Ivy Bridge’s debut is still a few weeks away, but Intel has decided to launch its new 7 Series (codename Panther Point) ahead of the CPU’s ship date. The new Panther Point chipset family is the follow-up to the 6 Series that debuted 14 months ago, and it’s very much an evolution of that initial design. As some of you may recall, the 6 Series was plagued with a major product recall and significant positioning problems; enthusiasts were asked to choose between using Intel’s integrated GPU and impressive QuickSync video transcoding technology (available on the H67) and being able to overclock the CPU (only an option with P67-based boards). The later Z68 combined these features and added a few new options of its own, but lacked integrated USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt technology.

Z77, aka Panther Point, adds a number of features that the 6 Series lacked and includes the PCIe 3.0 support that was previously confined to the high-end X79 chipset. Intel’s DZ77GA-70K board that we’ve reviewed today also offers a gorgeous UEFI interface, and improved fan controls that are far more accessible than the company’s previous products. Is the Z77 a drop-in successor and easy upgrade choice? Let’s find out.

The Z77 chipset offers 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0, which can be split into two x8 lanes for a dual-GPU configuration. This is the first Intel desktop chipset to support Thunderbolt (if an appropriate controller is on-board) and the first to offer USB 3.0 support integrated into the chipset. DDR3 speeds move up to 1600MHz (Z68 only officially supported DDR3-1333) and the chipset is capable of driving up to three simultaneous displays.

The PCIe 3.0 support, however, may come with a caveat. According to Intel’s DZ77GA-70K documentation, PCIe 3.0 is only supported if an Ivy Bridge CPU is installed. Presumably, that’s a limit of the platform rather than this specific motherboard, which means one of the motherboard’s most attractive bullet points isn’t applicable if you want to re-use a Sandy Bridge processor. Intel buried this point in the engineering documentation for the board and in a single footnote on the actual motherboard box — it’s not mentioned anywhere in the other tech documents or press briefings the company distributed, which is why it missed our notice until the last moment.

This brings us to another problem. The Intel board we were sent, the aforementioned DZ77GA-70K, is, in our estimation, half-baked and not ready for launch. The only available BIOS listed on Intel’s website is the same BIOS the company shipped us. To be bluntly honest, this product shouldn’t be on the market yet. This is a remarkable departure from form for Intel; the company’s motherboards have a long-earned reputation for stability and solidity, even when they’ve skimped on the features and options that most appeal to enthusiasts.

Next page: More limitations and known issues