Intel BOXDZ77GAL-70K LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: This board was given to me during an Intel event. The total cost to me was $0 and came with a 3770K (for the same price), so I technically have no reason or right to complain about it. Not that that'll ever stop me. The board was initially to be gifted away but I ended up using in when the mainboard in my home server failed exactly 2 days after I received the Intel board. The previous machine's config was a Core 2 Duo/mATX Gigabyte board/DDR2 RAM, so everything save the case and drives had to be scrapped. Installation was a breeze, though the board uses more standoffs than I had on hand (and a few more than is standard for an ATX board). The BIOS flash was easy to perform, and the board is running steadily at stock clocks on version 64 (which is current as of this writing). The board recognized a processor and desktop RAM from a previous PC build without issue, and has been running without a single hiccup since it was first installed. So long as it continues to operate normally, I am content.

Cons: The dual LAN cards in the board I received are not the same model. One is the Intel 82579V and the other is an Intel 82574L. The 82579V card does not have drivers for use with Server 2008R2. Bummer. I found a set of rigged drivers that allow for it to be used, but since I'm using a LAN PCI card in this build, both of the board's LAN cards have been disabled for the sake of compatibility. The remaining board chipset features are recognized normally in the OS, and the Windows 7 drivers work without a problem.

I have noticed a bit of instability in the BIOS, mostly right after the update to version 64. I was forced to enter maintenance mode (shuffle the jumper on the 3-pin around to do this) and reset the board/delete all profiles to get it working. The BIOS version the board shipped with and the one Intel marks as current are very different animals despite being meant for the same board. My EVGA-based desktop PC suffers from this shuffling of features as well, so I've been forced to become well-versed in dealing with a buggy BIOS after updating.

Other Thoughts: Being a desktop/enthusiast class board, I was bound to run into some weird problems when building it into a server PC. Very little of the board's capabilities are being utilized, both to save on recources necessary to utilize them and to minimize power consumption. Thus far I have disabled both LAN controllers, the secondary SATA 6GB chipset, the audio controller, and have minimized the memory footprint of the onboard video controller. The CPU is clocked at stock values with turbo boosting disabled, and the RAM is set to a minimal 1600Mhz. There are no front USB/audio ports to connect, and the only headers I have connected are the power button and HDD LED. One PCI slot is currently in use for LAN, and three drives (one SSD, two HDD) have been installed. This is a very minimal PC being utilized only for file sharing and RDP use. The Intel board performs in this role quite admirably and has served well in the stead of the ancient C2D build it has replaced.

I can easily say that I would recommend this board for a low to mid-level gaming PC, but higher-end gamers may want to throw a little more money at their computer screen for something beefier. For what I'm doing with it, this board is overkill. But as they say, if you're going to kill something, you might as well kill it a whole lot.

System specs (Frankensteined mostly from old gaming builds):

Intel i7 2600K
Intel DZ77GAL-70K
G.Skill Ripjaw 8GB 2133Mhz kit (@1600Mhz)
Corsair HX850
COOLER MASTER Elite 310 Case
OCZ Vertex4 128GB SSD
WDC 1TB/1.5TB HDDs
Realtek PCI GBE LAN controller
AND NOTHING ELSE!

Pros: No problems so far with this board. Install was very quick and easy.

Cons: I do not like the skull that pops up upon startup.

Pros: Rock solid,USB 3.0, easy overclocking with a 3770k.

Has been running without any issues for about 5 months.

Cons: I am more of an ASUS fan. (Got this with a 3770k for a bundle price that I couldn't turn down.)

Other Thoughts: Not sure why there are so many complaints for this board. Has been working great for me since day one. Have been using it every day for about 5 months.

System:
BOXDZ77GAL-70K
i7-3770k @ 4.2GHZ
Corsair H100i
16gb Corsair Vengeance 1600
Corsair HX1000
Corsair Force 3 120gb SSD
ATI HD 5870
Corsair 600t White case

Pros: Does exactly what it says and is a very solid built board.

Cons: It was buggy at first but after some internet research and a very informative exchange of emails w/ a Intel IT rep I was able to resolve it's issues. I had an old bios and upgraded to the most recent. This caused issues and I found out I had to recover to an older version first as there were important updates included there that weren't in subsequent version. I think it was bios update 0057 iirc. After that all was fine! I run G.Skill sniper 16gb @ 1600mhz and a 3570K w/ no problems.

Other Thoughts: This board was a bit buggy but it is worth the $. The problems I had were w/ a bios issue and after sorting that out I have had 0 issues (6 weeks solid performance!).

Pros: Seemingly Great specs.
Z77 chipset
Compatable with my i7-3770k
UEFI bios with overclocking assistant
8 sata ports (4 & 4)
2 front panel ports for USB 3.0
2400 ram speeds
dual PCI-E 3.0 for SLI/XF (even though its 8X 8X)

Cons: Bugs bugs bugs.
They release new bios versions without testing it seems. Intel told me to go to an older version because it was most stable and have no marking on their pages which is a stable version and which is a work in progress.

I have continually had problems with my ethernet ports dying out on any bios version. Driver just fails, the device disappears from windows (it's still in device manager) and requires a restart to get it running again.

My first board shipped and the secondary Sata controller would continually disconnect and needed a restart. After a replacement at least THAT issue got resolved.

First board died after a month of use. No Post Code on the LED and no post beeps at all (missing ram, incompatible CPU) all dead.

Second board has issues that intel still refuses to assist with and denies the responsibility.

Overclocking Assistant has NEVER worked.
The slightest changes to the CPU (which is cooled with an H100i) and the Memory (G.skill Trident-X 2400) which is only capable of running 1333 without crashing pre-POST. Even when running with the XMB of the RAM.
Should have payed the extra money and went with a more reliable Mobo Vendor.

Other Thoughts: Constant issues
Should have Payed for a more reliable MOBO brand. Overclocking would work properly, Ram would be recognized. Very disappointed intel.

I suppose this is why they are not making motherboards anymore.

First intel rig and completely disappointed with the amount of errors.

Pros: Advanced BIOS configuration options, UEFI support, 4 SATA 6GB RAID ports, 4 SATA 3GB RAID ports, lots of USB 3.0 ports.

Cons: BIOS is constantly changing (the board I received came with 0039, 0064 is the current one as of this writing).

One of the two front panel USB 3.0 ports does not work correctly on my Antec 300 case. There are multiple USB 3.0 connectors on the motherboard, but the Antec 300 has both front ports combined on one connector. I honestly don't know if this is an Intel problem or an Antec problem.

The Primary Temperature Input selections for the Memory and PCH are wrong by default in the BIOS. This is easy to fix, but I'm not sure why it hasn't been corrected by Intel, even in the current BIOS revision.

Other Thoughts: I'm running with a Core i7-3770 processor and an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2. The default setting for the Minimum Duty Cycle for the CPU Fan is 20%. This is too low for the Freezer 7, and will result in no value being reported for the CPU fan speed. Increase the value to 30% and it will then report a value correctly.

The memory configuration control in the BIOS is extensive. These are the only tweaks I have experimented with so far, and they are working well. I'm assuming CPU tweaking will be as good.

Pros: Idk what's up with all the bad luck with this board but iv'e had nothing but good luck so far. All ports work great. Installation was nice and easy. The board looks great in my rig! It's been in the rig for about 3 months now without a single issue yet.

Cons: none so far.

Pros: Box looks cool, that's about it

Cons: internet d/c you randomly, motherboard fails to boot up at times. Let me explain the problem.
The computer has the same hardware from day #1
and yet sometimes it fails to boot up. BIOS asks me to go into the previous boot able setting or go into the boot setting and modify it. (ok, since day 1 it has the same software, what the hell is the "previous boot able " setting?!)

Other Thoughts: Intel fix your ****. your coding for your motherboard has issues

Pros: Solid performance z77 chipset, visual bios, dual gigabit lans, 1600 rams

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Ignore theses negative reviews. This board is the best bang for the buck. It booted the first time and continues to run like a champ. Running an i5-3750k and 32gbs of corsair xox 1600 ddr3. This system runs every game I have and every app even with multiple windows. I would recommend this board hands down. Do upgrade to the latest bios and drivers.

Pros: To many features, Looks great! Overclocks nice!

This motherboard is awesome! For those having problems, please read my CONS THREAD!!!

This is a high quality board. And I love it! I got it for $88.00 Brand new sealed in the BOX. I belive I will stick with intel extreme board from now on, in the future.

Cons: Anyone who is having problems with this MotherBoard! Listen to me, Update your bios to the latest one, I had mine downloaded and saved before I even got the board in the mail.

Also! If you change something in your bios, to a extreme setting, and system does not boot or display video signal, move the long yellow jumper to position 2-3 and turn the system on, and then enter bios. After exiting bios, move the jumper back to 1-2 position, and then restart the system!, and you will be fine!

Other Thoughts: A lot of people are having issues with this board. I was aware of all the mixed reviews when I was buying this. Although, I knew mine would be perfect. I updated the bios, carefully installed my 3570k, and H80 water cooler and put it all in to my case, first boot I updated the bios. Ive been running at 4.6Ghz ever since! This motherboard is excellent. If you have a brain in your head, and you want a good motherboard with every feature. Then, this is it! Do not listen to everybody else. Theres nothing wrong with these boards. They have more diagnostics features you could ever wish for! More overclocking features than most boards out there. Wifi and Bluetooth capable! This is a extreme intel board. You do get what you pay for, and the quality is absolutely amazing! Ive been building computers for 10 years now. And this board is outstanding. Im running Xfire Radeon 7770's with a water cooled i5 3570K at 4.6Ghz. My system is absolutely stupid fast, with 2133mhz 8gb of ram.