Conclusion
We tested no less than 32 Z77 chipset motherboards. You can click here for an extensive comparison table with every single board, and if you import it to your personal comparison tables you can sort it any way you want. We have divided our conclusion into several categories.
Micro-ATX boards
You have the choice between the ASUS P8Z77-M, the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro, the ASUS Maximus V Gene, the Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H, the Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H, the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 and the MSI Z77MA-G45. Click here for the comparison table.
The Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H is the cheapest board in this category. It has no extras, but performs fine. The ASUS P8Z77-M is almost as cheap and is virtually identical in terms of features and performance.
Spend a little more and you get a higher-end Micro-ATX board. The ASUS P8Z77-M Pro, Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H and MSI Z77MA-G45 are very similar in terms of features and performance, click here for a comparison table of the three. The ASUS board has two extra USB 3.0 ports, Gigabyte is the only one with Virtu MVP software and also has the best sound quality. MSI's board is the most energy-efficient except in idle, when Gigabyte wins. Since the Gigabyte board is currently the cheapest one, it has a slight edge over the other two.
The Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 and the ASUS Maximus V Gene are in a class of their own. The latter is the only Micro-ATX board that's specifically aimed at hardware enthusiasts and overclockers. We were not as impressed by the Sniper, since the gaming-oriented features are very limited and the price is quite a bit higher than other Micro-ATX boards.
Entry-level ATX boards
If you're looking for an entry-level ATX motherboard you have the choice between the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H (£84), MSI Z77A-G43 (£79) and MSI Z77A-G45 (£102). Click here for their comparison table. The Gigabyte board left the best impression out of those three, because it has the best performance, the lowest energy consumption, Virtu MVP, Dual BIOS and two extra USB 3.0 ports. That said, the MSI Z77A-G43 is also a very good motherboard for a very low price.
If you want to spend a little more, you also get more high-end features. The ASUS P8Z77-V LE has more features than the MSI Z77A-G45, including DisplayPort, extra USB 3.0 ports, eSATA and the Virtu MVP software. The ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 has the same features as ASUS, minus DisplayPort, but with SLI, onboard buttons and trouble shooting. The high power usage in the earlier test prevented us from giving the ASRock board an award, but that problem seems to have been resolved. In this price class the ASRock motherboard now has our preference.
Deluxe but still affordable
The deluxe yet affordable Z77 boards are the following: ASUS P8Z77-V, the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro, the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H and the MSI Z77A-GD65 (click here for a comparison table). The Asus Pro board has eight true USB 3.0 ports and WiFi, but lacks audio implementation. Gigabyte is the most affordable out of the four, but has fewer SATA ports and the USB 3.0 implementation isn't optimal. MSI is the most energy-efficient, is the only one with Firewire, has the best audio implementation, but fewer USB 3.0 ports. Both ASUS and MSI get the Silver Award, which one is best for you depends on which features you prefer.
Fully-featured deluxe
Seven motherboards are in this price segment, without being specifically geared towards gamers and overclockers. The ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt, the ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe, the ASUS P8Z77-V Premium, the ASUS P8Z77 WS, the ASUS Sabertooth, the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H, the Intel DZ77GA-70K, the Intel DZ77RE-75K and the MSI Z77A-GD80 (click for a comparison table).
If Thunderbolt is one of your requirements then the options are more limited, as you can see in this comparison table. ASUS' Premium is an outstanding motherboard, but so incredibly expensive that we're not quite sure what the target audience is. It comes across as "let's put everything we can possible think of on a single board." It's unique, but let's be honest, things like a caching SSD you probably prefer picking out yourself.
Out of the other three boards Intel's DZ77RE-75K is the most expensive, but we were disappointed with its USB 3.0 implementation. If we compare the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt and the MSI Z77A-GD80, then our preference goes to the latter. It has better audio, is more energy-efficient and has better overclocking features. However, the ASUS Pro/Thunderbolt is a bit cheaper and has a WiFi/Bluetooth adapter. So if you plan on using that, then ASUS is the better choice here.
If you don't want Thunderbolt you can save yourself £30-£40. Out of the remaining motherboards the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H is the best one and it's also the most energy-efficient. However, we don't like the USB 3.0 implementation with hubs, something that's also present on Intel's DZ77GA-70K. Both ASUS and Intel have Bluetooth and WLAN, but in other areas Gigabyte has more features. In the end we prefer the ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe in this segment, but make sure you would actually take advantage of all those features.
Avid overclockers and gamers
For hardcore gamers and overclockers with a large budget there are the ASUS Maximus V Formula, the EVGA Z77 FTW and the Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3. None of them are very affordable, click here for a comparison table. For gamers the best choice is the Gigabyte board because of the Creative X-Fi chip, the onboard headphone amp and the KillerNIC network card. The unfortunate USB 3.0 implementation prevents this board from getting more than a Silver Award, and it's a bit on the expensive side in our opinion.
For avid overclockers the EVGA board has the best featureset, but only if you're the type that uses liquid nitrogen and too many video cards. If you're not, then you should go for a more affordable Z77 board, because the EVGA board doesn't actually have that many other features.
The top class
The ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe is a motherboard that we are extremely enthusiastic about. It has all the features of the Z77 chipset, including some overclocking option, on a small Mini-ITX board. It has the perfect featureset for both an HTPC and a small all-round PC. We'd love to see more motherboards like this in the future.
ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe
(unique Mini-ITX bord, perferct for HTPC)
ASUS Maximus V Gene
(unique Micro-ATX board for gamers and overclockers)
ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
(best in premium category)
ASUS P8Z77-V Pro
(shared 1st place in category deluxe, yet affordable)
EVGA Z77 FTW
(beste choice for avid overclockers)
Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3
(best choice for hardcore gamers)
MSI Z77A-GD65
(shared 1st place in category deluxe, yet affordable)
MSI Z77A-GD80
(best choice for Thunderbolt)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
(excellent price/featureset ratio)
Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H
(best entry-level Micro-ATX motherboard)
Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
(shared best entry-level ATX board)
MSI Z77A-G43
(shared best entry-level ATX board)
