Biostar TZ77XE4 Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. Biostar Z77XE4: Packaging and Bundle3. Biostar Z77XE4: Features and Layout4. Biostar Z77XE4: BIOS5. Biostar Z77XE4: Overclocking6. Testing Methodology7. Synthetic: 3DMark 118. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage9. Synthetic: PCMark 710. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark11. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra 201212. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.513. Synthetic: Super Pi14. Synthetic: CrystalDiskMark15. Real World: Media Encoding16. Real World: MKV Playback17. Gaming: DiRT 318. Gaming: Grand Theft Auto 4: EFLC19. Technical: Power Consumption20. Closing Thoughts21. View All Pages

We were pleasantly surprised by the Biostar TZ77XE4 motherboard and it really shows that the company can compete with the top enthusiast motherboard manufacturers.  Biostar have created an attractive looking motherboard, thanks to the predominately black PCB with metallic highlights on the heatsinks. We are confident the appearance will appeal to many enthusiast users.

The overclocking performance of the TZ77XE4 was probably the most exciting aspect of the motherboard for us.  We think it is actually slightly better for overclocking than the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 we reviewed recently and it also seemed to require slightly lower voltage to achieve the same overclocks.  This is quite significant with the i7-3770K as it gets very hot when you start increasing the voltage.  As a result, the CPU temperatures with the Biostar Z77XE4 were more impressive.

There are a few slight niggles with the board, though.  For example, the layout of expansion slots isn't ideal as large CPU coolers such as the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 2 can obstruct the top PCI Express x16 lane.  ASRock get around this issue by locating a PCI Express x1 slot at the top of the motherboard instead.  Additionally, the UEFI interface isn't as intuitive to use as those from ASRock and ASUS. We don't think this will be a big issue for the enthusiast audience, although for a newbie it might cause a few problems.

We think that the Biostar TZ77XE4 offers good value for money as it only costs £130 from Ebuyer.  This makes it around £20 cheaper than the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 which could make a difference if you are building a system on a tight budget.

Pros:

• Overclocks well.
• great appearance.
• competitive pricing.

Cons:

• Bios isn't quite as good as the leading designs.

KitGuru says: An impressive board if you're looking to overclock Ivy Bridge on a budget.

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