ASRock Z87E-ITX (Intel LGA 1150)

[cadaveca]

Whether you want to build a new Haswell-based HTPC or fully-fledged gaming box, like Valve's STEAMBox, ASRock's Z87E-ITX is ready to meet your needs at a decent price. We take a look at the ASRock Z87E-ITX and perhaps discover why Valve chose the ASRock Z87E-ITX board for their own STEAMBox.

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[dj-electric]

Should get a higher score IMO

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[Frogger]

Thanks Dave your take on this board

Literally everything I want for a tiny gaming box is here, and heck, it overclocks well too!

has motivated me I was going to skip Haswell. But for $140 bucks + a used Haswell I can replace the old P5W-DH in the TV rig.

 

[Nordic]

Good review. I've been looking forward to your mitx reviews. Asus impact or msi mitx next?

 

[cadaveca]

ASUS, EVGA, then another ASUS. No MSI, unfortunately, as I have a another board review and a memory review between those somehow.

 

[RCoon]

Hate the fact ASRock put chips on the underside of the board in stupid places so certain custom coolers don't mount AT ALL on it. Both the Z87 and A85X have this issue, and I own both (though the A85X spontaneously combusted, yay for ASRock...)

 

[bogami]

Question that i have is how much better is the audio result with low ripple PSU ?(THD 0.13%,THD + noise 52.8db,IMD+ noise-0.256 % ) because I thought at the audio TV and video recorder supporting element .

 

[micropage7]

i love that, mini itx, small board with many features and support moooore drives
is it me or close up pictures kinda blurry? you using tripod arent you?

 

[cadaveca]

i love that, mini itx, small board with many features and support moooore drives
is it me or close up pictures kinda blurry? you using tripod arent you?

Yep, cheap camera that doesn't always work out the best. Sometimes it takes great shots, other times not so much. I can't use a tripod for all shots, either. I mean, if you want to buy a new camera, I'll gladly accept one. Being a college student with 4 kids doesn't allow for much.

Question that i have is how much better is the audio result with low ripple PSU ?(THD 0.13%,THD + noise 52.8db,IMD+ noise-0.256 % ) because I thought at the audio TV and video recorder supporting element .

That's a good question, but at the sm3ae time, it's not like I'm using a cheap PSU in my test platform, either, and it's not being pushed hard, either. I could definitely use another...I had my 1200W die a few days ago. I've had a lot of parts die lately, actually...

Hate the fact ASRock put chips on the underside of the board in stupid places so certain custom coolers don't mount AT ALL on it. Both the Z87 and A85X have this issue, and I own both (though the A85X spontaneously combusted, yay for ASRock...)

Nearly every mITX board has stuff on the underside near the socket. These boards are pretty tiny, and don't allow for much room, really. I installed my H90 just fine, and most coolers use a similar backplate layout, so it shouldn't be that much of an issue here with this ASRock board, but you are right.

 

[mzimmers]

Hi, all -

I hope this is the right place to ask questions: I just built a system based on this board. Windows 7 can't find a WiFi device. I suppose it's possible that the board's defective, but it seems much more likely that I didn't configure something properly. Any ideas on what I should check?

Thanks...

 

[Nordic]

With my ROG z87 I had to install the drivers 3 times to get the wireless working properly. I would make sure you have your drivers in check.

 

[mzimmers]

Thank you for the reply, James. Are you talking about drivers supplied with the board, or something from Microsoft?

 

[Nordic]

Thank you for the reply, James. Are you talking about drivers supplied with the board, or something from Microsoft?

Supplied from asrock. I would actually get it from the website, here, because it is more than likely more up to date than on the disk that came with the board.

 

[mzimmers]

That's a nice link to have. I'm going to reinstall everything from scratch; is it better to install the ASRock stuff before or after Windows?

 

[lemmo]

With the mSATA on the underside of the board, are there issues with overheating, especially in cases with no vents on the underside?

 

[cadaveca]

With the mSATA on the underside of the board, are there issues with overheating, especially in cases with no vents on the underside?

Shouldn't be. But that might depend on the drive, it's size and it's overall usage. I'd suggest getting a case with adequate airflow, since some airflow on the back of the board can also help with VRM and CPU temperature.