Right now on NewEgg, the LGA1155 MSI Z77A-GD55 is a great deal at $130 after MIR and comes with a free 8GB dual channel DDR3-1600 Ripjaws kit from G.Skill. For that low price you get a pair of PCIe 3.0 16x slots, a single 4x and four 1x slots along with two SATA 6Gbs ports and four SATA II ports capable of RAID, 10 USB 2.0 ports and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. Those ports, along with the array of audio and video connectors on the backplate should provide enough connectivity for the majority of users with space to upgrade. [H]ard|OCP are not fans of the Double-Click BIOS II, with this implementation being no worse than other MSI boards and they did have some problems with the Control Center software, however with the very stable performance and easy overclocking ability of the board they highly recommend it for anyone looking for a budget conscious Ivy Bridge system.
"This motherboard might be a bit off-the-radar for most enthusiasts since it is a bit "down the scale." However, if you want a lot of bang for your buck, then look no further than MSI's Z77A-GD55. While it's somewhat basic in features it's overclocking performance is stellar for the price, which is very value oriented."
Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
- Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE Review @ OCC
- Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WiFi Review @ OCC
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula Review @ Neoseeker
- Gigabyte Z77X UP7 Overclocking Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane
- Mini-ITX Integrated CPU @ Hardware.info
- Mini-ITX Intel Socket 1155 @ Hardware.info
- CPUID Maximum Value Limit @ Tech ARP
- Mini-ITX AMD Socket FM1 @ Hardware.info
- ECS A85F2-A Golden Board (A85X) Motherboard Review @ eTeknix
- Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 Motherboard Review @ Hi Tech Legion
- Gigabyte F2A85X-UP4 AMD Socket FM2 @ techPowerUp
- ECS A85F2-A Golden @ Guru of 3D
- ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0 Motherboard Review @ Hi Tech Legion