We've already given you the specs of Intel's upcoming Executive series of motherboards and now it's time for the more consumer focused Media series. Sadly we don't have any pictures this time around, but we can at least offer the full specifications of another five models.Starting at the bottom we have the DH77EB – codename Eb Lake – which is the replacement for the DH67BL. This is Intel's only mATX H77 motherboard, but it offers a pretty well-rounded selection of connectivity options. As the H77 motherboards don't support multiple graphics cards, the DH77EB has a single x16 PCI Express 3.0 slot, as well as three PCI Express x1 2.0 slots. The board has four DIMM slots, three SATA 3Gbps ports – of which one is shared with a mini card PCI Express slot which also accepts mSATA drives – and two SATA 6Gbps ports. There are also headers for two USB 3.0 ports, six USB 2.0 ports and a serial and parallel port. The rear I/O consists of four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out, Intel Gigabit Ethernet and a DisplayPort, DVI-I and HDMI port.Intel's only full-size ATX board with the H77 chipset is the DH77KC – codename Knoll Creek – which extends the connectivity options of the DH77EB and replaces the DH67CL. In addition to the features of the DH77EB, the DH77KC gains three PCI slots, a PCI Express x4 2.0 slot and a PS2 port, although it only has a single PCI Express x1 2.0 slot. We couldn't spot any other changes here in terms of connectivity and there's really little else to say about this board.The third and final H77 board is the DH77DF – codename Dry Fork – which is a mini-ITX board that will replace the DH67CF. This time around it's not a low-profile board though, so you get a full set of connectivity options around the back. The board has a single PCI Express x16 3.0 slot, as well as a pair of DIMM slots, headers for four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a FireWire port. There's also a mini card PCI Express slot that takes mSATA SSDs just like the previous two models, as well as two SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps ports. The rear I/O is made up of four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a FireWire port, an Intel Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI-I port. Overall it seems little has changed compared to the DH67CF in terms of features, something that is a good thing in this case.This brings us to Intel's only Z75 motherboard, the DZ75SL – codename Spur Lake – which will replace the DZ68DB. This is a standard ATX motherboard with a single PCI Express x16 3.0 slot, one PCI Express x4 2.0 slot, one PCI Express x1 2.0 slot and three PCI slots. As the Z75 chipset doesn't support Intel Rapid Storage technology there's no mini card PCI Express slot on this board. What you do get is three SATA 3Gbps ports, two SATA 6Gbps ports and headers for four USB 2.0 ports and three USB 3.0 ports. In terms of ports, things are a little bit more basic here with four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, an Intel Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a single HDMI port.The fifth and final board in the Media series is the DZ77BH – codename Blue Hills – which as it happens, won't be replacing any current Intel model. This is the first board to offer a pair of PCI Express x16 3.0 slots, albeit in dual x8 mode. The board also has three PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and two PCI slots, as well as three SATA 3Gbps and four SATA 6Gbps ports, where the extra two ports are via a third party controller. Headers for six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a FireWire port are also present. Around the back the DZ77BH has four USB 3.0 ports – of which two are presumably via a third party controller – four USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, a FireWire port, a PS/2 port, an Intel Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a single HDMI port. The DZ77BH will also ship with a copy of Lucidlogix Virtu software.That's it for now, but we'll bring you some details on Intel's Extreme series of boards in a separate post, detailing the DZ77GA and DZ77RE.
Read more: Intel's upcoming 7-series Media motherboards detailed by VR-Zone.com