EVGA Z87 Classified Motherboard Review

Dual channel memory comes standard on the Haswell and the Z87 Classified supports DDR3 modules at 2666Mhz+ with a maximum of 32GB usable.  24pin ATX power is located in the traditional location near the upper edge of the motherboard and is oriented 90 degrees to help with cable routing and airflow. 

Internal SATA connections number eight and all follow the new SATA6 connection standard.  The two ports to the far right (or top when looking at the motherboard) connect directly to an onboard Marvell controller while the remaining six are direct from the Z87 chipset. 

The I/O panel is similar and yet very different from what we normally see on a high-end motherboard.  The first thing you will notice is the absence of a PS/2 port for keyboard and mouse.  Along the same lines it appears that the video output ports are missing, or are they?

On the I/O panel you will find four USB 2.0 and four USB 3.0 ports, dual Intel Ethernet, dual mini Displayport, CMOS reset, digital audio and 6-channel analog audio. Audio is provided by an onboard Creative Sound Core3D audio processor.  You can find the sound components nearby with fancy gold caps.

A feature that has started to become really popular on motherboards is the inclusion of a Mini PCI-E slot and mSATA connection.  As the photo shows EVGA has included one towards the bottom of the motherboard just above the last PCI Express slot.  With this you'll get two mounting posts so to accept both long and short cards and, what appears to be, compatibility for both formats.