have different design ideals. size of the board alone does not make it an equal avenue for comparison. This difference is a big thing...you don't take a plain rubber rain boot, and compare it with a bunch of artic Sorrel boots, and how well it does at -40 C. Sure, they are both "boots"...but clearly a plain rubber boot isn't meant for sub-zero temperatures.

Looks like a good board for guys like me. People who enjoy gaming and such but don't OC or play with settings. Just want it to work and last.

MxPhenom 216 · Jan 15, 2013

TheMailMan78 said:
Looks like a good board for guys like me. People who enjoy gaming and such but don't OC or play with settings. Just want it to work and last.

Mailman you should make a Mini ITX build in that little BitFenix case that everyone likes.

TheMailMan78 · Jan 15, 2013

MxPhenom 216 said:
Mailman you should make a Mini ITX build in that little BitFenix case that everyone likes.

This is why I will never use that case.

cadaveca · Jan 16, 2013

TheMailMan78 said:
This is why I will never use that case.

Loser. Sure, make yourself an outcast, by choice. That's smart. :rolleyes:

Some times, things are popular, because they are good. Like Batman. Your simplistic (and WRONG) views will have you missing out on many quality things.

:laugh:

TheMailMan78 · Jan 16, 2013

cadaveca said:
Loser. Sure, make yourself an outcast, by choice. That's smart.

Some times, things are popular, because they are good. Like Batman. Your simplistic (and WRONG) views will have you missing out on many quality things.

There is no reason to bring Batman into this.

System Name	TheMailbox 5.0 / The Mailbox 4.5
Processor	RYZEN 1700X / Intel i7 2600k @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard	Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 / Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH Intel LGA 1155
Cooling	MasterLiquid PRO 280 / Scythe Katana 4
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Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow / Logitech (Unknown)
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System Name	White DJ in Detroit
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
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Software	Windows 10 Pro
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System Name	Dean Machine/2020 Ryzenfall
Processor	Intel 4790K/AMD Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard	MSI 1150 Gaming mATX/Asus ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming Wifi
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED/SilverStone AH240 AIO
Memory	16 gigs Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer/32 gigs G.Skill TridentZ NEO DDR4
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 1660 Super/EVGA GTX 1080 FTW Hybrid Gaming
Storage	Crucial SSD 256 and 2TB spinner/Dual Samsung 980 Pro M2 NVME 4.0
Display(s)	Overlord 27" 2560 x 1440
Case	Corsair Air 540
Audio Device(s)	On board
Power Supply	Seasonic modular 850 watt Platinum/EVGA T2-850 Titanium
Software	Windows 10 Pro/Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Aki
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A
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Memory	Patriot Viper Elite 5 32GB 6200
Video Card(s)	PNY RTX 4090 XLR8
Storage	Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB + WD Black SN850 1TB
Display(s)	Dell 32" Curved Gaming Monitor (S3220DGF)
Case	Corsair 5000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	On-board
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5
Mouse	Roccat Kone Pure
Keyboard	ASUS ROG Strix Scope II Wireless
Software	Win 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Always changing~

System Name	Juliette // My HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// ASUS RTX 4060 OC
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	G903 and a Master Mouse MM710/No mouse, MS game copntroller
Keyboard	EVGA / Logitech K400
Software	Windows 11 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

System Name	2600k
Processor	i7 2600K
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Cooling	Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK
Memory	16GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX 760 OC
Storage	120GB Agility 3/2TB WD Caviar Black x 2/Intel 311 (Cache Drive)
Display(s)	Dell S2340M
Case	Lian Li PC-8FIR (Silver)
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Titanium Fata1ity
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000W
Software	Win 7 Pro x64 SP1
Benchmark Scores	Logitech G500 \| Razer Lycosa Mirror \| Logitech Z-5300

System Name	Haro
Processor	AMD 1700x
Motherboard	AsRork x370 Taichi
Cooling	EK Custom Loop - CPU only
Memory	32gb G-Skill Trident Z
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 Superclock 2
Storage	Too Many
Display(s)	Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & LG 32 IPS
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Power Supply	Cooler Master V1000
Mouse	SteelSeries Rival 500
Software	Win10 Pro
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System Name	Mi Negra
Processor	Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processo
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 with 92mm PWM Fan
Memory	Patriot Viper Xtreme Series DDR3 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz
Video Card(s)	Nvidia Founders Edition GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card
Storage	Samsung 750 EVO 250GB 2.5" 250G SATA III Internal SSD 3-D 3D Vertical Solid State Drive MZ-750250BW
Display(s)	Samsung UN40JU6500 40" Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV
Case	In Win 303 Black SECC Steel/Tempered Glass Case ATX Mid Tower, Dual Chambered/High Air Computer Case
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz P
Power Supply	Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Yes, High Cur
Mouse	Logitech G700s Black 13 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse
Keyboard	Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Software	Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

System Name	DarkStar
Processor	i5 3570K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme 3
Cooling	Apogee HD White/XSPC Razer blocks
Memory	8GB Samsung Green 1600
Video Card(s)	2 x GTX 670 4GB
Storage	2 x 120GB Samsung 830
Display(s)	27" QNIX
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Mouse	Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard	Ducky Pro MX Black
Software	Windows 8.1 x64

System Name	THE MEDIAMACHINE
Processor	i5-3570k
Motherboard	Asus gene v z-77 matx.
Cooling	Antec h20 620
Memory	2x4gb g.skill ripjaws z 2400
Video Card(s)	h.i.s radeon 7950 reference 3 gb- hooray!!!
Storage	samsung 128gb~830 ssd. samsung 500gb hdrive.
Display(s)	22 inch tele.
Case	circa 1996 grey rat box with no sides front.until my own is finished
Audio Device(s)	inbuilt creative.supreme effects 3
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Software	win 7 x64-
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Video Card(s)	Palit GTX 1070 Dual @ stock
Storage	256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD + 1 TB WD Green (Idle timer off) + 320 GB WD Blue
Display(s)	Dell U2515H
Case	Fractal Design Define R3
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX750 Platinum
Mouse	CM Storm Recon
Keyboard	CM Storm Quickfire Pro (MX Red)

System Name	Orange_box
Processor	i5-3570K (@ 4.4 Jiggahurtz ;)
Motherboard	P8Z77-I DELUXE
Cooling	Thermalright Archon with 2 TY-140
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengence LP (1600)
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 1060 6G
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO + Samsung 840 EVO + 4TB WD
Display(s)	Samsung 24''
Case	Bitfenix Prodigy (orange)
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar U3
Power Supply	Corsair 750 W
Mouse	Roccat Kone
Keyboard	Logitech (el cheapo)
Software	W10pro x64 / Manjaro XFCE x64
Benchmark Scores	who cares...

System Name	Kablamo
Processor	3700X
Motherboard	some gigabyte board
Cooling	Stock
Memory	32g of something or other
Video Card(s)	5700XT
Storage	2 x 2tb M.2
Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey G9
Case	can't remeber
Audio Device(s)	super x-fi gamer headset
Power Supply	Very old zalman 750 supply that's somehow still going strong
Mouse	Glosoius Model O
Keyboard	logitech g815
Software	win 11

System Name	As Himself
Processor	2700X
Motherboard	Asrock 370X ThaiChi
Cooling	Custom Liquid
Memory	4133MHz Team
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Storage	Samsung 512 SSD's
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Audio Device(s)	Asus Essence One Muses/Sparkos
Power Supply	EVGA 1200
Mouse	RAT ProX
Keyboard	Drop CTRL
Software	W10 steam futuremark

System Name	Ryzen Reflection
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
Cooling	2x EK PE360 \| TechN AM4 AMD Block Black \| EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi
Memory	Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v
Video Card(s)	Zotac AMP HoloBlack RTX 3080Ti 12G \| 950mV 1950Mhz
Storage	WD SN850 500GB (OS) \| Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Games_1) \| Samsung 970 Evo 1TB (Games_2)
Display(s)	Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS \| Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS \| Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode)
Case	Lian Li PC-011D XL \| Custom cables by Cablemodz
Audio Device(s)	FiiO K7 \| Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850
Mouse	Razer Viper v2 Pro
Keyboard	Corsair K65 Plus 75% Wireless - USB Mode
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit

Gigabyte Z77N-WiFi mITX Intel LGA 1155

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