Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) is the buzz phrase in motherboard technology. It is a very handy feature that allows you to connect, communicate and collaborate with others without joining a home, office or hotspot network. Instead, it allows you to create your own personal area network. And then control it easily from within the Intel My WiFi dashboard.
The new Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI motherboard has this feature built in. The motherboard integrates an exclusive PCIe module that supports the latest Bluetooth 4.0 and IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. The Bluetooth 4.0 standard includes Smart Ready technology that debuted on mobile devices such as the iPhone 4s. This means that transferring important content from your smart phone or tablet is easier and faster than ever. And, what is more, you can transmit your display wirelessly to your TV!
This feature also includes Intel Smart Connect technology that means that your email, favourite apps, and social networks are continually and automatically updated even when the system is asleep. No more waiting for the latest world news or friends’ updates to be delivered – just press the ON button and you are up-to-date and ready to go.
High Protection Features
The Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI is not only a smart wireless network motherboard – it comes with a range of protection features that is ideal for South Africa.
Humidity Protection: The new Glass Fabric PCB design helps protect against electrical shorts due to humidity by reducing the gaps in spacing between PCB filaments.
Electrostatic Protection is provided by high ESD Resistance ICs.
Dual Bios Power Failure Protection automatically kickstarts the second BIOS should a power failure trip one bios. The Anti-Surge ICs further protect the motherboard against power surges.
High Temperature Protection: GIGABYTE uses All Solid Caps (Capacitors) and Low RDS(on) MOSFETs which are rated to work at higher temperatures, providing up to 50,000 hour component lifespan.
Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI motherboard features:
| CPU |
- Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel®Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1155 package
- L3 cache varies with CPU
|
| Chipset |
- Intel® Z77 Express Chipset
|
| Memory |
- 2 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
* Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed.
- Dual channel memory architecture
- Support for DDR3 2800(OC)/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
- Support for non-ECC memory modules
- Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
|
| Onboard Graphics |
Integrated Graphics Processor:
- 1 x DVI-I port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200
- 2 x HDMI ports, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200
|
| Audio |
- Realtek ALC892 codec
- High Definition Audio
- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
- Support for S/PDIF Out
|
| LAN |
- 2 x Realtek GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
|
| Wireless Communication module |
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Supports Intel Wireless Display (WiDi)
- Bluetooth 4.0, 3.0+HS, 2.1+EDR
|
| Expansion Slots |
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16
(The PCIEX16 slot conforms to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
* Whether PCI Express 3.0 is supported depends on CPU and graphics card compatibility.
|
| Storage Interface |
Chipset:
- 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0/1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
- 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2 2/3) supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
- Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
* When a RAID set is built across the SATA 6Gb/s and SATA 3Gb/s channels, the system performance of the RAID set may vary depending on the devices being connected.
|
| USB |
Chipset:
- Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header)
- Up to 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header)
|
| Internal I/O Connectors |
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x serial port header
- 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
- 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x system fan header
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x S/PDIF Out header
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
|
| Back Panel Connectors |
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
- 2 x HDMI ports
- 2 x antenna connectors
- 1 x DVI-I port
- 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x RJ-45 ports
- 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
- 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
|
| I/O Controller |
- iTE I/O Controller Chip
|
| H/W Monitoring |
- System voltage detection
- CPU/System temperature detection
- CPU/System fan speed detection
- CPU fan speed control
* Whether the CPU fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU cooler you install.
|
| BIOS |
- 2 x 64 Mbit flash
- Use of licensed AMI EFI BIOS
- Support for DualBIOS™
- PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a
|
| Unique Features |
- Support for @BIOS
- Support for Q-Flash
- Support for Xpress Install
- Support for EasyTune
* Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
- Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)
- Support for Auto Green
- Support for ON/OFF Charge
- Support for Q-Share
- Support for EZ Setup
- Support for Intel Wireless Display (Intel WiDi)
- Exclusive Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi module
|
| Bundle Software |
- Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
- Intel® Rapid Start Technology
- Intel® Smart Connect Technology
- Intel® Smart Response Technology
|
| Operating System |
- Support for Microsoft® Windows 8/7/XP
|
| Form Factor |
- Mini-ITX Form Factor; 17.0cm x 17.0cm
|
The price of the socket 1155 Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI motherboard is R 1999.
Once you have a WiFi/WiDi-enabled motherboard – and since you can transmit your display to your TV with it – you might also be interested the compatible Mecer TV Receiver for Intel WiDi.
