News: asus technical seminar 2014

A couple of weeks ago the Professional Review team were invited to the Asus Technical of Asus 2014 in Berlin to present us the new Asus Z97 motherboards. Among them we saw the Z97 PRO / DELUXE and ITX range, Sabertooth and the Republic Of Gamer (ROG) gamer line. The most important innovations were the compatibility with the fifth generation processors and the incorporation of various technologies that will mark the future of informatics: the M.2 storage unit with a PCI Express interface and SATA Express connections with a high speed. minus 10 Gb / s. During the event we could see the improvements in its BIOS and 5 Way Optimization application (we have already seen it more detailed during the review of the Asus Z97 Deluxe). Although the most interesting was the new design in all its ranges of motherboards. Here is our presentation. Next, let's consider the various ASUS Z97 motherboards have to offer!

Z97 Medium / High Range (For all pockets)

Asus Z97 I-Plus (ITX format)

With a reinvented design it seems to me one of the best ITX motherboards except the Impact. It has 6 power phases, PCI Express 3.0 to x16 port, 4 USB 3.0 connections, a gigabit network, M.2 connector and 802.11 ac wireless connection. Accepts a maximum of 16GB at 3200mhz with OC

Asus Z97 PRO

Another of the ATX format motherboards and this time with a very interesting 12 power phases. We have already begun to see that it is a very good motherboard, since it has PCI Express 3.0 x16, PCI Express 2.0 x16 and PCI Express x1. It also has a Realtek ALC1150 sound card and 8 USB 3.0 connections.

Asus Z97 Deluxe & Asus Z97 Deluxe NFC & WLC

Here we have our first Z97 motherboard analyzed. 16 phases of power, dual gigabit intel network card, bluetooth 4.0 connections, wifi 802.11 ac and an unbeatable bios. We can find it in its classic version € 240 as in a more complete version NFC and WLC with a price of € 400 !!

Asus Z97-WS

Like the previous two, it maintains the standard ATX format, compatible with the latest generation Intel Xeon processors. This model is designed for work as Worksatation and multiGPU processing. Therefore, it has only 8 power phases and basic passive dissipation. Compatible with 64GB of DDR3 memory and allows us to connect up to four graphics cards thanks to PCI Express 3.0. to the PLX PEX8747 chip that joins its four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots allowing configurations.

New member in the ROG Range

In the ROG range we continue to have the fantastic ITX Impact, the Hero VII series (successful in 2013), the Asus Maximus Formula with its Armor skeleton and the excellent extreme ideal for overclockers. On this occasion, Asus has planned to add a new motherboard that is one step behind the Asus Maximus VII Hero, it is the Asus Maximus VII Ranger with a very attractive design, excellent power phases and six SATA connections. In this range we have found many improvements in hardware aspect: design, more solid heatsinks and new connections in the network ports (LAN) that offer a better ping and gaming experience.

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Sabertooth range with 5 years warranty

Here we hardly find changes with respect to the previous generation. We have three models of motherboards, two of them are ATX while Asus Grpyhon Z97 maintains its micro ATX format, with an option for the Armor Kit. No major difference from the previous generation.

Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1. Here comes one of the motherboards that I like the most. 10 phases of power, military components, Thermal Armor structure that reduces up to 7 degrees and gives firmness to the components. It also has a new technology of fans for the expulsion of air, improving the flow in the tower. Includes a Realtek 8111GR network card and 8 USB 3.0 ports.

From my point of view, Asus has focused very well all the improvements in both hardware and software on a line of motherboards without much news. Where the brand's initiative has interacted more than the improvements of the new Intel chipset.