Product comparison · 2 motherboards

ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX vs MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt

38specifications compared
12differ
26identical
48known for one product only

Key differences

The MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt has 12 MB more maximum graphics card memory than the ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX (1760 MB vs 1748 MB). The ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX has 1 more PS/2 ports quantity than the MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt (2 vs 1). The ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX has 1 more DVI-D ports quantity than the MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt (1 vs 0). Compatible processor series: Intel® Celeron®, Intel® Pentium® on the ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX, Intel® Celeron® G, Intel® Pentium® on the MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt. Parallel processing technology support: Not supported on the ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX, 2-Way CrossFireX, 2-Way SLI on the MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt.

Maximum graphics card memory
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:1748 MB
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:1760 MB
Parallel processing technology support
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:Not supported
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:2-Way CrossFireX, 2-Way SLI
PS/2 ports quantity
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:2
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:1
DVI-D ports quantity
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:1
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:0
LAN controller
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:Intel® 82579
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:Realtek RTL8111E
Motherboard form factor
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:micro ATX
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:ATX
Motherboard chipset
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:Intel® Q77 Express
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:Intel Z77
Audio chip
- P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX:Realtek ALC887
- Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt:Realtek ALC892

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of P8Q77-M2, Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt
86 specifications	A ASUS P8Q77-M2 Intel® Q77 Express LGA 1155 (Socket H2) micro ATX Model P8Q77-M2 View product	B MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt View product
Processor1 differ
Processor manufacturer	Intel	Intel
Processor socket	LGA 1155 (Socket H2)	LGA 1155 (Socket H2)
Compatible processor seriesDiffers	Intel® Celeron®, Intel® Pentium®	Intel® Celeron® G, Intel® Pentium®
Maximum number of SMP processorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 seriesKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	i3-2xxx, i3-3xxx, i5-2xxx, i5-3xxx, i7-2xxx, i7-3xxx
Memory1 differ
Supported memory types	DDR3-SDRAM	DDR3-SDRAM
Number of memory slots	4	4
Memory slots type	DIMM	DIMM
Memory channels	Dual-channel	Dual-channel
ECC сompatibilityKnown for one	Non-ECC	Unknown — not stated by the source
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1066,1333,1600,1800,2000,2200 MHz	1066,1333,1600,1866,2000,2133,2200,2400,2600,2666,2800 MHz
Maximum internal memoryKnown for one	32 GB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Unbuffered memoryKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Storage controllersidentical
Supported storage drive interfaces	SATA II, SATA III	SATA II, SATA III
RAID levels	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Graphics2 differ
Maximum graphics card memoryDiffers	1748 MB	1760 MB
Parallel processing technology supportDiffers	Not supported	2-Way CrossFireX, 2-Way SLI
On-board graphics cardKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Graphics card familyKnown for one	Intel	Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum resolutionKnown for one	1920 x 1200 pixels	Unknown — not stated by the source
DirectX version	11	11
Discrete graphics supportKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/Oidentical
USB 2.0 connectors	3	3
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors	1	1
Number of SATA III connectors	2	2
Number of SATA II connectors	4	4
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
ATX Power connector (24-pin)Known for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of EATX power connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
CPU fan connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of chassis fan connectorsKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Chassis intrusion connector	Yes	Yes
EPS power connector (8-pin)Known for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of COM connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	0
TPM connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O ports2 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantity	4	4
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity	2	2
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
PS/2 ports quantityDiffers	2	1
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	1	0
DVI-I ports quantityKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone in	Yes	Yes
eSATA ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	0
Firewire (IEEE 1394) portsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	0
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
HDMI ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Headphone outputsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
S/PDIF out portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Digital audio optical outKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Thunderbolt ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Network1 differ
Ethernet LAN	Yes	Yes
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
LAN controllerDiffers	Intel® 82579	Realtek RTL8111E
Features3 differ
Component for	PC	PC
Motherboard form factorDiffers	micro ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipset family	Intel	Intel
Motherboard chipsetDiffers	Intel® Q77 Express	Intel Z77
Audio chipDiffers	Realtek ALC887	Realtek ALC892
Audio output channels	7.1 channels	7.1 channels
Cooling typeKnown for one	Passive	Unknown — not stated by the source
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Expansion slots1 differ
PCI Express x4 slotsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 slotsDiffers	1	3
PCI Express configurationsKnown for one	1x4, 1x16	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express slots version	2.0, 3.0	2.0, 3.0
PCI slotsKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x1 slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	4
BIOS1 differ
BIOS typeDiffers	AMI	UEFI
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	128 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
ACPI versionKnown for one	2.0a	Unknown — not stated by the source
Clear CMOS buttonKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Processor special featuresidentical
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)Known for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Packaging contentidentical
Cables includedKnown for one	SATA	Unknown — not stated by the source
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Trial softwareKnown for one	Antivirus	Unknown — not stated by the source
Bundled softwareKnown for one	ASUS Utilities ASUS Update	Unknown — not stated by the source
Other featuresidentical
Controller interface typeKnown for one	Intel Q77	Unknown — not stated by the source
Audio outputKnown for one	3	Unknown — not stated by the source
Intel® vPro™ Platform EligibilityKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express slots quantityKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Quick installation guideKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Serial port via internal headerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Weight & dimensionsidentical
WidthKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	305 mm
DepthKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	245 mm

A dash means the value is not stated by the source. Unknown values are never counted for or against a product, and there is no overall score.

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