Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI
ASRock, Asus and Gigabyte are leading mainboard
manufacturers, who currently offer the most successful and interesting
platforms. Therefore, many mainboards from these manufacturers can be very
similar and sometimes hard to choose. That is why we have predicted that
Mini-ITX Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI would similar to the compact mainboards from its
competitors, but it manages to make us really surprised. The problem is that
Gigabyte engineers decided to stand out big time and create a truly unique
product. Gigabyte GA-WIFI-Z77N boasts an exclusive set of features, which you
will not see on any of the existing alternatives.
Most
miniature mainboards on Intel Z77 chipset boasts similar specifications
Most miniature mainboards on Intel Z77
chipset boasts similar specifications as it's very difficult to equip such a mainboard
with additional bundled controller to extend their functionality - they are
just too small. Therefore, the engineers usually choose the most necessary
components, which in most cases are the wireless controller and additional USB
3.0 port. However, Gigabyte has another idea: the function of the Intel Z77
chipset in GA-Z77N-WIFI is expanded with one Wifi controller and two Gigabit
wired network controllers. As a result, the mainboard can become an excellent mainboard
not only for a compact PC, but also for a home mini-server functioning as a
router and a NAS.
Becoming
an excellent mainboard
However, taking into account this unusual
functionality Gigabyte engineers could also think about adding additional
high-speed SATA ports onto their mainboard. But they did not, and just like nd
just like other Mini-ITX mainboards, GA-Z77N-WIFI has only four SATA ports. Two
of them operate at a speed of 6 Gbps and the other two - at a speed of 3 Gbps.
The internal ports and connections are also quite traditional for such a mainboard:
two onboard pin-connectors for USB 2.0 ports, a pin-connector for USB 3.0 ports
and a connector for the front panel audio jacks. The standards are enriched
with a serial port pin-connector, which is a rare presence in 2013.
The
internal ports and connections are also quite traditional
The ports and connectors of its back panel are
generally quite traditional. Besides two Gigabit network ports are implemented
through a Realtek RTL8111F controller, there is nothing rare or unusual.
External devices can be plugged into a pair of USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports
(everything is implemented in the chipset), and a universal PS / 2 port can
operate with both mouse and keyboard. Note that Gigabyte mainboard does not
have SATA ports, which means two SATA ports out of six provided by the chipset
haven’t been used at all. The graphics core integrated into the processor can
be mounted via two HDMI ports or a DVI-I connector. The integrated sound is
implemented via eight-chanel Realtek ALC892 coded goes into five analogue
audio-jacks and an optical SPDIF out.
There
are two antenna connectors for Wi-Fi in the back panel
In addition to everything mentioned above,
there are two antenna connectors for Wi-Fi on the mainboard's back panel. The
wireless controller is designed as a daughter PCIe module that goes into an
existing slot on the PCB. Unlike the other mainboard manufacturers, Gigabyte
picks up Intel Wireless-N 2230 card for their GA-Z77N-WIFI. It supports 802.11
b / g / n at 2.4 GHz frequency and offers up to 300 Mbps transfer rate. It also
supports Bluetooth 4.0. But its primary distinguishing feature is the Intel
Wireless Display (WiDi) support. As a result, the GA-Z77N-WIFI boasts so many
interesting additional features: it can accommodate HDMI devices connected
wirelessly to it. None of the other mainboards in this roundup can boast something
like that.
The accessories bundled with Gigabyte
GA-Z77N-WIFI quite expectedly include a pair of WiFi antennas, two SATA cables
and an I / O Shield for the back panel. There was nothing else in the box.
The
accessories bundled with Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI
However, the function of the Gigabyte
GA-WIFI-Z77N product makes it attractive and interesting, particularly because
it is the most expensive Mini-ITX mainboard on the Intel Z77. However,
reasonable price is not always flawless. This mainboard has a few small
sections that need attention, one of which is the layout. For example, the
power supply connectors are not in the most convenient spots, while the
connectors related to the front of the system case have been moved all the way
to the back of the PCB for some reason. If you are really take your cable
management seriously, you have to invest a lot of time and effort to implement
it. However, the LGA 1155 processor socket on Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI is located
side by side with a PCI Express x16 slot, while the chipset is at the very top
of the PCB. This will not allow you to use the high-performance coolers
designed for 120 mm (or larger) fan on this platform. Just as with ASRock
Z77E-ITX, you will have to go forward with something similar to a boxed cooler
or with a tower supporting 80 mm or 92 mm fans.
The
function of the Gigabyte GA-WIFI-Z77N product make it attractive and
interesting
