Biostar TZ77XE4 Z77 Motherboard Preview

[siopao1984]

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Biostar TZ77XE4 Z77 Motherboard Preview - eTeknix

Biostar aren’t a brand that we hear much from, at least not in the UK, but that’s not to say they aren’t any good, but simply don’t have the resources that other brands have and with a big push for Intel Z77 upon us, they wanted in on a piece of the action.
Intel Z77 is the new chipset that is due to come out in April, opening lots of new features including PCI-Express 3.0 and native USB 3.0 support, though the biggest new feature is of course support for the new 3rd generation Intel processors. While Intel won’t confirm, we all know these to be called Ivy Bridge, and will lead to new architecture based upon the already great selling Sandy Bridge CPUs.
As the date looms closer and closer, we’re finding more and more boards coming in to our labs from a variety of manufacturers, including Gigabyte and MSI. Today however, sees the turn of Biostar, with their TZ77XE4 board boasting some great, new features and a unique colour scheme to boot.
As always, we wish that we could show you performance figures, but sadly NDA by Intel restricts that, but instead we will take a look at the package on offer, the aestethics of the board, and of course, any features that Biostar have implemented into this new Z77 based board.
Specifications
CHIPSET

• Intel Z77

CPU SUPPORT

• Intel Core i7 LGA 1155 Processor
• Intel Core i5 LGA 1155 Processor
• Intel Core i3 LGA 1155 Processor
• Maximum CPU TDP (Thermal Design Power) : 95Watt

MEMORY

• Support Dual Channel DDR3 2600(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 MHz
• 4 x DDR3 DIMM Memory Slot
• Max. Supports up to 32GB Memory

EXPANSION SLOT

• 2 x PCI Slots
• 1 x PCI-E x1 2.0 Slot
• 1 x PCI-E x16 2.0 Slot (x4)
• 2 x PCI-E x16 3.0 Slot (SLi / CFX x

STORAGE

• 4 x SATA2 3Gb/s Connector
• 1 x eSATA Connector
• Support SATA RAID: 0,1,5,10
• Support Intel Smart Response Technology
• 4 x SATA3 6Gb/s Connector

USB

• 2 x USB 3.0 Port
• 1 x USB 3.0 Header
• 4 x USB 2.0 Port
• 2 x USB 2.0 Header

GbE

• Realtek RTL8111E – 10/100/1000 Controller

MULTI GRAPHICS

• AMD CrossFireX
• NVIDIA SLI

INTEGRATED VIDEO

• By CPU model
• Supports DX11
• Supports HDCP

CODEC

• Realtek ALC898 8 Channel Blu-ray Audio

REAR I/O

• 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
• 1 x eSATA Connector
• 2 x USB 3.0 Port
• 4 x USB 2.0 Port
• 1 x HDMI Connector
• 1 x Display Port
• 1 x DVI Connector
• 1 x VGA Port
• 1 x RJ-45 Port
• 6 x Audio Connector

INTERNAL I/O

• 1 x USB 3.0 Header
• 2 x USB 2.0 Header
• 4 x SATA3 6Gb/s Connector
• 4 x SATA2 3Gb/s Connector
• 1 x Front Audio Header
• 1 x Front Panel Header
• 1 x S/PDIF-OUT Header
• 1 x CPU FAN Header
• 2 x System FAN Header
• 1 x Serial Header
• 1 x CIR Header

DIMENSION

• ATX Form Factor Dimension: 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ( W x L )

OS SUPPORT

• Support Windows XP / Vista / 7

ACCESSORIES

• 4 x SATA Cable
• 1 x SLI Connector
• 1 x CrossFire Connector
• 1 x I/O Shield
• 1 x DVD Driver
• 1 x User Manual

FEATURES

• Supports uEFI GUI Interface BIOS
• Supports THX TruStudio Pro
• Supports BIO-Remote2
• Supports BIO-Remote
• Windows 7 Compatible
• Supports 100% Solid capacitor
• Supports Rapid Switch2
• Supports Rapid Debug3
• Supports HDMI Audio Ready
• Supports Toverclcoker OC software
• Supports GPU
• Supports Charger Booster
• Supports BIOS Online Update

[siopao1984]

The front of the box is packed full of information and lists the main features of the board. A big push on overclocking is part of the grand scheme from Biostar with their “TOverclocker” utility at the heart of it. Main features include various display connections, PCIe Gen 3 and SLI/CrossFireX support to name a few.



Flipping things around, we find the main features listed again, with a brief description for each. Some information on T-Overclocker is also present giving an outline of what is involved behind this utility.



Taking a look at the included accessories, we find a user’s manual, drive utility CD and rear I/O panel plate. Also included as a single SLI connector, single CrossFire bridge and four individually wrapped orange SATA cables, nicely bundled up using a Biostar branded velcro strap.

[siopao1984]

What we essentially have here is a ATX form factor motherboard with a striking colour scheme. A black PCB with black and orange accented features makes this board really stand out from the rest. The layout is typical of boards of this socket and things certainly look feature rich and very stylish for users wanting something a bit different.



Around the CPU socket area, we find the 1155 CPU support, with a passive black/orange set of heatsinks around the edge, keeping the VRM and other main components sufficiently cooled. The two heatsinks are connected via a single heatpipe and are tucked out of the way, allowing for large CPU coolers to be installed. CPU support includes the new 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors, as well as existing socket 1155 CPUs.



Keeping with the colour scheme, we find four black DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3. Speeds Memory wise, we find four DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3, up to 32GB in total. Speeds including 1066/1333/1600/1866/2133/2400 and also a whopping 2600MHz are supported, and a maximum of 32GB in capacity will keep your system churning away.

[siopao1984]

Again with the black colouring, we find a total of six expansion slots, consisting of three PCI-Express x16 lanes, of which the first two operate at x16 speeds (x8 if using SLI/CFX) and the third operating at x4 speeds. There is also a smaller PCI-Express x1 slot and two legacy PCI slots. For those wanting to get in on a little multi-GPU action, the two x16 slots are nicely spaced apart to give extra ventilation to the individual cards.



Front panel connectors and the like are in full-swing on this board, with some key overclocking features included. We find a debug LED, power and reset buttons and also a clear CMOS button too. Front panel connectors include the usual LEDs and switches, as well as COM, USB 2.0 and a native USB 3.0 header to top things off.



Going back to the cooling aspects of the board, there is a small, low-profile heatsink covering the Intel Z77 chip. It flows with the rest of the board with a black heatsink and gold, Biostar branded shield covering.



Moving to the storage capabilities of the board, there are a total of eight SATA ports, all in black. The two ports to the right support Sata 6Gb/s through the Intel Z77 chipset and support RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 including IRST. The next two, towards the left support Sata 3Gb/s and also run through the Intel Z77 chipset with the same RAID support. The next two are the same, though one of the ports can be used with eSATA, whereas the last two SATA ports, on the left side once again utilise SATA 6Gb/s but are ran through the Asmedia ASM1061 controller and only support AHCI functionality with no RAID support.



Lastly flipping around to the rear I/O panel we find a PS2 keyboard port, two USB 2.0 ports, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA and DVI for extra display connectivity. There is also a single eSATA port, two USB 3.0 ports, two further USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit LAN provided through the Realtek RTL 8111E controller and 7.1 channel high-definition audio through the ALC898 chip.

[siopao1984]

From a first glance, this board certainly has it all in terms of looks and style, as it’s simply is stylish and unique with the bright orange colouring. We can see a Phanteks orange CPU cooler and Geil Enhance Corsa really going well to match this board and making for a very brightly colour system. The layout is good with plenty of features from memory support, to SATA ports, even to the functionality behind the PCI expansion lanes.

While this isn’t a top-end board, it has some very strong features provided by the Intel Z77 chipset, and memory support up to 2600MHz really makes things stand out above some of the boards we’ve already looked at and obviously still gives you extra functionality in terms of pushing things even further, which early reports show is more than possible with the new Ivy Bridge processors.

The display outputs on this board will see a lot of consumers happy with full support for DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA and DVI; you’ll never be left with a problem of connecting your display monitor.

It’s nice to also see a few favourites for overclockers with a debug LED, power and reset buttons and clear CMOS too, and from the initial sales pitch of T-Overclocker, things could look promising for what’s on offer, software wise, but time will tell as to when we release the full review with overclocking results.

There certainly seems to be a lot on offer here, and with no word on pricing, it’s hard to tell where this will fit in the market. It seems to offer some good, solid features but I can see it being aimed at the light enthusiast and not being able to compete with some of the bigger brands in terms of Asus ROG and MSI Military boards, but once again; time will tell.

As much as we’d love to show you performance figures on this board, we are restricted, but can just comment to say that we will have this board fully benchmarked around launch and it should make for an interesting board, and with that in mind, we hope to see Biostar making a further push into the market, especially in the UK, as if the style of their boards are anything to go by, I have complete faith in the performance behind it all.

[lloyd_joy]

yay, gi post gyud nimo bro siopao... nice mobo...