Z77 mATX motherboard that fits my criteria?

[Hacksaw907]

So I've been keeping a close eye on the Z77 boards being announced, but it seems that there aren't that many boards that fit these criteria:

- mATX form factor
- Good overclocking capability
- At least one PCI slot

I'm trying to make an SFF Ivy Bridge watercooled build, and I need a PCI slot for my Claro Halo XT card. The only boards I've seen that somewhat meet this criteria are the ASUS P8Z77-M and the Gigabyte Z77M-D3H. However, both don't seem like they have a strong VRM design to cope with overclocking.

My question is am I missing any other Z77 mATX boards that do actually meet my criteria, or am I out of luck and have to opt for a Z68 board in hopes of getting what I need? Thanks in advance.

[Adzsask]

ASUS Maximus V Gene will be out in a month or less, same as the maximus 4 gene which my friend owns, 2500K@5.2 with 1.48v. The new board has a few improvements on top of the max 4 gene wifi is one of them, PCIE 3.0 is another.
ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene preview - Intel Z77 in mATX - YouTube

[Hacksaw907]

Originally Posted by Adzsask

ASUS Maximus V Gene will be out in a month or less, same as the maximus 4 gene which my friend owns, 2500K@5.2 with 1.48v. The new board has a few improvements on top of the max 4 gene wifi is one of them, PCIE 3.0 is another.
ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene preview - Intel Z77 in mATX - YouTube

I saw that, and it looks amazing... Except it doesn't have a PCI slot for my sound card

[Adzsask]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw907

I saw that, and it looks amazing... Except it doesn't have a PCI slot for my sound card

PCI to PCI Express Adapter - PCI/PCIe Adapter Interface Card | StarTech.com Canada
always a cheap cure not far away.(use this for my sound card, works good)P.S. they make ones for $20 to.

[Hacksaw907]

Originally Posted by Adzsask

PCI to PCI Express Adapter - PCI/PCIe Adapter Interface Card | StarTech.com Canada
always a cheap cure not far away.(use this for my sound card, works good)P.S. they make ones for $20 to.

Well, that's not exactly the one I need, but I did find the one that I do: Link

Would this work for that board? Because if it does, I may have found the solution to all my problems

EDIT: Wait, scratch that. It would throw off the alignment of the inputs. Back to square one I go...

[Adzsask]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw907

Well, that's not exactly the one I need, but I did find the one that I do: Link

Would this work for that board? Because if it does, I may have found the solution to all my problems

EDIT: Wait, scratch that. It would throw off the alignment of the inputs. Back to square one I go...

They make ones with long ribbon cables, so you can put the sound card on the bottom of the case if you really want to.
here is an example, I have seen ones with smaller PCIE part and longer ribbon also.
ARC1-PELX16A1-C7V2X8

[Hacksaw907]

Originally Posted by Adzsask

They make ones with long ribbon cables, so you can put the sound card on the bottom of the case if you really want to.
here is an example, I have seen ones with smaller PCIE part and longer ribbon also.
ARC1-PELX16A1-C7V2X8

But it would look so ugly... Haha. I decided to just post my sound card on the BST anyway. If there's a buyer, then I'll just look for a PCI-e card. If not, I'll just wait and hope for a motherboard that'll meet my needs.

[Adzsask]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw907

But it would look so ugly... Haha. I decided to just post my sound card on the BST anyway. If there's a buyer, then I'll just look for a PCI-e card. If not, I'll just wait and hope for a motherboard that'll meet my needs.

FYI there is an onboard sound card on this mobo and it sounds awesome supreme Xfi 7.1

[ilya]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw907

If not, I'll just wait and hope for a motherboard that'll meet my needs.

Don't count on it, the last few generations of motherboards completely abandoned the PCI standard on all but the lower end entry boards. (which obviously wouldn't have adequate power delivery for big overclocks)

[Hacksaw907]

Originally Posted by ilya

Don't count on it, the last few generations of motherboards completely abandoned the PCI standard on all but the lower end entry boards. (which obviously wouldn't have adequate power delivery for big overclocks)

Yeah, to my dismay, it does seem like it. The only board that I know of that can fit my needs is the ASRock Z68 Pro3-M. Seems to overclock really well, and it has all the slots I need. Only problem is Ivy Bridge support for it is still questionable

@Adzsask

Eh... The Supreme-FX on the RoG boards are probably better than the typical onboard sound, but they definitely aren't any match to the higher end discrete cards out there.