BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Pros: Cost, layout of board, features

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I bought this to upgrade a computer for my mother. I won't be using all of the features of the board, but the board was easy to install and set up. Plenty of USB/SATA connections. Everything I set up works as expected.

Pros: It works, free RAM.

Cons: I try to update my drivers and two of the drivers you can't even download they lead you to a 404 page. I try to use the scan your PC option on their website thinking it'd just install all the drivers I need. It shows the drivers I need I go to download and it says pay $40 bucks for the ability to download the software. I dropped 110 bucks for this thing and they want to charge more so I can install drivers. Disappointed.

Pros: When it worked it worked ok.

Cons: The system completely locked up and I had to pull the power cable to force it down. After that it will no longer post at all.

Other Thoughts: This is the last Biostar motherboard I ever buy, nor will I ever recommend the brand.

Pros: Six SATA ports, two of which are SATAIII.
Supports current technology with USB 3.0 and PCI Express 3.0 x16 ports.
Good layout -- I didn't have any trouble installing my GTX 660 and Corsair H80 cooler.
Solid caps.
EUFI is easy to navigate.

Got it on sale (always a good thing).

Cons: None at this time.

Other Thoughts: I swapped out an AM3 board/AMD CPU with no problems, this board is easy to work with and I like the layout. I installed an i5 3570K CPU and am running Win8 Pro, and everything loaded perfectly. No complaints here.

Pros: Good board I like that it has PCI Express 3.0 and debugger LED thing.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Really easy to clear CMOS

Pros: Fastest load up I seen in my lifetime. It may have been my intel 330 180gb but 4 seconds? I can never see the bios because it was that fast, but I kind of hate that because I can never use the bios. Crossfire option. Plenty of USB 3.0. My brothers 200 dollar ASUS offers one. A Biostar MOBO that have not died after 5 months. It works and I think it will stay that way. Debug LED makes it easier to look up codes. Even my brothers $200 ASUS crosshair did not offer that.

Cons: Ugly UEFI that requires to download and very limited. My brothers ASUS crosshair was built in and looks 10 times better and easier to work on. Only 3 fan headers? The cheaper Asrock Z77 mobo offers more. Bad layout almost everywhere but for what you get not bad. GPU layout is too close to the cpu and memory slot. Forgot to install the memory on initial install and have to take it apart and start over. Unattractive brown board. No SLI option. Bad standoff location. There are some on one side and in the middle. There is none on the right side. Installing memory and other things on the right felt like the board may snap. Slightly thin board but not as thin as other very cheap board. Toverclocker is very limited. Looks similar to BIOS. Only 2 sata6.

Other Thoughts: NZXT Source 210
Biostar TZ77B
i3 3220
Xigmatek GAIA Heatsink (push/pull)
EVGA GTX 660
Auzentech Prelude Sound Card
16GB G Skill 1600. (2 different sets but still works.)
Intel 330 180GB SSD

For some people that have a failing mobo. Please have a real professional to work on it. My brother installed his $200 ASUS mobo with only 2 standoffs, crushing little pins and bending his board. He also did not install the memory, or plug anything in but his cpu. Obviously, it does not work and he claimed that he had a DOA. I had to use pliers to bend everything back and plug everything in the right spot. It worked but it goes to show that failing board=user error, but not always.

Pros: None yet. Had to send back per Biostar due to windows crash after loading Win 7. Tried multiple HDD's and one SSD. Gave the symptoms to Biostar and they immediately issued an RMA. They just rec'd from UPS yesterday so I probably won't hear anything from them for a while. Don't know if they will just ship out a new one to me right away or troubleshoot this one. My question is this: I didn't notice until today (looking at video cards for my new rig) from the online pics, that there isn't any room for anything to be put into the PCI-Express 3.0 slot. It is jammed right up next to the Northbridge and also has two "capacitors" jammed up next to it (at either end). Has anyone used this slot on this mobo???

Cons: RMA'd per Biostar.

Pros: Native support for USB 3.0 and PCI-e 3.0
Good expansions
Got it for $90 with rebate
The onboard debugging LED really helps
It worked the first time every time

Cons: None really.

Other Thoughts: Should of gotten something cheaper since it was a build for my parents. Didnt really need all the expansion and features the Z77 chipset provided but notheless a great motherboard.

Pros: DOA

Cons: DOA

Other Thoughts: This board was DOA. Sent it back and returned to me saying pins were bent. They were not bent when sent back but came back to me bent. No refund no replacement!! This board came with 32 gb of memory free.
Was that the reason it was DOA? State Attorney General is going to hear about this.

Manufacturer Response:

Please don't hesitate to contact Biostar technical support for assistance. Newegg in some cases may not take returns due to certain physical damages, but Biostar will do best we can to help you.
http://www.biostar-usa.com/apps/rma/new.asp

Pros: Well spec'd for it's price point

Cons: First board was sent back under RMA for not posting out of the blue. Tested everything in the case and still had it not working. Luckily it was within 30 days of my purchase and I was able to RMA it.

Other Thoughts: Lets see how long my current board lasts. Not impressed with BIOSTAR quality.