Z87 rules the PC enthusiast market by exposing the Haswell architecture's full feature set. We're particularly interested in mini-ITX-based platforms able to integrate Z87 in a compact form factor. Five boards contend for supremacy of compact computing.
Every time we hear about the death of the desktop PC, that conclusion seems to be based on slowing sales from big tier-ones like Dell and HP. But we know from talking to boutique builders that the demand for high-end gaming PCs and workstations continues to increase. It's a good time to be an enthusiast, and games like Battlefield 4 help illustrate why.
At least some of the excitement comes from high-performance, high efficiency hardware, which is allowing the community to construct faster machines in smaller enclosures. It's no longer necessary to drop a big case next to your desk with two or three 250 W graphics cards for playable frame rates in the latest titles. Now we can get plenty of speed in small machines that look more like living room appliances, but are every bit PCs.
Up until recently, the mini-ITX form factor was all about compromise. You'd give up most of your motherboard's slots and room for integrated extras to fit into tighter spaces. But as this segment grows, more and more companies are recognizing a desire for premium-class platforms with all of the on-board features expected from a larger ATX board. Drop in a high-end, overclockable processor, one dual-slot graphics card with multiple display outputs, and some solid-state storage. Sounds about as sexy as any monolithic gaming box we've ever seen.
So, which motherboard would we choose to serve as the foundation for a build like that? There are certainly many options on the market, and five of the industry’s top performance-oriented brands sent us a sample to compare.

| LGA 1150-Based Mini-ITX Motherboard Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock Z87E-ITX | Asus Z87I-Deluxe | EVGA Z87 Stinger | Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi | MSI Z87I | |
| PCB Revision | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Chipset | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Six Phases | 12 Phases | Four Phases | Four Phases | Four Phases |
| BIOS | P2.10 (10/04/2013) | 0702 (08/30/2013) | 102 (08/07/2013) | F4 (08/03/2013) | V1.4 (09/30/2013) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 100.10 (+0.10%) | 99.94 (-0.06%) | 100.12 (+0.12%) | 99.77 (-0.23%) | 100.01 (+0.01%) |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | None | None | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Network | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | 1 | 1 | 1 | None | 1 |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Video Out | DVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMI | DVI-I, HDMI, DisplayPort | DisplayPort, HDMI | Dual HDMI, DVI-I | HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-I |
| Other Devices | eSATA, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | USB BIOS Flashback, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | Bluetooth Transceiver | Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module | Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module GO2BIOS button |
| Internal Interfaces | |||||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | None | None | None | None | None |
| PCIe 2.0 x1 | Mini-PCIe (filled) | None | Mini-PCIe | Mini-PCIe (filled) | Mini-PCIe (filled) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 6 x (shared with eSATA, mSATA) | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 3-Pin Fan | None | None | None | None | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | None | Output Only | None | Output Only | None |
| Internal Buttons | None | MemOK | Power, Reset | None | None |
| Internal Switch | None | None | None | None | None |
| Diagnostics Panel | None | None | Numeric | None | None |
| Other Devices | None | None | None | Serial COM port | Serial COM port |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||||
| Chipset SATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s (Total) Shared w/eSATA, mSATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | None | None | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only | Integrated-only |
| Networking | |||||
| Primary LAN | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | WGI217V PHY | 8111G PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | None | None | AR8161 PCIe | 8111G PCIe |
| Wi-Fi | BCM4352 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band | BCM4352 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band | None | Intel 2230 PCIe 802.11n Single-Band | Intel 2230 PCIe 802.11n Single-Band |
| Bluetooth | By 802.11ac Combo | By 802.11ac Combo | AR3011 USB | By 802.11n Combo | By 802.11n Combo |
| Audio | |||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | CA0132 (Core3D) PCIe | ALC892 | ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | DTS Connect | DTS Connect | None | None | None |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years |
- The Mini-ITX Market Is Small, But Growing...
- ASRock Z87E-ITX
- Z87E-ITX Software
- Z87E-ITX Firmware
- Asus Z87I-Deluxe
- Z87I-Deluxe Software
- Z87I-Deluxe Firmware
- EVGA Z87 Stinger
- Z87 Stinger Software
- Z87 Stinger Firmware
- Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi
- Z87N-WiFi Software
- Z87N-WiFi Firmware
- MSI Z87I
- Z87I Software
- Z87I Firmware
- Test Hardware And Benchmark Settings
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Energy, Heat, And Efficiency
- Overclocking
- Which Mini-ITX Motherboard Would We Buy For Haswell?
Or is that why it's not included?
Yes, the Impact is a very expensive board, but given everything that's crammed onto it and the engineering involved I actually think it's *almost* reasonable. But given the price increase, I do agree it's not competition for the boards chosen here.
A significant omission given the point of the article, and understandable omission given the nature of comparison.
But I wouldn't mind seeing the Impact and the Asus Deluxe go head-to-head given their socket and power delivery systems are almost the same I believe (the Impact being a further refinement on the Deluxe).
The Deluxe has greater connectivity options, is cheaper and maybe a slightly easier layout, while the Impact has a fancy soundcard, paint job and an array of acronyms. Despite the fact they use a slightly different power designs, from what I've seen elsewhere there's not a lot in it.
I think the Impact is a bit silly and expensive, but I still want one.
Where is the ITX board that just gives you what you need with out all the spurious extras?
The only reason you buy a Z series mobo is because you want to overclock, and 99% of overclockers will have their own discreet graphics card, you do not therefore need any video out ports, one if you must but three? Where is the common sense.
WiFi? No thanks. Bluetooth? does any one actually use it? Cut out the junk, pare back the board to basics cut a big chunk off the price and they may just hit the nail on the head and ITX might just become the defacto standard for motherboards.
For me, none of these borads affer any kind of value and none of them are smart buys.