MSI Z77IA-E53 miniITX Preview
Category : Z77
Published by Marc Büchel on 12.04.13
Meanwhile also MSI has a Z77 based miniITX motherboard on the market. With price tag of only 98 Euros this board is surprisingly cheap. To us this sound quite interesting and we're curious to find out whether this is a compelling offer or a board lacking features.
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On the following pages we're going to show you if MSI succeeding in convincing us with their brand new Z77 MPower regarding layout and design.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Specs and Delivery
| CPU | Supports 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron processors for LGA 1155 socket |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 |
| Memory | Dual Channel 2 x DIMM, max. 32GB, DDR3 1066 / 1333 / 1600 / 1866 / 2000 / 2133, non-ECC, un-buffered memory, XMP 1.3 |
| Slots | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots 1 x Mini-PCIe / mSATA slot |
| Audio | Realtek ALC892 HD CODEC |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Intel Z77) 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s (Intel Z77) |
| LAN | Realtek RTL8111E PCIe Gigabit LAN |
| I/O internal |
|
| I/O Back Panel |
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| Formfactor | miniITX (17.0cm x 17.0cm) |
- 1x Driver / Utility DVD
- 1x User Guide
- 1x I/O Shield
- 1x SATA Cable
- 1x WiFi Antenna
- 1x M-Connector
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Layout
MSI has done well in creating a decent design with a suitable color schema. They have been using black for the PCB and blue for the PCI Express expansion slot and the coolers. When it comes to the layout itself we see that the socket LGA1155 is quite close to the PCI Express x16 expansion slot. We prefer to see the CPU socket in the center of the board. If the latter is being done by the manufacturer it's possible to install a big aircooler without blocking the PCI Express x16 slot. What comes in handy is where the SATA connectors are. It's practical that MSI chose to place them on an edge, which means that you don't have to worry about cable routing issues.
MSI equipped the Z77IA-E53 with a 6+1+1 phase digital power design with an UPI uP1618A taking care of the CPU VRM. This power design has one DRMOS for one phase rather than one DRMOS for two phases like on a lot of competitors motherboards. Furthermore there are six 4935N MOSFETs from On Semiconductor.
The memory gets a single digital phase, which is driven by an UPI uP0104S.
Totally you'll find two DIMM-slots on the MSI Z77IA-E53. Officially supported clock speeds from DDR3-1066 up to DDR3-2133. Max capacity is 16GB of non-ECC un-buffered memory. This motherboard also supports Intel's XMP 1.3.
PCH as well as current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via individual, passive cooling blocks. The cooling blocks have been well manufactured and also well attached to the board to provide enough pressure on the components they have to cool down. They feature a blue color and on the PCH cooler you can find the MSI logo. Overall chipset and VRM cooling is nothing special but it's suitable for the job.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Connectors and I/O
Totally MSI equipped the Z77IA-E53 with a total of four SATA connectors. More specifically you get two SATA 3.0 as well as two SATA 2.0 connectors driven by the Intel Z77 chipset. There are no extra SATA chips on this board.Nothing special also if you look at the the PCI Express connectors. With this motherboard you get one PCI Express x16 Gen 3.0 slot. Furthermore there is a mini PCIe / mSATA slot right next to the DIMM slots. Apart from that you wont find a lot of features. On the backpanel is a Clear CMOS button and that's really it then. There is neither a power nor a reset button .
MSI equipped the Z77IA-E53 with a total of two fan headers. Therefore it's possible to keep this board cool and quiet. Looking for additional connectors on this board, one can find a header for two USB3.0 ports as well as another header for two additional USB2.0 ports and a connector for external HD audio.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel MSI equipped the Z77IA-E53 with a PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, four USB2.0 ports, two USB3.0 ports, one LAN gigabit ethernet port, a CLR CMOS button, one HDMI as well as one VGA connector and last but not least there is an optical SPDIF audio out as well as three audio mini jacks.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Conclusion
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| The Z77IA-E53 is quite a decent little mini ITX board. Obvisouly this isn't the board with the highest feature density, but still, it's perfectly suitable to build a decent miniITX rig. Furthermore the price is on a very competitive level. One really can't complain about a 98 Euro price tag. Overall this board also looks nice. It's not like a piece of art but never the less it's decent and one can see that the manufacturer spent some time on considering the design aspect. | - Price | ||
| Layout | + | - | |
| Generally the MSI Z77IA-E53's layout has been well thought. For example the SATA connectors have been positioned pratically on the upper edge of the board. Therefore you wont run into issues when wiring you drive(s). On the other hand there is the CPU socket which is really close to the PCI Express x16 slot, which means that big aircoolers will collide with graphics cars in the PCI Express x16 slot. Since miniITX boards are quite famous in small, yet powerful builds, this is a pity and almost a killer criterium to buy an other board for this purpose. On the backpanel one can find a Clear CMOS buttons which is really helpful if you should ever run into BIOS issues. Especially with miniITX builds it's a good thing to have this button on the outside, since the inside of such a rig is mostly cramed. | -
Position SATA
connectors
- CLR_CMOS - Wi-Fi |
- Position CPU socket |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
Author: c.ney@ocaholic.ch