GIGABYTE GA-Z77MX-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: All the features I wanted in a microATX format.

Cons: I spent several days dealing with windows 7 not being able to install via DVD. I tried changing every part, including using three different CD/DVD drives both sata and USB, and two different original windows disks. It would start loading windows and then ask for the DVD driver every time and no changing of USB ports or SATA ports solved it, and there were no drivers for USB, SATA, or the chipset that it would take. I finally forced it to swallow windows 7 with a bootable USB stick with the OS on it, but then when I added an nVidia graphics card it wouldn't get past the bios loading screen (to load windows or load into the bios setup). Tried two different cards in all three slots, and even a 750 power supply (which is shouldn't need). Nothing worked so I returned it.

Other Thoughts: I will not be getting a replacement of the same model. Try something else because as far as I can tell this model has design flaws.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product.

Windows7 has been validated on this model with SATA harddrives and SATA SSDs (both IDE and AHCHI mode). Windows7 will only ask for a driver if Windows can not detect your storage drive. I suggest you change your SATA cable and also remove any partitions on your harddrive/SSD before attempting ton install. If you require further assistance, please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com with the case number 2013061101 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue as soon as possible.

Please contact our Live Technical Support at 626-854-9338, option 3 if the matter is urgent.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: I have always liked gigabyte boards and this is a nice looking board but see below

Cons: According to Mfg. web page this board supports windows xp but after several attempts to install board software it never took. Another problem was with the hard drive, the only time windows would read ssd was to change bios from sata to ide which would really slow the ssd.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product.

This model has been validated with WindowsXP. Your problem may be caused by:

1. WindowsXP disk. Please use the original, not backup copy of WindowsXP to install the OS.
2. SSD format - You mention that WindowsXP will recognize your SSD if IDE model was set in the BIOS. This indicates a previous installated partitions/format that Windows may not recognize. Please use any cleaner or disk partition utiltiy to completely remove all formats and partitions from your SSD.

If you require further assistance, please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com with the case number 2013053101 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue as soon as possible.

Please contact our Live Technical Support at 626-854-9338, option 3 if the matter is urgent.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Easy setup.
Everything works other than USB.

Cons: I'll be at least the second person to say that this board has serious issues with its USB ports. Using the most recent firmware and drivers, my USB ports cut in and out, and I constantly have to unplug my mouse & keyboard and plug them back in.

Also, the holes for standoff screws aren't standard- one of them didn't line up with my case (the Fractal Design Define R4.)

Finally, I downloaded all of the drivers directly from Gigabyte, but apparently the driver disk comes with bloatware. Gigabyte: Who wants bloatware to contaminate a brand new build? Stop it. Just ship the driver disk with drivers and nothing else.

Other Thoughts: I'm really disappointed by this board. If it didn't have the problems with USB and unusual standoff configuration I'd probably love it.. But the fact that I have to constantly unplug and plug back in my USB devices completely ruins the experience..

I'm switching to Intel-Intel products work.

Pros: Excellent board that comes with 2 SATAII and 2 SATAIII cables. The bios is amazing and gives a ton of information and options.

Cons: None as of yet.

Other Thoughts: I found a few of the screw placements a bit awkward but that's more the form factor than the board I guess.

Pros: Has quite a bit of room, very durable and easy to use. It was able to support everything I had and was compact enough to leave space for wiring. The Driver CD has all the tools you need to use everything to the fullest potential. Just make sure you read the manual before doing anything.

Cons: Make sure you know that this is a MICRO motherboard. It is small, but it works with everything you would need to put a computer together.

Other Thoughts: Good buy, great value. Small but powerful.

Pros: Great and feature rich for the money. Handles my simple overclocking needs easily. BIOS is easy to navigate. Decently spacious for a micro-atx board. 4 memory slots.

Cons: none really. It only has 6 sata I guess but the description shows that.

Other Thoughts: 3570k
7850
crucial ballistix sport 1600 DDR3

Pros: Worked well until Windows 8 was installed.

Cons: -BIOS mysteriously got messed up after a month of use. Very hard to explain what went wrong with the bios other than the fact it is unusable. (Mobo still works though)
-It appears that the PCI 3.0 slot is dead on the card since I know it's not my graphic card's fault.

Other Thoughts: Buy something better for your machine! Don't let its seemingly nice features fool you.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product. Please update your motherboard BIOS to the latest for correcting some Windows8 issues.

If you require further assistance, please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com with the case number 2013011509 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue as soon as possible.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: EFI was easy to use with no glitches. Able to set up RAM timings with no issues. No problems with the layout in my case.

Its been a smooth experience. Using latest BIOS and Drivers.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I pick this mATX board due to the great reviews on it and its doing very well. I will keep this board on the top of my list if I need to get another.

Pros: Nice Z77 with UEFI Bios (GUI Bios)
Comes with an SLI cable
Micro ATX but still packs many features
I don't overclock, but it has overclock utilities to make it easy

Cons: Zynga garbage auto installs with the drivers
Had many audio issues with the built in audio, seemed to lag.

Pros: Price is on the lower end of the spectrum for z77 based m-atx motherboards. It still has good features, and overclocks well considering the price. With a 3570k I reached a max overclock of 4.7ghz with ~1.35v. I am limited by my cooling (Antec 920 Kuhler), so on air I would expect possibly 4.5ghz may be the limit (of course dependent on your CPU's ability).

Cons: If you are interested in crossfireX/SLI, the PCI-E x16 slots are slot 1 and 4, so be sure you have a case that has at least 5 expansion slots. For m-atx cases there are very few that can support that. I use a NZXT Rogue case, so cannot support crossfire/SLI. The Rosewill Line-M case looks to be one of the best m-atx cases for the task with G-byte m-atx motherboards for SLI/crossfire.

Other Thoughts: I had been deciding on a m-atx motherboard for an Ivy Bridge build for a couple weeks. Primarily the Asrock Professional M and Gigabyte G1.Sniper M. As I was about to order the Asrock, I noticed that this board was $40 cheaper and came with free memory. Kind of an impulse buy, but I am very satisfied with it so far.