Test System

Initial Setup

The initial install was pretty easy. I simply stuck my G.Skill memory in, and it booted right up. I noticed a rather relaxed Turbo profile, which I expect to affect stock results a little bit, but this board was meant to run stock, so I'd be happy as a clam if it did well.


Board expansion spacing is rather cramped, but this is to be expected with mITX products. I had no problems adding in a Gigabyte HD7950 3 GB card for testing, even with my large CoolerMaster TPC812 installed. As you can see in the middle picture, there was just enough room to fit the tower cooler with my G.Skill DIMMs, although I had to remove the top fins of the DIMMs to make everything fit in nicely. Even with the large cooler in place, all important cable connectors are at the edge of the top, which leaves lots of room to plug everything in.

Power Consumption

We measure CPU power consumption since one of our first tasks is to truly verify system stability. I isolate the power coming through the 8-pin ATX connector using an in-line meter that provides voltage and current readings as well as total wattage passed through it. While this may not prove to isolate the CPU power draw in all instances, it does serve as a good indicator of board efficiency and effective VRM design. I also measure total system power consumption, which allows you to get an idea of how much power the board and all installed devices draw.





Stock power consumption is pretty darn good. The Gigabyte Z77N-WiFi posted results that are better than most, and that in every category. Its simple VRM design seems to pay off, resulting in some of the lowest power consumption numbers I've ever recorded.