I think you already know what I'm going to say if you read the rest of the review. There's not much here I don't like, other than the BIOS issue any new product is going to face. Ultimately, right now, this board is giving me better overall 3D performance than any other Z77 Express board, even if those issues prevent me from running maxed out memory speeds. Overclocked efficiency is great, power consumption is great, expansion possibilities are great too – this board is clearly, well, great! The memory issue is, to me, pretty minor since Gigabyte is already working on it. Memory overclocking should be hard, and since there is, by design, little left to tweak on current Intel platforms, I really don't mind this particular drawback all that much.
Having the add-in WLAN card for users that might need it is nice, especially since you can use it with other boards if you don't use it with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7. There's a USB 3.0 panel, so you can make use of both internal USB 3.0 ports, the cables for all measure points, and the eSATA cabling. There are a ton of goodies in the box, but this is one item I take personally. Four more cables would come at a minor cost, even if they won't get used in most instances. A high-end board built to "do it all" should do it all without having to spend even more on accessories. I'd rather have two less USB 3.0 ports, and thereby no need for the 2.5-bay bracket, if it nets me those four cables, even if the board still cost the same.
On the subject of USB – USB 2.0 ports are at a minimum here, and if you use the WLAN card with the provided internal cable, you'll only really have access to two USB 2.0 ports, and that's only if your case has a couple of USB 2.0 ports built in, or you already own one that can be slid into an expansion slot. Again, another possible issue due to the lack of accessories. Both issues could have been resolved at the same time, and believe me, that would have made the installation of Windows7 from a USB stick far easier than it was since I had to go to the store to buy a bracket. That said, Windows8 is out now and doesn't have that issue, so this board is, in line with a forward-thinking mentality, ready for the present and the future.
Overlooking what could be an issue for some users in some instances, since they really are easily overcome, this board really does deliver on all accounts. Adding four VGAs to the Intel Z77 Express platform wasn't really meant to be, but Gigabyte proves that it can be done and done well, given the performance scores. It was mated with lower-performance memory, but still managed to do very well by outright beating other boards that had that memory performance advantage. If you'd ask me which board I would want for my personal rig right now, I'd have to say this is it. Now to find a couple of GTX690's...