Gigabyte has created a new mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel's H77 chipset, as shown by recently surfaced images. The board is compatible with all 'Sandy Bridge' and 'Ivy Bridge' processors, but the H77 chipset limits the overclockability by locking the multiplier. The board is called GA-H77N-WiFi and stands out thanks to its twin Gigabit LAN connectors, which is quite unusual for a board this size. There's also room for two antennas, which will come in handy when the mini PCI-Express slot is used with a WiFi card. A full-size PCI-Express x16 slot is present, which can be used for a graphics card or raid controller. The board also has two DDR3 memory slots and four SATA ports (2x 6 Gbps and 2x 3 Gbps).
The board seems quite suited as the basis for a home server, where the double Ethernet functionality could be used to create two separate networks or be combined to allow for better performance. There's a front panel USB 3.0 header, as well as another two USB 3.0 ports on the I/O panel, which also features four USB 2.0 ports, a DVI output, 2x HDMI, a PS/2 combi port and 7.1 audio (analog and digital). There's even a header for COM-port available on Gigabyte's latest creation.
It's still unclear what Gigabyte's mini-ITX board with Gigabit LAN will cost and when it will be available.
Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI motherboard with dual Gbit LAN and WiFi capability
