Take a look at this thread, it outlines the desktop board options you have that others have experimented with. I have experience with three labs that have all worked - one based on the Shuttle SZ77R5 with i7 3770 processor and 32Gb Memory; the next with an Intel DQ77MK motherboard (uATX) and 32Gb Memory and an i7 3770 processor and the third that i use now - an Intel DQ77KB (mini itx board) with 16Gb Memory and a i7 3770S processor. Fine with ESXi v5.1. Supports all virtualisation features. The Shuttle requires a special BIOS build which is posted in the thread and the latest Bios's
http://communities.vmware.com/thread/403231?start=0&tstart=0