Review and test motherboard ASUS Z97-A. ASUS Z97-A motherboard review

One of the first models based on the Intel Z97 chipset

With the announcement of the 9th series of Intel chipsets, all motherboard manufacturers started to announce their solutions based on these new chipsets. Asus was the first to do this on the market. In this article, we will review the Asus Z97-A motherboard based on the Intel Z97 chipset, which opens a series of reviews about boards based on Intel 9-series chipsets.

Completion and packaging

The package bundle of Asus Z97-A board is quite modest. In addition to the board itself, a user manual is supplied in the box (only on English language), a DVD with software and drivers, three SATA cables (all connectors are latched, one cable has an angled connector on one side), an SLI bridge, a blank for the back of the board, and a traditional Asus Q-connector to make it easier to connect wires from power buttons, reset, etc. to the board. As you can see, nothing extra is included in the package - only the most necessary.

Board configuration and features

A summary table of the characteristics of the Asus Z97-A board is given below, and further in the text we will consider all its features and functionality.

Supported processors	Haswell Refresh
Processor socket
Chipset
Memory	4×DDR3 (up to 32GB)
Audio subsystem
Network Controller
Expansion slots	2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 1 × PCI Express 2.0 x2 (in PCI Express x16 form factor) 2 x PCI (33 MHz) 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, M-type dongle)
SATA connectors	4 × SATA 6Gb/s (chipset) 1 × SATA Express (with two SATA 6Gb/s ports)
Number of USB ports	6 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0
Connectors on the rear panel	1 x HDMI 1 x Display Port 1 x DVI-D 1 x VGA 4 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 1 x RJ-45 1 x PS/2 1 × S/PDIF (optical out) 5 × mini-jack audio connectors
Internal connectors	24-pin ATX power connector 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 4 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 x SATA Express 6 × 4-pin fan headers 1 × USB 3.0 connector 3 × connectors for connecting USB 2.0 ports 1 × COM port connector
Form factor	ATX (305x224mm)

Form factor

The Asus Z97-A is made in the ATX form factor (305×224 mm), which means it can be installed in a case that supports ATX or larger motherboards. There are 9 standard holes for board mounting.

Chipset and processor socket

The Asus Z97-A board is based on the top Intel Z97 chipset and naturally supports 4th generation Intel Core processors (codenamed Haswell) and updated 4th generation Intel Core processors (codenamed Haswell Refresh) with LGA1150 socket. And although the specification does not say anything about support for fifth-generation Intel Core processors, which will appear early next year, according to preliminary information, boards based on Intel Z97 chipsets will support them as well.

Memory

There are four DIMM slots for installing memory modules on the Asus Z97-A board, which allows you to install two DDR3 modules for each of the two memory channels with a maximum capacity of up to 32 GB (using 8 GB modules). Memory slots related to different channels are marked with different colors, which is convenient when installing modules. Note also that the board supports memory with XMP profiles.

Expansion slots

For installing video cards or expansion cards, the Asus Z97-A motherboard has two PCI Express 3.0 x16 form factor slots, one PCI Express 2.0 x16 form factor slot, two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and two traditional PCI slots (33 MHz ).

PCI Express 3.0 x16 form factor slots are made using 16 Haswell PCI Express 3.0 ports, which, using four ASMedia ASM1480 multiplexers/demultiplexers, are grouped into either one PCI Express 3.0 x16 port or two PCI Express 3.0 x8 ports. That is, if only one slot with the PCI Express 3.0 x16 form factor is used, then it will operate at x16 speed, and if both slots are used simultaneously, then they will operate at x8 speed.

When installing two discrete graphics cards on the Asus Z97-A board, NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX technologies are supported.

The slot with the PCI Express 2.0 x16 form factor always operates at x2 speed and is implemented using two PCI Express 2.0 ports of the Intel Z97 chipset (in fact, this is a PCI Express 2.0 x2 slot in the PCI Express 2.0 x16 form factor). Note that this slot is also compatible with devices that have a PCI Express x1 interface.

Similarly, two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots are implemented using two PCI Express 2.0 ports of the Intel Z97 chipset.

Since the Intel Z97 chipset does not have native support for the PCI bus, the PCI Express - PCI bridge is used to implement the PCI slots on the board, which is the ASMedia ASM1083 controller. This controller, connected to the PCI Express 2.0 lane, supports up to three PCI slots (33 MHz).

Video connectors

Since Haswell processors have an integrated graphics core, and the Intel Z97 chipset supports the use of processor graphics, DisplayPort 1.2 ports (maximum resolution 4096 × [email protected] Hz), HDMI 1.4 (maximum resolution 4096× [email protected] Hz), DVI-D port (maximum resolution 1920× [email protected] Hz) and VGA (D-Sub) port (maximum resolution 1920× [email protected] Hz). Of course, such a number of video connectors is obviously excessive, but on the other hand, you don't have to think about the monitor connector - the Asus Z97-A board allows you to connect a monitor with any video input.

SATA ports, SATA Express connector and M.2 connector

To connect drives or optical drives, the board provides a total of six SATA 6 Gb / s ports that support the ability to create RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and are implemented on the basis of a SATA controller integrated into the chipset. Two of these six SATA 6Gb/s ports are included in the SATA Express connector, but can still be used separately. The last circumstance is important, since there are still practically no drives with SATA Express interface on the market, and those that are are very expensive. Therefore, it is important that despite the presence of a SATA Express connector on the board, the number of available SATA 6 Gb / s ports has not decreased.

Note that in addition to two SATA ports, the SATA Express connector also uses two PCI Express 2.0 ports of the Intel Z97 chipset.

The Asus Z97-A board also has an M.2 connector (PCIe x2), which is supported by the Intel Z97 chipset. This slot is keyed type M (Pocket 3) and only supports 2260/2280 PCIe drives. To implement the M.2 connector, two PCI Express 2.0 ports of the Intel Z97 chipset are used (the M key supports up to four PCI Express 2.0 lanes).

The M.2 connector is shared with two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and a SATA Express connector. That is, if the M.2 connector is used, then both PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and the SATA Express connector will be unavailable. And if the SATA Express connector is used, then the M.2 connector will not be available. By default, the M.2 connector is disabled; to enable it, you must make the appropriate settings in the UEFI BIOS.

USB connectors

To connect all kinds peripherals The board provides six USB 3.0 ports and eight USB 2.0 ports. All USB ports are implemented on the basis of a controller integrated into the chipset (in total, the Intel Z97 chipset supports up to 14 USB ports, of which up to 6 ports can be USB 3.0 ports). Of these ports, four USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports are routed to the rear panel of the board, and the board provides the corresponding connectors to connect other ports (three USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port). Note that all USB 3.0 ports support the ability to connect drives with a bootable operating system (Boot Device).

network interface

To connect to the local network segment, the Asus Z97-A board has a gigabit interface based on the PHY controller (physical layer controller) Intel i218-V (the MAC-level controller integrated into the chipset is used).

Additional features

If we count the number of controllers, connectors and slots that use the PCI Express 2.0 ports of the Intel Z97 chipset, we get the following picture. A PCI Express 2.0 x2 slot and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots require a total of 4 PCI Express 2.0 ports. Two more PCI Express 2.0 ports are occupied by a PCIe-PCI bridge and a network controller. Further, M.2 and SATA Express connectors require two PCI Express 2.0 ports each. As a result, we get that a total of 10 PCI Express 2.0 ports are required. But in the Intel Z97 chipset, the total number of PCI Express 2.0 ports cannot exceed eight. There is another mystery on the Asus Z97-A board. The fact is that in the Intel Z97 chipset (as in all chipsets of the 8th and 9th series) there can only be 18 high-speed I / O ports (PCI Express, SATA, USB 3.0), and the Flexible IO technology, which is supported these chipsets, only allows you to configure such ports by removing some and adding others. The Asus Z97-A has six USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 6 Gb / s ports and requires 10 PCI Express 2.0 ports to implement all controllers, connectors and slots. That is, the number of high-speed I / O ports is clearly more than 18.

Well, let's try to figure out how it all can work. Unfortunately, studying the documentation for the board does not allow us to give an unambiguous answer to this question. The documentation only says that the M.2 connector is shared with two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and that the SATA Express connector is shared with the M.2 connector. That is, it follows from the documentation that it is impossible to use the M.2 connector and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots at the same time, and it is impossible to use the M.2 connector and the SATA Express connector at the same time. However, nothing is said about the possibility of sharing two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and a SATA Express connector. In addition, it is not very clear what is meant by the SATA Express connector in this case. That is, if an M.2 connector is used, will the two SATA 6 Gb/s ports included with the SATA Express connector be available? Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to test the solutions in practice, since drives with an M.2 connector and SATA Express are still classified as exotic products. Nevertheless, let's try to understand everything, based on the functionality of the chipset. Since the Asus Z97-A board has 6 USB 3.0 ports and their number is strictly fixed, based on the fact that there can only be 18 high-speed I / O ports in total, there can be either 6 SATA 6 Gb / s ports and 6 PCI Express ports 2.0, or 8 PCI Express 2.0 ports and only 4 SATA 6 Gb/s ports (both options are allowed in accordance with Flexible IO technology).

Consider the possible options.

If PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots are available, then the M.2 slot is blocked. To implement all other slots, connectors and controllers on the board, 8 PCI Express 2.0 ports are already required. In principle, this number of ports can be available, but on the condition that there will be only 4 SATA 6 Gb / s ports. But the board has 4 separate SATA 6 Gb / s ports and two more as part of the SATA Express connector. In fact, in this embodiment, this will mean that the SATA 6 Gb / s ports as part of the SATA Express connector will be blocked, which is unlikely. Most likely, another option is being implemented. If PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots are available, then not only the M.2 connector is blocked, but also the SATA Express connector, but so that the two SATA 6 Gb / s ports in the SATA Express connector remain available for use. In this case, we get that for the implementation of all other slots, connectors and controllers on the board, already 6 PCI Express 2.0 ports are required, and 6 SATA 6 Gb / s ports will be available (the total number of high-speed I / O ports will be 18).

Further, if an M.2 connector is used, then two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and a SATA Express connector should be blocked, but so that two SATA 6 Gb / s ports from this connectors would be available. In this case, again, we get that there are 6 PCI Express 2.0 ports (enough for all controllers and unlocked slots on the board) and 6 SATA 6 Gb / s ports. The total number of high-speed I/O ports will again be 18.

In the version when the SATA Express slot is used, in theory, the M.2 connector and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots should be blocked. Then we get that there are 6 PCI Express 2.0 ports, which are enough for all controllers and unlocked slots on the board, and 4 SATA 6 Gb / s ports (two more ports are available as part of the SATA Express connector. Thus, in this case, the total number of high-speed there are exactly 18 I/O ports.

So, in any version, the Asus Z97-A board has six USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 6 Gb / s ports and six PCI Express 2.0 ports. Of the six PCI Express 2.0 ports, four are strictly fixed: they are assigned to the PCI Express 2.0 x2 slot, the network controller, and the PCIe-PCI bridge. And two more PCI Express 2.0 ports can switch between two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots, an M.2 connector, and a SATA Express connector.

Now that we have dealt with the separation of slots and ports, let's turn to other features of the Asus Z97-A board. First of all, it is worth noting the presence of a power button on the board. True, there are no reset buttons and ClearCMOS on it. There is also no indicator of POST codes.

But the PS / 2 connector, which has already become rare, is present. And if everything is clear with the power button, then the presence of a PS / 2 connector is puzzling for many users. Indeed, why is such a connector needed if keyboards and mice with such a connector are no longer available for sale? Nevertheless, the presence of PS / 2 is justified for a certain category of users: we are talking about fans of extreme overclocking. The fact is that during extreme overclocking, USB ports often simply do not work, and the only way out for such cases is to use the PS / 2 connector.

There is also a traditional MemOK button for Asus motherboards to start the system in case of installing "unusual" memory modules. In addition, a new EZ XMP switch has been added. This switch allows you to load XMP memory profiles, and if earlier this was done only through the UEFI BIOS, now it is also using this switch.

There is also a second new switch CPU_OV (Over Voltage). In this case, switching is done by a jumper. This switch is designed for processor overclocking modes and allows you to increase the voltage on the processor. That is, you can raise the voltage on the processor in any case, but if you set the jumper to overclock the processor, the range of possible voltage changes will be larger.

Supply system

Like most boards, the Asus Z97-A model has 24-pin and 8-pin power supply connectors.

The processor voltage regulator on the Asus Z97-A board is 8-channel and is based on the Digi + VRM PWM controller marked APS 1252. The power channels themselves are built using discrete MOSFET transistors.

Cooling system

To cool the MOSFET transistors of the processor voltage regulator, the Asus Z97-A board has two heatsinks, which are located next to the processor socket.

Also has a radiator. round shape, installed on the Intel Z97 chipset. In addition, to create an efficient heat dissipation system, the board provides two four-pin connectors (CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT) for connecting CPU cooler fans and four four-pin connectors for connecting additional case fans. Well, traditionally, the speed of any case fan, as well as the processor cooler fan, can be configured either through the UEFI BIOS or through the Fan Xpert 3 utility.

Audio subsystem

The audio subsystem of the Asus Z97-A motherboard includes the popular Realtek ALC892 8-channel (7.1) HDA audio codec. The rear panel of the board has five minijack audio connectors (3.5 mm) and one optical S/PDIF connector (output). The Realtek ALC892 codec itself is covered with a metal casing with the inscription Crystal Sound 2, and all elements of the audio path are isolated at the PCB level from other elements of the board.

To test the output sound path intended for connecting headphones or external acoustics, we used an external Creative E-MU 0204 USB sound card in combination with the Right Mark Audio Analyzer 6.3.0 utility. Testing was conducted for stereo mode, 24-bit/44.1 kHz. According to the results of testing the audio path on the Asus Z97-A board, it received a "Very good" rating. The full report with the results of testing in the RMAA 6.3.0 program is placed on a separate page, a brief report is given below.

Frequency response unevenness (in the range of 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB
Noise level, dB (A)		Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)		Very good
Harmonic distortion, %
Harmonic distortion + noise, dB (A)		mediocre
Intermodulation distortion + noise, %		Very good
Interpenetration of channels, dB
Intermodulation at 10 kHz, %		Very good
Overall score	Very good

UEFI BIOS

Now let's look at the possibilities for configuring the system through the UEFI BIOS.

First of all, we note that the UEFI BIOS interface has completely changed on Asus 9-series motherboards. However, in terms of functionality in terms of system settings, little has changed - in fact, it was difficult to change anything, since everything had already been implemented to the maximum.

As before, on the Asus Z97-A board, it is possible to update the BIOS version very simply using the traditional Asus EZ Flash 2 Utility built into the BIOS. During board testing, we flashed BIOS version 3004.

Recall that the overclocking functionality of the BIOS differs for unlocked K-series processors and for conventional locked processors that cannot be overclocked. We tested the Asus Z97-A board with an Intel Core i7-4770K processor, that is, unlocked (we did not have a Haswell Refresh processor at our disposal at the time of testing).

Traditionally, the UEFI BIOS on Asus motherboards has two display modes: simple (EZ Mode) and advanced (Advanced Mode). In the new UEFI BIOS interface, everything remained unchanged: the same two display modes, only the graphical interface of the modes themselves has changed.

EZ Mode is designed for basic board configuration and control of basic parameters, while board fine-tuning and system overclocking are available only in Advanced Mode.

For overclocking the processor and memory, the traditional AI Tweaker tab is designed, which provides all possible options for overclocking. True, there is one feature that must be taken into account when overclocking the processor. On the Advanced tab in the CPU Power ConfigurationCPU Power Management Configuration menu, you can disable the Turbo Mode (Intel Turbo Boost) dynamic overclocking mode. However, in this case, overclocking of the processor will be impossible and the maximum frequency of the processor will correspond to its nominal frequency. On the Asus Z79-A board (as, by the way, on other Asus boards), overclocking of the processor is possible only with the Turbo Mode technology activated and only when the Ai Overclock Tuner parameter on the Ai Tweaker tab is set to XMP or Manual. In this case, it is possible to change the frequency of the clock generator BCLK and the multiplier of the processor cores. You can set the multiplication factor for each case of the number of loaded processor cores, or you can set the multiplication factor simultaneously for all loaded processor cores.

As you know, for unlocked Haswell processors, it is possible to set a frequency multiplier for the BCLK frequency (1.00, 1.25, 1.66 and 2.50). That is, the reference frequency for the processor cores is obtained by multiplying the frequency multiplier by the BCLK frequency, and the frequency for Uncore Logic elements (PEG and DMI controllers, etc.) that are sensitive to an increase in the reference frequency remains equal to the BCLK frequency. On Asus boards and, in particular, on the Asus Z97-A board, everything is implemented a little differently, and this aspect must be taken into account when overclocking the processor.

In this case, you cannot set the frequency multiplier itself - it is set automatically depending on the BCLK frequency. It is important that in this case the BCLK frequency is the reference frequency for the processor cores and the clock frequency of the processor cores is obtained by multiplying the BCLK frequency by the multiplication factor. When increasing the BCLK frequency, the frequency multiplier is set automatically, and the frequency for Uncore Logic elements (in the UEFI BIOS it is called Target DMI / PEG Frequency) is obtained by dividing the BCLK frequency by the frequency multiplier.

For convenience, the BIOS provides a setting called CPU Strap, for which you can select Auto, 100, 125, 167 and 250 MHz. The CPU Strap frequency is synchronized with the BCLK frequency, and if you set the CPU Strap to 125 MHz, then the BCLK value will become 125 MHz. In fact, this parameter allows you to quickly set the BCLK frequencies for which the DMI/PEG Frequency is exactly 100 MHz.

In addition to the processor core multiplier, in the AI ​​Tweaker settings, you can set the minimum and maximum multiplier values ​​for the L3 cache (CPU Cache Ratio). By default, these coefficients take values ​​depending on the set frequency of processor cores (Auto mode).

Also in the AI ​​Tweaker section, you can configure the operation of memory modules, set the frequency of the integrated graphics core, set the operating mode of the integrated voltage regulator (IVR) integrated into the processor, and set the operating mode of the external voltage regulator.

The maximum frequency of memory modules can be 3400 MHz (at 100 MHz BCLK frequency).

Another interesting feature of the BIOS of the Asus Z97-A board is the ability to adjust the speed modes of all fans connected to the board. In addition to choosing one of the three preset speed modes (Standard, Silent, Turbo and Full Speed), you can set the speed mode manually. When manually setting the fan speed on the processor, it is possible to set a graph of how the fan speed changes from the processor temperature at three points. Coordinates (temperature, rotation speed) are set for each point on the graph. Moreover, the fan speed varies in the range from 20 to 100% for the processor cooler fan and from 60 to 100% for additional case fans. The allowable temperature range is 20 to 75 °C for the CPU cooler fan and 40 to 75°C for additional case fans.

There is another interesting possibility here. We are talking about overclocking the processor and memory using the built-in utility EZ Tuning Wizard. This is a kind of fast acceleration. For example, we overclocked the Intel Core i7-4770K processor using this utility to a frequency of 4.4 GHz. Not a very outstanding result, but, nevertheless, for inexperienced users, this method is quite suitable.

But in a manual way, we managed to overclock the Intel Core i7-4770K processor to a frequency of 4.8 GHz with a BCLK frequency of 100 MHz. In this mode of operation, under stressful loading of the processor with the Stress CPU test from the AIDA 64 package, the temperature of its cores was about 80 °C.

With a more intensive load using the Stress FPU test, the temperature of the processor cores already reached a critical value and the throttling mode was activated, and the clock frequency dropped to a value of 3.8 GHz (the Thermaltake Contac 30 cooler was used during testing).

Nevertheless, it should be noted that in terms of overclocking capabilities, the Asus Z97-A board is in no way inferior to other boards (we are not talking about extreme overclocking, of course), and the frequency of 4.8 GHz is the frequency limit for our processor Intel Core i7-4770K, and on no board we were able to overclock it above 4.8 GHz.

Proprietary utilities

Asus Z97-A comes with a wide variety of utilities. The greatest interest, in our opinion, is the new version of the Asus AI Suite III proprietary utility, which is a whole set of utilities united by a single software interface. Asus AI Suite III includes the following utilities:

• Dual Intelligent Processors 5
• ez update
• Push Notification
• System Information
• USB 3.0 Boost

Most of these utilities are well known to us: they have been included in the delivery of Asus boards for a long time, so we will not focus on them. But Dual Intelligent Processors 5 is a really new utility that has replaced the Dual Intelligent Processors 4 utility.

This utility includes six separate utilities (5-Way Optimization, TPU, EPU, Digi+ VRM, Fan Xpert 3 and TurboApp) united by a single interface.

Separate TPU, EPU, Digi+ VRM, Fan Xpert 3 and TurboApp utilities are designed for manual system tuning, while the 5-Way Optimization utility allows you to fully optimize the system with one mouse click (overclock the processor and graphics core, while optimizing power consumption, as well as realizing the setting of high-speed The 5-Way Optimization utility also allows you to set the PC power consumption mode (“maximum performance”, “balanced”, “maximum energy savings”, “departed” mode). For example, for the Intel Core processor The i7-4770K was overclocked to 4.5 GHz using the 5-Way Optimization utility.

The TPU utility allows you to overclock the processor and graphics core, as well as set the processor voltage.

The EPU utility is designed to configure various power consumption modes.

The Digi+ VRM utility is designed to configure the supply voltage regulator and allows you to set the load curve (Load-line Calibration), converter operation frequencies for the processor and memory, and some other parameters.

Well, the updated Fan Xpert 3 utility (previously there was the Fan Xpert 2 utility) is intended for setting the speed mode of the connected fans. When setting the fan speed, it is possible to correct the graph of the rotation speed versus the readings of the temperature sensor associated with the fan. Moreover, it is possible to automatically determine the dependence of the fan speed on the duty cycle of the control PWM pulses (for four-pin fans).

Actually, all the mentioned utilities were present earlier in the Dual Intelligent Processors 4 utility. But the TurboApp utility is new. This utility is designed to configure the system for each specific application. That is, for any application, you can set the performance level (in arbitrary units), the audio profile (Game, Music, Movie or Default), as well as the network priority.

conclusions

The new Asus Z97-A board is expectedly similar to the Asus Z87-A board, but there are differences between them, and it's not just the M.2 and SATA Express connectors. The novelty has a different audio subsystem, a different network controller and updated software. In general, we can say that Asus Z97-A is an improved version of Asus Z87-A. And just like the Asus Z87-A board, it has flexible configuration options and good functionality.

Asus Z97-A is the junior model in the Asus Z97 series of motherboards. In fact, except for the presence of PCI slots, the board implements only the basic functionality of the Intel Z97 chipset. However, this functionality will be sufficient for most users. Based on this board, you can create both gaming PCs and universal high-performance PCs for various purposes.

The board is provided for testing by the manufacturer

The new Z97 Express chipset, presented by Intel Corporation, immediately aroused increased attention from the computer community. In fact, it is a modernization of the existing Z87 Express chipset, although there are innovations - one of them was the ability to connect drives via the PCI Express bus. For this, the M.2 (NGFF) connector is intended, which replaces mSATA.

In addition, most motherboards will now be equipped with SATA Express connectors. The bandwidth of M.2 and SATA Express will be 10 Gb / s, which can improve the speed performance of popular SSDs.

So, we decided to test six motherboards based on the new chipset and tell readers about their advantages and disadvantages. For testing, the fastest processor available at the time of testing was used - a quad-core Intel Core i7-4770K.

Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5(average price 5200 rubles)

The packaging of the model is made in aggressive colors - its entire back side is literally strewn with all sorts of inscriptions telling about the indisputable advantages of this board.

The use of the Intel Z97 Express chipset provides the user with the opportunity to overclock both by increasing the multiplier of computing cores and by increasing the base frequency. Four DIMM slots support DDR3 memory modules up to 32 GB (the maximum available memory frequency in the BIOS is 1600 MHz), and three PCI Express 3.0 slots are used to organize the graphics subsystem, one of which operates in x4 mode.

The processor power subsystem is made according to an eight-channel scheme. Two aluminum radiators, which are pressed with screws, are responsible for removing heat from the converter transistors. The chipset is also cooled by an aluminum radiator, and its efficiency is quite high - during operation, the temperature did not rise above 50 degrees.

The Realtek ALC1150 HDA 5.1-channel audio codec is responsible for the audio path, and here it is worth highlighting the thoughtful design of the subsystem as a whole - each of its elements is designed to achieve maximum efficiency. To improve the quality indicators, special capacitors manufactured by Nichicon and a pre-installed Texas Instruments OPA2134 amplifier are used. According to the manufacturer's specifications, it has a neutral sound color and is suitable for all genres of music. In addition, if desired, the user can easily replace it with a more suitable one for his personal tastes and musical preferences.

The drives are powered by six SATA III ports that support AHCI, Intel Smart Response, and RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 arrays. In addition, the board has SATA Express and M.2 PCIe connectors that support data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps

Like most other manufacturers, Gigabyte uses UEFI Dual BIOS on its board. The interface is easy to use - all options are accessible with the mouse.

Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming G1 WiFi-BK(cost not determined)

This time, Gigabyte decided to change the packaging style of its new product - strict black and white colors prevail in the design. The decoration of the front of the box is the name of the board and the logo of the Ultra Durable 5 Plus concept, while the reverse side is almost completely reserved for a schematic image of the motherboard and listing its specifications.

The delivery set made me happy - in addition to the user manual and a disk with drivers and proprietary software, six SATA cables in a decorative sheath, a plug for the rear wall of the case, CrossFire and SLI bridges, as well as hard adapters for connecting three and four video cards based on NVIDIA chips are included. In addition, we found an expansion board with a wireless module, an external antenna and an additional cable for connecting the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 to the internal USB in the box. There is also a bracket in the 3.5-inch bay of the case for outputting two USB 3.0 ports.

The form factor of the board is ATX. Despite the fact that the design has a contrasting color scheme (a combination of black and red), it can be called strict and quite interesting. Among other things, the advantages of the product include an abundance of various connectors.

Four full-size PCI-Express slots are provided for installing video adapters - the first two share 16 3.0 standard lines received from the CPU, while the third and fourth use only 4 2.0 standard lines. When using multiple graphics adapters, the lines between the slots are distributed according to the x8 + x8 + x8 + x8 scheme. To connect additional expansion cards, three PCI Express x1 slots are provided, which are located between full-format connectors.

The sound subsystem of the motherboard is based on a Creative Sound Core3D quad-core sound processor protected by a metal screen. To reduce interference, the audio path is partially separated from the common PCB array. To make this solution look spectacular, the area around the perimeter is illuminated with red LEDs installed on the back of the board.

ASRock Z97 Extreme4(cost not determined)

ASRock strives to provide boards for different market segments, covering all areas as fully as possible.

The model provided for testing does not belong to the top ones. Nevertheless, both the packaging and the equipment do not cause any complaints.

The board comes in a black box with a strict but nice design. On the front side there is nothing superfluous - the name of the model at the bottom, a little higher logos of supported technologies and, of course, a picture in the center, reminiscent of the most interesting functions.

The package bundle is usual - several booklets, instructions, a DVD with drivers and software, a bracket for the rear panel of the case, cables, a hard bridge for SLI and an HDD saver cable. Alas, the front USB-panel is not provided in the kit.

The processor is powered by a 12-channel converter (Digi VRM). There are two radiators for cooling the power circuits, and heat pipes are not used here - the radiators are completely independent. But the manufacturer did not save on capacitors - they are gold-plated and, according to the manufacturer, are shipped from Japan, which should ensure stability and durability.

There are six SATA III ports for connecting drives. four of them are controlled by the Intel Z97 chipset, while the other two use the Asmedia ASM1061 controller. Naturally, there is SATA Express and an M.2 slot implemented by the new chipset.

In the lower left corner of the board, there are two buttons for power on and reset, as well as a digital indicator of POST codes, which helps to identify the cause of the problem if it occurs.

Like most other manufacturers, ASRock uses UEFI BIOS on its board. The interface is easy to use - all options are accessible with the mouse.

MSI Z97 Gaming 5(average price 5700 rubles)

This motherboard comes in a relatively modest package - no transparent windows, no nested boxes, no carrying handles. But the package did not let us down - it includes a bunch of paper manuals, a cardboard sign on the door handle asking you not to disturb, a set of M-Connector connectors, a set of stickers for marking cables, a plug for the port interface panel, SATA cables, an SLI bridge, and a DVD with drivers and software.

The manufacturer also did not save on the layout - an excellent processor power subsystem and three full-speed (16 lanes each) PCI Express x16 connectors spaced far enough apart to easily install video cards with three-slot cooling systems. There are six SATA-III connectors, in addition, the chipset supports the M.2 (NGFF) port, for the needs of which two PCI-E lanes are allocated. In general, the basic functionality is performed quite well. The CPU is powered by an 8-channel scheme, while all MOSFET elements are cooled using massive radiators. As expected, the board has an additional 8-pin power connector, through which twice as much current can pass compared to the standard ATX12V connector, which is important when overclocking the system.

The cooling system consists of three elements - two heatsinks based on the power transistors of the CPU power supply stabilizer, interconnected by a heat pipe, and a heatsink based on the Intel Z97 Express chipset. The fastening of the radiators is reliable and carried out with the help of screws. The fins of the heatsinks on the power elements of the CPU power circuit no longer look like a dragon's head - this image is preserved only on the chipset's heatsink, covered with a solid plate.

To control the passage of POST, the board is equipped with a digital indicator that helps to determine the possible cause of failures during startup. It is interesting that after loading the indicator reflects the current temperature of the processor - a very useful innovation, which is quite rare.

The UEFI system, which replaced the usual BIOS, is equipped with a fashionable graphical interface. A wide range of overclocking settings and other useful options (profile management, BIOS update, etc.) are presented in full.

Asus Maximus VII Gene(average price 8500 rubles)

This motherboard comes in a dark red cardboard box. Traditionally, on the front cover you can find a description of some features of the board, and on the back of the box - an image of the board and a brief list of it. specifications. The package bundle is not bad: in addition to the board itself, a detailed manual, a disk with drivers and applications, six SATA interface cables, a plug for the rear wall of the case, an SLI bridge, Q-Connector adapters for connecting control buttons and indicators, a set of stickers for marking interface cables, and a label on do not disturb door.

The micro ATX board is made on a black textolite. The Extreme Engine Digi+ III power subsystem is made according to an 8-phase scheme, while massive aluminum radiators connected by a heat pipe are used to cool the MOSFET.

There are eight SATA III ports, six of them are provided by the Intel Z97 Express chipset, while the ASMedia ASM 1061 controller is responsible for the operation of two additional ones. All SATA connectors are located parallel to the board, so that even full-sized expansion cards will not make it difficult to connect drives. In addition, the board is equipped with an M.2 connector that allows you to connect drives via the PCI Express bus.

Of the interesting features, one can single out a special ROG Connect button, designed to activate the system control mode using a slave PC. It is also used to launch the USB BIOS FlashBack mechanism, which allows you to update the firmware from a USB flash drive without booting the system. In addition, the board has several built-in sensors that monitor the temperature in the most critical places. Using their readings, the UEFI BIOS automatically changes the speed of the processor and system fans, which allows you to achieve the most efficient cooling with low noise levels.

Asus Z97 Deluxe(average price 10,300 rubles)

The Asus Z97 Deluxe motherboard comes in a regular sized black box. There are no frills, such as a hinged lid or a carrying handle. In addition to the board itself, packaged in an anti-static bag, the kit includes a rear panel interface plug (black), six SATA III cables, an SLI bridge, a user manual, a CD with drivers and software, adapters to simplify chassis cabling, and an external antenna .

The model is made in ATX format, board dimensions are 305x244 mm. The color of the textolite is black, and all the main connectors and slots are made in the same colors.

The Digi + Power Control proprietary solution, which supports 16 phases, is responsible for the operation of the power system. Power circuits are cooled by rather large radiators interconnected by a heat pipe. The chipset's round heatsink is also quite large, and there were no problems with its cooling during testing.

The board is equipped with many built-in temperature sensors - the processor, VRM of the processor and RAM, the chipset, as well as two PCIe slots are monitored. Among other things, you can use up to three additional temperature sensors that connect to the provided connectors (sensors sold separately).

The model uses the UEFI-enabled BIOS version developed by AMI. Supports work with the mouse and the Russian language, which is quite nice. There are also two options for accessing the settings - a simplified EZ Mode and a complete list of all available Advanced Mode options.

Our testing showed that, despite the not very high performance increase compared to the previous platform, motherboards based on the Intel Z97 Express chipset will surely occupy their niche in the field of high-performance gaming computers. When summing up the results, the Asus Maximus VII Gene model became the leader, which became the "Editor's Choice". But the Best Buy badge rightfully went to the Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 board - in our opinion, it has good functionality at a very attractive price.

In connection with the upcoming update of the Intel processor line, which announced that during the year we will see three new series: Intel Haswell Refresh (May 2014), Intel Devil`s Canyon (June 2014) and Intel Broadwell (late 2014 - early 2015), then quite logically a new line of system logic sets was announced, the solutions of which are designed to fully support all the functions embedded in the new processors.

At the moment, we only have information about the Intel Z97 Express and Intel H97 Express chipsets. The first is the flagship solution with the maximum set of available features. The second one does not support overclocking of processors with an unlocked multiplier and the distribution of sixteen PCI Express 3.0 lanes according to the x8 + x8 and x8 + x4 + x4 schemes, but it offers the implementation of the Intel Small Business Advantage technology package.

However, we will postpone our acquaintance with the Intel H97 Express for now, and let's talk about the flagship - fortunately, we have a motherboard for testing ASUSZ97- A - the first swallow, made on the basis of Intel Z97 Express.

In fact, the Intel Z97 Express logic set is just a slightly updated version of the Intel Z87 Express, the block diagram of which is shown in the image above. The chipset architecture remained unchanged: the same 16 PCI Express 3.0 processor lanes with the possibility of their distribution according to x16 / x8+x8 / x8+x4+x4 schemes, 8 PCI Express 2.0 chipset lanes, 14 USB 2.0 ports, 6 USB 3.0 and 6 SATA 6 Gb/s interfaces.

In fact, there are literally a few key differences from the Intel Z87 Express, namely the implemented support for the SATA Express interface, PCI Express and M.2 PCIe (NGFF SSD) drives. Note that the bandwidth of these interfaces significantly exceeds the capabilities of the current generation of SATA 6 Gb / s, and it can reach 10 Gb / s. Also, drives with M.2 PCIe interface (NGFF SSD) can act as the main boot device, which will significantly increase the speed of system startup.

Additionally, support for Intel Device Protection Technology with Boost Guard is highlighted, which is designed to protect the PC boot sector and block malware.

The main change in the new platform concerns the requirements for the power subsystem to work with Intel Broadwell processors, so the future CPU family will not be backward compatible with motherboards based on Intel 8-series chipsets.

For greater clarity, here is a comparative table of supported processors by the previous and current generation of chipsets:

		Intel Haswell Refresh	Intel Devil's Canyon
Intel Z87 Express			Limited support *

*unconfirmed information

And since there are no more differences between the chipsets, we offer you to go directly to the acquaintance with ASUS Z97-A.

Since the Intel Z97 Express chipset does not support the PCI bus, the functioning of the two corresponding slots is implemented using a PCIE-PCI bridge based on the ASMedia ASM 1083 controller.

Multi I / O capabilities are assigned to the NUVOTON NCT6791D chip, which controls the operation of system fans, COM and PS / 2 ports, and also provides monitoring.

The sound subsystem of the motherboard under consideration is based on the Realtek ALC892 8-channel HDA codec, which supports 2/4/5.1/7.1 audio systems and has a number of proprietary features (Crystal Sound 2 concept), which we mentioned at the beginning of the review.

The ASUS Z97-A interface panel includes the following ports:

• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x DisplayPort;
• 1 x DVI-D;
• 1 x D-Sub;
• 1 x PS/2 for connecting a mouse or keyboard;
• 1 x LAN (RJ45);
• 4 x USB 3.0;
• 2 x USB 2.0;
• 1 x optical S/PDIF out;
• 5 x audio ports.

This layout of the interface panel can be safely called excellent, since it includes all the most popular video outputs, a large number of USB ports, convenient connection of multi-channel acoustics, the ability to use peripherals with a PS / 2 interface, and an optical audio output. It is also possible to put the COM port on the rear panel of the PC using an internal connector.

UEFI BIOS

The ASUS Z97-A motherboard uses a modern preloader based on the UEFI graphical interface, which can be configured using the mouse. It offers two main use cases.

The "Monitor" section provides access to monitoring the temperature of the processor and chipset, as well as the speed of rotation of installed fans. Additionally, in this section, you can monitor the voltage on the processor core and on the power lines +12V, +5V and +3.3V.

The ability to monitor the supply voltage of memory modules is implemented in the right column, which is also visible in other sections.

Separately, it is worth noting the possibility of taking "screenshots" in the BIOS and support for the Russian language.

Overclocking options

According to the results of manual overclocking of the Intel Core i7-4770K processor, by increasing the multiplier and voltage to 1.210 V, its stable operating frequency was 4600 MHz, which is a good result for a quality motherboard.

Using the automatic overclocking capabilities using the ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 5 utility in the "Ratio only" mode (overclocking by increasing only the multiplier) made it possible to increase the processor frequency to 4300 MHz at a voltage of 1.224 V.

You can also use this function through the BIOS or using the TPU switch in mode "1".

BCLK First

After activating the automatic overclocking function of the CPU in the "BCLK First" mode (overclocking via the BCLK bus), its frequency was fixed at around 4251 MHz at a voltage of 1.200 V. You can also use this function through the BIOS or using the TPU switch in mode "2".

Manually increasing the system bus frequency allowed us to reach the level of 188.03 MHz, which is an excellent indicator.

Testing

To check the capabilities of the mother ASUS boards Z97-A used the following equipment:

CPU	Intel Core i7-4770K (LGA1150, 3.5GHz, L3 8MB) Turbo Boost: enable C1E: enable
	Scythe Kama Angle Rev.B
RAM	2 x 4 GB DDR3-2400 TwinMOS TwiSTER 9DHCGN4B-HAWP
video card		AMD Radeon HD 6970 2 GB GDDR5
Video capture device		AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS, 500 GB, SATA-300, NCQ
optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Seasonic X-560 Gold (SS-560KM Active PFC)
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120mm fans for intake / exhaust)

Test results

Model ASUS Z97-A demonstrates excellent performance, which is on par with competitive counterparts. This allows us to talk about the high quality of its performance, the selection of a good element base and the successful optimization of BIOS settings.

Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC892 codec

Test report in RightMark Audio Analyzer

16-bit, 44.1 kHz

Noise level, dB (A)
Dynamic range, dB (A)
Harmonic distortion, %		Very good
		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz, %
Overall score		Very good

Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz

Frequency response unevenness (in the range of 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB
Noise level, dB (A)		Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)		Very good
Harmonic distortion, %		Very good
Harmonic distortion + noise, dB(A)
Intermodulation distortion + noise, %		Very good
Interpenetration of channels, dB		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz, %		Very good
Overall score		Very good

Crystal Sound 2 design with Realtek ALC892 codec preinstalled demonstrates great quality sound reproduction that will be more than enough for your everyday use.

conclusions

The motherboard is a high-quality solution made in ATX format, which is distinguished by a very competent layout, the highest quality workmanship, a well-thought-out cooling system and very good equipment.

Describing the key advantages of this model, it is necessary to note the rich possibilities for organizing a disk subsystem, namely: the implementation of support for SATA 6 Gb / s, SATA Express and M.2 (NGFF) interfaces at the level of the Intel Z97 Express chipset. Additionally, we note a nice design, a good layout of the interface panel, the ability to install two video cards with a three-slot cooling system, support for a large number of proprietary technologies, an enhanced digital power subsystem, and a high-quality sound subsystem.

Separately, we highlight the “5-Way Optimization” function in the AI ​​Suite III software, with which you have the opportunity to customize the system to suit your needs, operating with parameters such as performance, temperature and power consumption.

As for the features of ASUS Z97-A, before buying, you should take into account the impossibility of using the M.2 (NGFF) connector and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 expansion slots at the same time. Otherwise, the novelty is completely devoid of any shortcomings.

As a result, ASUS Z97-A will become excellent choice for building a high-end work or gaming system with one or two video cards.

Advantages:

• reliable 8-phase digital power subsystem DIGI + VRM;
• improved element base for more reliable and stable operation of the motherboard;
• support for a large number of USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb / s ports;
• the presence of connectors SATA Express and M.2 (NGFF);
• good package; SeaSonic and TwinMOS Technologies for the equipment provided for the test bench.

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One of the very first motherboards based on Intel Z87 that visited our laboratory was ASUS Z87-Plus. At that time, the manufacturer considered it necessary to equip its product with two additional SATA and USB 3.0 interface controllers, thus depicting the image of a modern platform. The simpler model Z87-A in many respects, starting with its size, was designated as a compromise.

The next stage in the evolution (with the release of the updated Intel Z97 logic) of equipping motherboards, as you know, was a new type of interface - SATA Express, which combines the usual SATA and PCI-E. Thus, today an increase is achieved bandwidth and the type of interface socket is also unified, which is best implemented with the introduction of its compact type - M.2.

All this was implemented by the company's engineers on the Z97-A. In foreign stores, the price of the device at the time of this writing has already dropped below $150. In addition, this model has acquired hitherto inaccessible features in the mainstream segment of the motherboard market.

Before dwelling on them in detail, we present the general characteristics of the device.

Model
Chipset	Intel Z97
Processor socket	socket 1150
Processors	Xeon, Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium, Celeron (Haswell)
Memory	4 DIMM DDR3 SDRAM 1333/1600/1866*/2000*/2133*/2200*/2400*/2500*/2666*/2800*/2933*/3000*/3100*/3200*(OC), 32 GB maximum
PCI slots	2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 (x16+x0, x8+x8) 1 x PCI Express 2.0 [email protected] 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1
M.2	1 x PCI Express 2.0 x2
PCI slots	2 (ASMedia ASM1083)
Integrated video core (in the processor)	Intel HD Graphics/4400/4600/P4600/P4700
Video connectors	DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub
Number of connected fans	6x 4pin
PS/2 ports	1 (keyboard/mouse)
USB ports	6 x 3.0 (4 connectors on the rear panel, Z97) 8 x 2.0 (2 connectors on the rear panel, Z97)
SATA Express	1 (Z97)
Serial ATA	6 x SATA 6Gb/s (Z97)
RAID	0, 1, 5, 10 (Z97)
Built-in sound	Realtek ALC892 (7.1, HDA), Texas Instruments RC4580
S/PDIF	Optical, connector on the board (output)
Networking	Intel I218V (Gigabit Ethernet)
firewire	-
LPT	-
COM	1 (internal)
BIOS/UEFI	AMI UEFI
Form factor	ATX
Dimensions, mm	305x244
Additional features	TPM connectivity, Thunderbolt header, power button, support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX and NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI, Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)

At first glance, being equipped with an increasing number of various interface outputs can only cause positive emotions, but not everything is as simple as we would like. There has not been a significant change in the construction of the PCH, and now the maximum number of its capabilities in the face of only eight PCI-E lanes is obviously not enough for everyone. We will take a closer look at this aspect in the UEFI review.

Packaging and equipment

ASUS 80 series products weren't overly flashy in their own packaging; the tradition was picked up with the only exception that now the abstraction on the topic of planar technologies has been replaced by a very specific image of a system logic cooler with a small part of the board itself. In this way, the proprietary approach 5-Way Optimization was simultaneously designed.

Actually, optimization should be understood as the possibility of using a set of five utilities that are part of Ai Suite 3, or rather one of the modules - Dual Intelligent Processors 5. Other utilities included in its composition are indicated on the back of the package with a brief explanation of the essence of the changes introduced or new capabilities acquired by the computer. In addition to the software component, the hardware component was not forgotten either: a full-fledged photo of the device and a table with specifications will allow you to evaluate the capabilities of the Z97-A without opening the package or visiting the official product page on the Web.

You can read more about the utilities in one of the brochures supplied with the kit. Inside the box are:

• user manual, which illustrates and describes the UEFI sub-items in detail (in English);
• DIY Guide QR code leading to the page of the official website where detailed instructions PC assembly;
• software product manual in English;
• disk with drivers and proprietary software;
• company logo sticker;
• plug for the body, standard version - with embossed symbols and icons for designating sockets;
• three SATA 6Gb / s cables, one of which has an L-shaped connector on one of the ends;
• one flexible bridge for organizing SLI from two video cards;
• a set of adapters for convenient connection of ASUS Q-Connectors case connectors.

A slightly more interesting package bundle compared to cheaper products, by the way, coinciding with the kit of the Z87-Plus that was once tested. The only remark is the lack of a mounting screw in the kit to secure devices connected to the M.2 socket. Perhaps it will be included in the delivery package of the latter.

Appearance and functionality

The image of the board looks complete, the abundance of expansion slots eliminates empty spaces on the PCB, and the dimensions correspond to the full-fledged ATX format. Listening to dissatisfied customers, the manufacturer changed the main leitmotif in the color scheme of the device. The golden color of the radiators has shifted towards brass shades, and some plastic elements are now inconspicuously grey.

The back of the product is free of electronic components. Simple power cell heatsinks use spring-loaded plastic nails to fasten them, and the chipset cooler is securely fixed with screws.

It is a massive bar made of light-alloy material. It was decided to emphasize the development of the proprietary Dual Intelligent Processors solution up to the fifth generation. Its area will obviously not raise questions regarding the temperature of the "south bridge".

There are no problems with identifying serial numbers of SATA interface outputs. The fifth and sixth in a row are implemented in the SATA Express. All their cases are located along the surface of the PCB. There are no third party controllers here.

The lower right corner of the product is full of various connectors and switches. The bottom row is filled quite traditionally, but above it are: a DRCT block (although there is plenty of room for a full-fledged Direct Key button), a T_SENSOR contact group for connecting a thermocouple (not included in the kit), two status switches - a two-position TPU and a regular EPU. The latter are equipped with LED indicators soldered in their immediate vicinity. In the first active position, green lights up, and for the second position of the TPU, an orange glow element is implemented.

Do not lose sight of the presence of four indicators on the PCB, forming a solution called Q-LED. These are four red LEDs that light up when the corresponding system node is initialized during the POST procedure. So, BOOT_DEVICE_LED was placed next to the PCH.

DRAM_LED is located next to the MemOK! button, in the upper right corner of the product. Here, a never-before-seen EZ_XMP switch is also found, activating the XMP profile without user intervention in the system setup procedure via UEFI. In this case, the activation process is confirmed by a green LED, carefully soldered here. The presence of the CPU_OV contact group is a little surprising, apparently especially for those users who decide to start their extreme experiments with a simple product without resorting to buying something more suitable.

Also, the Z97-A did not do without the system on indicator, which is again located at the corresponding PWR_SW button - literally on the bottom border of the board. Nearby is the TB_HEADER socket, which is useful for those who want to equip their board with the fastest interface today; this is possible when buying a ThunderboltEX II card, and the Z97-A is the youngest model at the time of writing the review, which allows such an expansion of the system's capabilities.

Somewhat controversial, in my opinion, placed PCI slots. The use of the number of video adapters is limited to two devices - the third slot, which is connected to the chipset, is content with only two PCI Express 2.0 lanes. The rest of the PCI-E x16 slots share sixteen processor lines of the third revision absolutely equally thanks to four ASM1480 switches from ASMedia Technology Inc.

A separate approach to the implementation of the sound component has now touched upon the base model, but for some reason it was not possible to ideologically refuse to use the budget ALC892 manufactured by Realtek. In addition, they decided to equip the Z97-A with a network controller from Intel. Next to it is a small coil with an open, non-insulated housing. Frankly, I was seriously surprised by the high-frequency squeak coming from the board in standby mode, and I put it in the first place among the main suspects.

The approach to the implementation of the VRM node is retained from the previous series; then it was the same for the Z87-Plus and Z87-A models. In addition, I note here the presence of the ASM1440 switch, whose role is to prioritize the use of the M.2 socket or the two simplest PCI-E.

Radiators for the needs of cooling power elements have become more complex, adding a little to their heat capacity. The role of the heat conductor is traditionally performed by a gasket about one and a half millimeters thick.

The PWM controller has been renamed and its model has managed to add one to its numbering, so now it is ASP1252. The implementation scheme of the power stabilizer has four channels with twice the number of elements in each of them. This is easy to verify by counting the number of auxiliary drivers. Power elements produced by NXP Semiconductors are used, which are typical for the budget class of products. These are PH6030L and PH4030L.

The back panel of the previous generation caused a number of comments. This time, its concept has been significantly revised, and now you can only complain about the close proximity of DVI-D and USB jacks. But if we take into account the likely involvement of the latter for the needs of interface cables, then problems should not arise. Otherwise, it is close to the standard, which I recently began to consider GA-Z97X-SOC Force. Apparently it was not so easy to place four USB sockets of the second revision here, but otherwise everything is fine. Traditionally, it was not without the participation of the ASM1442 level converter.

In the role of a small summary, I would like to call the Z97-A board a self-sufficient product, whose target audience is not system builders at all. Numerous various assistants, tools to simplify system setup, overclocking and primary diagnostics possible problems demonstrate the complete readiness of the product for experiments, and a variety of interface elements will allow you to equip a PC with the most modern equipment. Next up is software support. UEFI Capabilities

The microcode update procedure went without problems. For this, the EZ Flash Utility was used, whose version is now listed as 02.01.

The most active readers have probably already seen the updated interface in the Z97-Deluxe review. First of all, we reworked the simplified EZ Mode. A little more attention is now paid to drives - their number and device models can be seen without entering a separate menu. The mechanism for quick selection of the system functioning profile, which in fact means the activation of the TPU or EPU modules, was forced to give way - now it has become more compact. The rest of the tools remained in place: calendar and system clock, interface localization, XMP activation for DRAM, quick fan settings.

Q-Fan Tuning now has a few more features. Now in one click you can set the mode of operation of the desired channel. It is assumed that the processor cooler is controlled by the PWM method, while the other fans change their rotational speed by changing the supply voltage. In addition to the ready-made four work scenarios, including Full Speed, we added a manual mode for making changes to the control algorithm. Now everything is done in the best possible way, the only disappointment is the inability to perform calibration in order to understand the correspondence between the percentage and the actual RPM value for each of the products. Only proprietary software has such a luxury as part of the work from under the OS. However, this is not all the UEFI features, some deeper settings will be available in the Advanced Mode of the environment display mode.

The analogy of the updated UEFI with Modern UI from Microsoft suggests itself, and if everything looks very concise in EZ Mode, then in Advanced Mode, in my opinion, such trends have led to a deterioration in the perception of the picture of what is happening.

The very same concept in filling the sections remained unchanged. It was decided to move the reference field down, which is why the usable area in working with the settings has become even smaller. It is also a controversial point, because the information about the system that replaced it takes up an unacceptably large amount of space. In addition, at the top there are now illustrated symbols for starting some mechanisms, which also reduce the usable working area. The first of them has something in common with the first My Favorites tab, where you can choose the most commonly used mechanisms when setting up UEFI by pinning them to an empty field.

Qfan Conrtol turns out to be the same master of Q-Fan Tuning. Such discrepancies of the same windows look a little surprising.

EZ Tuning Wizard hides two mechanisms - system overclocking and RAID configuration settings. The first of these is really a somewhat wider toolkit than using a ready-made TPU profile. So far, not everything is going smoothly with its functionality, in particular, the displayed numbers are far from reality, but the mechanism itself is actually functional.

In the Main section, you can see for yourself the inconvenience of the new stylistic approach. Not only did such a modest section not fit on one page, but also the peculiar naming of subsections that do not have specific meanings, such as CPU or Memory Information, is not separated from other elements in any way, and the groups themselves are also not differentiated in any way. Thus, confusion arises, and it will only be more difficult for an unprepared user to navigate in such a monotonous array of information.

The contents of the sections have been developed by the manufacturer over the years, in particular, Ai Tweaker turned out to be literally unchanged relative to its ancestors based on the Intel Z87.

In other words, the Z97-A has the whole complex for overclocking, in addition, there are a number of proprietary mechanisms that simplify this task for beginner overclockers, we are talking about OC Tuner and EPU Power Saving Mode.

As for the possibilities in the field of supply voltage management, everything is in order here - no simplifications are observed, and the presence of Extreme Over-voltage only adds confidence in the strength of the VRM node.

The most important parameters are summarized in the table:

Parameter	Adjustment range	Step
BCLK Frequency (MHz)	80-300	0,1
PLL Selection	Auto/LC PLL/SB PLL
FilterPLL	Auto/Low BCLK Mode/High BCLK Mode
Internal PLL Overvoltage	Auto/Enabled/Disabled
CPU Core Ratio (Multiplier)	8-80	1
CPU Load-line Calibration	Auto/Level1…9	1
CPU Current Capability (%)	Auto/100…140	10
CPU Core Voltage Override (V)	0,001-1,92	0,001
CPU Input Voltage (V)	0,8-2,7	0,01
CPU Cache Ratio (Multiplier)	8-80	1
CPU Cache Voltage Override (V)	0,001-1,92	0,001
DRAM Frequency (MHz)	1400-3400 800-3200	200 266
DRAM Voltage (V)	1,2-1,92	0,01
CPU System Agent Voltage Offset (V)	(+/-) 0,001-0,999	0,001
CPU Analog I/O Voltage Offset	(+/-) 0,001-0,999	0,001
CPU Digital I/O Voltage Offset	(+/-) 0,001-0,999	0,001
PCH Core Voltage (V)	0,7-1,5	0,0125
PCH VLX Voltage (V)	1,2-2,0	0,0125
Max. CPU Graphics Ratio (Multiplier)	8(by CPU)-60	1
CPU Graphics Voltage Override (V)	0,001-1,92	0,001

The Advanced section contains system settings that are not directly related to its performance. PCH Storage Configuration succinctly replaced the SATA Configuration menu item. Of the interesting, I would like to note the maximum allocation of only 512 MB of memory for the needs of the built-in video processor.

One of the useful abilities of the board is the ability to independently control each of the USB channels, which we had a chance to use during the experiments. Enabling a new M.2 socket for use in the system is located in the Onboard Devices Configuration subsection, where two separately soldered PCI-E x1 are activated by default.

Another variation of the naming of the quick settings for the operation of system coolers is in the first place on the Monitor page. This time, it hides a kind of calibration, when the lower limit of its performance is determined for each device, after which this value is adjusted (again in percentage) for the corresponding channel. In addition, there are still remnants from the direct purpose of the section - information about the current temperature and voltages at important system nodes.

The most complete range of settings for the operation of system coolers in terms of UEFI capabilities is also located here. The main innovation is the choice of a reference temperature source for four fans (everything is clear for the CPU channel). Such functionality was previously available only to older models. But, speaking objectively, the only innovation is the ability to select T_SENSOR1 among others, because the temperature of PCH CORE and MB actually does not change during various loads or their absence. Do not forget that the Z97-A remote thermocouple is not supplied, so this mechanism can only be described as a nice option.

There were no problems with the POST procedure for the entire time of working with the board. The stage of initialization of the equipment passed quickly, because Fast Boot was initially activated. However, there are a number of settings that you can change if you wish. Of the most useful parameters, I note the fixation of the Setup Mode display mode.

In the Tool section, a new feature has appeared - disabling animation. It is implemented as a delay when moving from one section to another, again following the latest trends when working with the interface. It is completely incomprehensible why this is needed in UEFI, especially considering the obvious slowness of its operation when moving from section to section. We have already successfully tested the utility for updating the microcode version. The traditional eight profiles for saving settings are also in place, as is the ability to save an unlimited number of them to external media.

The ASUS SPD Information module surprised me a bit, not being able to read the first XMP profile of our RAM kit, although there were no problems before.

The Exit page was designed as a full-fledged section, but nothing new appeared there.

The ability to display a complete list of changes immediately before the procedure for applying new settings has not disappeared anywhere.

For those who are still not familiar with the set of hotkeys, there is a help window called by pressing F1.

There can be no complaints about the UEFI content, since it is borrowed from the products of the past generation, fully satisfying the needs of the modern user, and newfangled trends in interface design are a matter of purely individual preferences. The reworking of EZ Mode looks very successful, and the result of the system configured using the EZ Tuning Wizard will be described in the next section, where we will conclude on the advisability of introducing such a mechanism.

Complete software

And again, despite the next change in the generation of products, the approach implemented in the field of manufacturing a support disk remains unchanged. Obviously, fewer and fewer users resort to using it, and the mechanism itself, worked out over the years, does not give reasons for comments and, accordingly, the need to change anything there.

For some reason, among other things, there was no proprietary driver for USB 3.0 from Intel, but everything else is in place, as usual, with an abundance in the form of some third-party software. The installation wizard completed without errors.

The set of utilities is not so rich compared to competing products, but a large number of various utilities can overshadow the proprietary AI Suite of the same, unchanged third version.

The developers made an unfortunate oversight by not adding a very important, without exaggeration, very interesting Turbo LAN to this wizard. You can install it yourself, from the main menu of the support disk.

This utility is the work of a third party developer, cFos Software. It is known as cFosSpeed. It is noteworthy that for the domestic market it has a special price, so I strongly recommend that everyone who is interested carefully study its huge potential, which cannot be compared with Killer Network Manager. There is a great variety of ready-made presets for a variety of software, sorted by purpose and with the corresponding priority. There are four categories, and the general idea is to give the highest priority to games, streaming media, and VoIP applications while limiting peer-to-peer client functionality. But this is only its outer shell.

The true abilities are so wide that at least a separate review should be devoted to such a product. The settings are a treasure trove of tabs that true enthusiasts will appreciate.

In addition to performing direct tuning, a number of auxiliary tools are available. For example, a log with graphs of traffic accounting curves.

Next - monitoring of current connections with the ability to directly control each process based on the creation of a temporary or permanent rule.

At first, everything looks very intimidating for an unprepared user, so using the context menu of the program, you can use just a few, but therefore not at all secondary settings. I note that the line calibration works very mediocre, and the reason for this is the remote location of the company's server.

The next surprise was a close examination of the composition of what at first glance is a typical Realtek audio codec control console - ALC892. Inside there was a kind of proprietary software from Creative (Sound Blaster Cinema or Sound Blaster Pro Studio), which is equipped with a great many competing multimedia products. They called it DTS UlrtaPC II, and the whole essence of the changes made to the sound, as it should be, is a special manipulation, likened to the intervention of a conventional equalizer. But be that as it may, there are really a lot of ready-made options offered, and all of them seriously modify the sound picture.

In addition, in addition to scenarios for using the system, the choice of sound source is also important. Each option has its own set of presets.

Not much is included in AI Suite 3 software compared to older motherboard models.

There were no problems with obtaining information about the system, even with RAM, unlike the UEFI environment. I would like to note a slight shift in the design of the complex in color leitmotifs: they have become darker, having lost their original shades of blue.

Push Notice is a new vision for engineers on the relationship between portable gadgets and the desktop computer. And if everything is clear with the PC mode status page, then other tabs are depressing with their emptiness, obviously, the product is at the initial development stage. There were practically no reviews on the Play Market at the time of writing the review, and the restriction in the form of “Before using Push Notice, you must first connect your PC and mobile device to the same network, and register your mobile device on your PC” does not look very friendly .

The slightly updated Dual Intelligent Processors module (up to the fifth version) has already been touched upon in the Z97-Deluxe review. Its content for the Z97-A model is somewhat more modest, but the essence is unchanged, and all because the main modules wander from version to version without changing their content.

The content, in turn, also depends on the corresponding settings in the UEFI environment, because the AI ​​Suite is nothing more than a software add-on for the OS. So, for example, the settings of the DIGI + VRM submenu look much more modest.

Together with the whole complex, I added the Fan Xpert module to my serial number. Now his version is the third. At first glance, nothing significant appeared there.

Before a full-fledged adjustment of the operation mode of the coolers, as before, it is necessary to perform their calibration procedure, which occurs correctly here. Upon its completion, each of the channels receives a kind of passport with the characteristics of the product.

All that was found in the updated version is the presence of a button and the area corresponding to its positioning on the curve chart with the name Extreme Quiet. In other words, there are no radical innovations here, and it is still difficult to think of what the manufacturer could wish for, because the functionality of the product is already at an excellent, exemplary level of performance.

Now, after a protracted interlude, let's move on to the main highlight of the program, the new, fifth in a row, module from the complex, called the Turbo App. From the review of the older sister in the face of the Z97-Deluxe, it is known about the ability of this component to use some ready-made profiles with increased or decreased system performance for each individual application, or even individually activate, if necessary, the desired multiplier involved in the formation of the operating frequency processor.

But the main thing was missed at that time, because at the same time for each application you can apply (right from here) utility settings profiles for interacting with sound and network adapters. There are a number controversial points: how the system will behave when running several programs with different settings, for example, an audio player and a game, with different profiles for the codec to work, remains a mystery. But the very possibility of maneuvers, as well as a convenient form for their implementation, evokes a feeling of knowing the fact of the onset of a new era of working with familiar applications.

Actually, there is nothing surprising in the fact that ASUS is still a pioneer in the development of various facets of the symbiosis of hardware and software components of its own products. The new Turbo App module is not just another useless utility, the number of which some vendors sometimes reach indecent, but becomes a dense series of other programs that have already been proven in practice, forming a kind of link between them. For this, the developers deserve only praise. Overclocking potential

First, let's touch on the standard capabilities of the product in the field of improving system performance, and start with a new mechanism - EZ Tuning Wizard. It was mentioned in the review of UEFI capabilities, and then we were promised an increase in processor speed in the amount of 32%, and for RAM - 36%; all this can be achieved by using the Gaming/Media Editing profile. Indeed, it is precisely these ratios (relative to the standard capabilities - 3.4 GHz and 1.6 GHz, respectively) that were demonstrated during practical tests. As a result, the processor frequency was 4488 MHz, and for RAM modules - 2176 MHz. Moreover, this formula turned out to be valid for any type of load. The CPU voltage rose to a modest 1.25 V during operation, and in idle time it dropped to the required 0.7 V. The RAM also functioned with delays according to the XMP profile.

The picture looks very idyllic, so the system was subjected to a more serious test with the same settings, since the possibility of successfully passing a stress test with such a low CPU voltage seemed very doubtful. It turned out that in more difficult conditions, it increased to a significant 1.37 V, which eventually led to overheating of the CPU and activation of throttling. It remains to wish the manufacturer not to stop there, but to continue to improve their own mechanisms, the number of which now reaches at least three.

Two more automatic overclocking modes can still be activated inside UEFI, or by resorting to the functionality on the PCB in the form of a TPU state switch. In any case, the first mode, now called Ratio Tuning, turns out to be very familiar to products of the past generation, made using the Intel Z87. When using it, the processor operates at a frequency slightly above 4 GHz, while there is no visible increase in voltage. RAM operates according to the XMP profile - the frequency is 2133 MHz.

In idle time, energy-saving technologies function correctly. In a word, nothing in this scenario has changed.

The next position of the switch on the board, or changing the selection inside UEFI to BCLK + Ratio Tuning, accordingly modifies the overclocking approach by fixing the base frequency at around 125 MHz. The final frequency of the processor is 4126 MHz, the RAM is 2 GHz, the delay formula is based on the XMP profile values.

In this case, the CPU voltage turns out to be fixed at around 1.17 V, which in the end is even a slightly lower figure compared to the previous case. At the same time, energy saving still successfully continues to fulfill its direct functional duties.

Both of these overclocking methods, although not in the least impressive, in retaliation, the operation of a system based on such settings is completely stable.

Self-tested durability began with the search for the maximum value of the reference frequency, at which the system operates absolutely stably. It turned out to be the number 186.2 MHz, which is a good result.

I liked the behavior of the board in case of setting inoperative parameters: several unsuccessful launches were replaced by a proposal to make changes to the settings, in which the POST procedure did not work properly.

Unexpectedly, there were problems when overclocking the CPU using previously tested settings. Literally in the first minute of stress testing operating system began to report a lack of power on a certain USB device, as a result of which it was taken out of use.

Thanks to the extensive capabilities of UEFI, we managed to find out that the whole thing is in two ordinary USB 2.0 sockets located on the rear panel. Regardless of whether they were involved in exploitation, the message appeared again and again, so they had to be turned off. It is difficult to say whether this is due to design miscalculations in the design or whether this is a problem of a particular instance of the Z97-A. Whatever it was, after that everything worked without problems. With the total CPU supply voltage increased to 1.9 V, for the ring bus - up to 1.3 V, and on the computing units - up to 1.35 V, the Core i5-4670K was able to operate at a frequency of 4.7 GHz, and the ring bus at this is at 4.4 GHz.

A little more time was taken by the selection of a mechanism for stabilizing the supply voltage. As it turned out, none of the nine prepared profiles properly copes with the obligations imposed on the LLC mechanism itself. I finally made my choice in favor of Level 8: at maximum load, with its help, the required voltage increased by 0.02 V, and the average during testing turned out to be 1.914 V. Lower values ​​of LLC somehow lead to a voltage drop below the required 1.9 V , which threatens with possible instability during the operation of the system. In this mode, the test bench consumed energy within the 99-299 W range, which is somewhat more than we managed to fix in the GA-Z97X-SOC Force review; especially frustrating is the excessively high value characteristic of the idle time of the system. The temperature in the VRM zone reached 72°C, while the radiators could only warm up to 52°C at their highest point.

There were no problems with overclocking RAM, while we managed to fix a slight change in the configuration of secondary delays (relative to the line of boards based on the eightieth series), which are set according to the device's own preferences. The frequency was 2666 MHz with a supply voltage of 1.75 V and a delay formula of the form 11-13-12-30-1T.

In general, I was completely satisfied with the behavior of the subject. The revised concept in the design of UEFI at first introduces some element of confusion, but, gradually getting used to it, you can fully start working with the settings. The functionality of another switch - EZ_XMP has been successfully tested in practice. What wishes can be expressed to the manufacturer at the expense of all this abundance - unification into a single “remote control”, because their simultaneous activation threatens the system with complete confusion. Just imagine: automatic overclocking, forcing reduced power consumption and additional mechanical fixation of the XMP profile. All this (at the same time) should not happen, and testing such a fantasy in practice resulted in complete confusion.

test stand

The stand included:

• processor: Intel Core i5-4670K (3.4 GHz);
• cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate;
• thermal interface: Noctua NT-H1;
• Memory: G.Skill F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM (2x4GB, 2133MHz, 9-11-10-28-2T, 1.65V);
• video card: Gigabyte GV-N580SO-15I ( GeForce GTX 580);
• drive: ADATA Premier Pro SP900 (128 GB, SATA 6 Gb / s, AHCI mode);
• power supply: XFX XPS-850W-BES (850 W);
• operating system: Windows 8.1 Pro x64;
• drivers: Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility (10.0.14), Intel Management Engine Interface (10.0.0.1204), GeForce 335.23 (9.18.13.3523), PhysX 9.13.1220.

All OS updates available for download through Windows Update have been installed. No third-party anti-virus products were installed, no fine-tuning of the system was made, the size of the paging file was determined by the system itself.

The following applications were used as tests:

• AIDA64 4.30 (Cache & Memory benchmark);
• Futuremark PCMark 8 (in combination with Microsoft Office 2013 SP1 Standard);
• Futuremark 3DMark 13;
• Batman: Arkham City
• F1 2012;
• Hitman: Absolution.

During the testing of representatives of the Intel LGA1150 platform, the versions of software products are regularly updated. For a possible correlation of the results, they are summarized in a comparative table:

Product	Firmware version	AIDA64	BenchDLL	PC Mark 8	3D Mark 13
	0902	4.30.2954	4.1.611-x64	2.0.228	1.2.362
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC	F5	4.30.2946	4.1.611-x64	2.0.228	1.2.362

Test results

When the XMP profile is activated on the bench set of RAM, it seems that there is a direct interference with the operation of the Turbo Boost technology (relative to standard installations). As a result, the Core i5-4670K operated at 3.8 GHz, regardless of the type of applications being run.

Therefore, performance expectations are the most demanding.

In real games, everything turned out to be not so rosy - the test model lost all its confidence. Therefore, the overall result is still a draw. In general, this is how it should be when it comes to high-end products based on the same chipset and operating with similar settings.

System power consumption

Measurements were taken after passing all other tests in the "established" mode of the computer using the Luxeon AVS-5A instrument. The technique consisted in fixing the weighted average value of the consumption of the test stand "from the outlet" during the Prime95 test using the In-place large FFTs profile, as well as when the computer was idle after the test was completed.

Continuing to talk about the uniform behavior of devices with identical parameters, one cannot fail to note their absolutely identical level of consumption. electrical energy. It would be possible to state a very energy-efficient VRM module in the Z97-A, but its strange behavior during overclocking does not allow this. The 99 W idle threshold indicated in the section above is not a definitive number. For a long time after the stress testing procedure, it turns out to be just that, but if you wait a long time (more than ten minutes), then gradually the system's appetites begin to fade, decreasing in numerical terms to the expected 88 watts. Repeated experiments only repeated such a scenario of events.

The manufacturer's proprietary solution in the field of increasing energy efficiency is the activation of the EPU. This time the behavior of the Z97-A almost coincided with its predecessor in the face of the Z87-Plus. The supply voltage of the computing units with all its might was kept at the border of 1.01 V, the CPU frequency was 3.6 GHz for a very short time, decreasing to the nominal value (3.4 GHz), especially when the load takes a long period of time. Such activities can reduce the final level of consumption to 79-137 watts.

Conclusion

To briefly summarize the information obtained while working with the device, this model turned out to be much more interesting than its closest predecessors in the face of the Z87-A and Z87-Plus. The current arsenal, both hardware and software, makes such a product the most attractive among this list due to the presence of the most up-to-date interfaces and equipment with advanced proprietary software.

It is the last point that deserves unconditional praise, and, apparently, it is not in vain that most of the back of the box is occupied by a description of the capabilities of these utilities. It is rather difficult to convey to experienced users the idea of ​​rethinking the approach to the purchased product as a software and hardware complex, and not just a physical device in the form of a board and related delivery elements. Beginners are even more unaware of their existence. ASUS does not provide any ridiculous experimental utilities, but allows the user to approach the process of working with a computer in a new way, and not only directly behind him.

Having reduced the notes of optimism, one cannot but recall the negative aspects. The insignificant savings on the audio codec are completely incomprehensible, while significant steps have been taken to improve the audio component, including those expressed in hardware innovations that are not entirely characteristic of such a market segment. Also, the full mechanism for using all new types of interface sockets is not clear: apparently, only one of them can be used at a particular point in time. It's somewhat disappointing to see two lone USB 2.0s on the rear panel, but they also had problems during serious overclocking; the conclusion is that there are only two of them on purpose. By the way, the new version of the microcode (1008) released during the preparation of the review did not resolve anything in this misunderstanding.

Be that as it may, it is the Z97-A that will now become a model of a modern, typical motherboard with all the richness of its equipment, which in the future can be guided by when choosing a motherboard for a new computer.

Today, "Haswell Refresh" processors are on everyone's lips, there is a lot of information about new motherboards equipped with Intel 9 Series chipsets. Most likely, the release of new processors. But . This year we visited ASUS Technical Seminar 2014, where new motherboards for Socket 1150 were shown. We will tell about them in our review, and also pay attention to new features. Motherboards are still divided into three families "Desktop", "The Ultimate Force" and "Republic of Gamers". The most interesting for us are the last two lines, in which new high-end models were introduced. But we'll start with the "Desktop" family.

ASUS Z97-A

Budget motherboard based on the Z97 chipset - ASUS Z97-A.

As you can see, the Taiwanese manufacturer abandoned the golden colors, choosing bronze shades. The equipment for the entry-level model can be called quite rich. Expansion slots include three PCIe x16 and two PCIe 2.0 x1 mechanical slots, as well as PCI slots. There are four DIMM slots, allowing you to install memory up to 32 GB. New features include an M.2 slot and . There are also four regular SATA 6G ports. ASUS decided to install the Crystal Sound 2 sound chip on the "younger" motherboard. There is also an internal USB 3.0 comb.

ASUS Z97-PRO / Z97-PRO (Wi-Fi ac)

For more demanding customers, the Z97-PRO is offered.

Motherboard ASUS Z97-PRO will be presented in two versions. In addition to the regular version, Z97-PRO (Wi-Fi ac) will be released with wireless network support. Otherwise, the two boards are identical. You get three mechanical PCIe x16 slots and four PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. Of course, the Z97-PRO has a new M.2 slot. The board also has a SATA Express function. There are also six SATA 6G ports that can be configured separately. The sound subsystem is represented by the Crystal Sound 2 chip. There is also an internal USB 3.0 comb for modern cases.

ASUS Z97-WS

Z97-WS Motherboard Targets Workstations

If you want to build a serious system, then pay attention to the Z97-WS. The board supports 4-way SLI and 4-way CrossFireX configurations. On it, you also get two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots and one PCIe 2.0 x4. There are two connectors of the new SATA Express standard. The Z97-WS board is equipped with four SATA 6G ports for connecting additional drives. There is also an M.2 slot. You can install the board in a case with four front USB 3.0 ports, since there are two internal USB 3.0 headers.

ASUS Z97-DELUXE

The flagship of the new Desktop line is the Z97-DELUXE motherboard.

The leader in the Desktop family will be the Z97-DELUXE motherboard. The main differences from other models lie in the number of interfaces, which has become twice as large. For example, you get two SATA Express interfaces and six additional SATA 6G ports. There are also two USB 3.0 combs for connecting the four front ports of the case. On the Z97-DELUXE motherboard, you can set up a 3-way multi-GPU configuration with three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots. There are also four PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. As in the case of the Z97-A and Z97-PRO, the flagship of the Desktop family has a Crystal Sound 2 chip. There was also a new M.2 slot. The ASUS Z97-DELUXE motherboard has already arrived in our test lab, we will soon present a detailed review.

ASUS Z97I-PLUS

For fans of compact systems, ASUS Z97I-PLUS is suitable.

For mini-ITX home systems, whether it's a compact gaming configuration or an HTPC, the Z97I-PLUS motherboard is the way to go. This mini-ITX mini has a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, four SATA 6G ports, and two DIMM slots. As is often the case with many mini-ITX motherboards, there is also wireless support. However, the LAN jack is also present, it can be considered as an alternative.

ASUS GRYPHON Z97

A micro-ATX variant of the TUF family.

Before us is the "youngest" motherboard of the TUF line, equipped with three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and one PCIe 2.0 x1. Up to six SATA 6G ports are provided for connecting drives. This model does not have an M.2 slot, as well as a SATA Express connector. But you will get support for all TUF special features.

ASUS GRYPHON Z97 ARMOR EDITION

Same PCB, only with Armor and TUF Fortifier back.

With the exception of the TUF Armor and TUF Fortifier backplate, the motherboard is 100 percent identical to the regular GRYPHON Z97.

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 Mark 1

The official successor to ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87.

One of the biggest changes to the TUF line is the split of the SABERTOOTH board into two versions. Let's start with the first version of ASUS, the official successor to SABERTOOTH Z87. There were no significant changes. The number of PCIe slots, type and layout have not changed. The differences lie in the ports of the drives, now the board has two SATA Express interfaces next to four SATA 6G. Of course, if there are two Gigabit LAN ports and a USB 3.0 comb. Almost the entire board is covered with a TUF Armor overlay, there is also a TUF Fortifier back plate. Two fans provide optimal cooling.

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 Mark 2

The Mark 2 Edition motherboard lacks TUF Armor and TUF Fortifier protection.

Before us, in fact, is the old printed circuit board, but without the overlay and back of the TUF Fortifier. Also support for SATA Express has also been removed.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene

Before us is a micro-ATX model from the ROG family. The ASUS motherboard has the unremarkable name "Maximus VII Gene."

The board has three expansion slots: two PCIe 3.0 x16 and one PCIe 2.0 x4. So it will be possible to install two video cards. A total of eight SATA 6G ports are available on the board. Maximus VII Gene also has six USB 3.0 ports, two of which are available through an internal comb. Also compared to the previous version of Maximus, Gene VII has an M.2 slot.

ASUS Maximus VII Ranger

A new addition to the ROG family is the Maximus VII Ranger.

Last year, ASUS added the VI Hero motherboard to the Maximus family, which was sold at a much lower price. In 2014, another model called "Maximus VII Ranger" will be added to it. The Maximus VII Ranger will be priced lower than the Maximus VII Hero, and the ROG motherboard has been further simplified to keep the price down. Differences between Maximus VII Ranger and Maximus VII Hero can only be found upon close examination. The PCB is almost identical. Only the number of SATA 6G ports is different. The Maximus VII Hero has eight ports, while the Maximus VII Ranger has only six. Also, the latest model sacrificed some of the functions built into the board, but you can do without them. Both ATX motherboards offer three PCIe x16 and PCIe 2.0 x1 mechanical slots. Both boards have a USB 3.0 header for the front case ports. And on the I/O panel, you get four additional USB 3.0 ports.

ASUS Maximus VII Hero

As we explained above, a new version of the Hero motherboard will be released this year. But compared to the changes a little.

With the exception of the two additional SATA ports, there are some additions to improve comfort and design that differ from the Maximus VII Ranger. Both motherboards have the same I/O panel.

So far, there is no exact information about the flagship Maximus VII Extreme. We will most likely get all the details at this year's Computex.