Intel DZ87KLT-75K Motherboard

Conclusions

The Intel DZ87KLT-75K is a good option for to the user who wants to build a system for audio and video editing, as you can tell by the presence of a Thunderbolt port, two FireWire ports, and a high-end audio codec that provides very high signal-to-noise ratios (110 dB for the outputs and 104 dB for the inputs). But, of course, it can be used by enthusiasts who need the Thunderbolt port.

The third PCI Express x16 slot of the Intel DZ87KLT-75K is controlled by the CPU and therefore follows the 3.0 specification, and can be used to build CrossFireX and SLI arrays. Other highlights include a Mini PCI Express slot supporting mSATA SSDs with a SATA-600 interface (several motherboards use SATA-300), eight SATA-600 ports (one of them shared with the mSATA-600 slot), and eight USB 3.0 ports.

The presence of a PLX PEX8608 switch chip is a very important feature that not many users realize its importance. This chip automatically switches the available PCI Express lanes to the devices that need them. On motherboards with too many PCI Express devices without a switch chip, you need to manually disable devices on the motherboard setup in order to achieve full performance on devices connected to the additional USB 3.0 and SATA-600 ports, and the mSATA slot when transferring files at the same time.

The portrayed motherboard also comes with smaller yet interesting features, such as the phase-monitoring LEDs, two diagnostics displays, and a series of diagnostics LEDs.

The only drawback we found on this motherboard is how its rear panel USB 3.0 ports are connected. Each group of three ports is connected to a USB 3.0 hub chip, and each chip is connected to a USB 3.0 port of the chipset. If you use two or more ports that are actually connected to the same USB 3.0 port on the chipset at the same time, the performance will drop. Unfortunately the manufacturer does not label which ports are shared.