Review: asus z97 deluxe

Asus Z97 Deluxe NFC & WLC specs

ASUS Z97 DELUXE NFC & WLC FEATURES
CPU	Intel® 1150 Processors
Chipset	Intel® Z97
Memory	4 slots 32 GB DDR3 at 3300 mhz.
Multi-GPU Compatible	NVIDIA® 4-Way SLI ™ Technology Compatible Compatible with AMD 4-Way CrossFireX Technology
Storage	6 x SATA 6.0 Gbp / s 4 x SATA Express at 10 Gbp / s. 1 x M.2
USB	10 USB and 8 USB 3.0
Net	2 x Intel 10/100/1000.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth V4.0
Audio	New audio system. 8 Channel.
WiFi connection	802.11 a / b / g / ac
Format.	ATX format:
BIOS	Double BIOS.

Main improvements of the Z97 chipset to its predecessor Z87

There are hardly any differences between the Z87 and Z97 chipset on paper. We have few such as the incorporation of the SATA Express block with 10 Gb / s of bandwidth (40% faster) compared to the 6Gb / s of the classic SATA 3. How is there so much improvement? It is because they have taken one or two of the PCI Express lanes, so be careful when doing dual configurations or with multiple graphics cards.

One of the most important improvements is the incorporation of the M.2 connection with NGFF support natively, thus replacing the well-received mSATA ports. This technology is the future of computing, since it will allow us to connect large, fast storage devices without occupying places in our box. During this year and 2015 we will see the increase in sales of this connection.

Finally, we see the possibility of overclocking RAM memories up to 3300 mh. Well, this reaches the limit of mhz that we can reach with DDR3 memories.

Frequently asked questions to consider

- My heatsink is compatible with socket 1155 and 1556. Is it compatible with socket 1150?

Yes, we have tested different motherboards and they all have the same holes as in socket 1155 and 1156.

- Is my power supply compatible with Intel Haswell or Intel Devil Canyon / Haswell Refresh ?

There are no Haswell certified power supplies. Most of the manufacturers have already released the list of compatible sources: Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Nox, Aerocool / Tacens and Thermaltake. Giving 98% absolute compatibility.

Asus Z97 Deluxe

Asus has given a new facelift to its entire line of motherboards. The Asus Z97 Deluxe NFC & WLC comes protected in a large case with a black background color and highlighting its 5 Waay Optimization technology on the cover.

On the back we have all the benefits: characteristics and technical specifications of this fantastic motherboard.

Once we open the cover we find that the box has two sections. The first houses the motherboard and the second all accessories and gagdets. Everything as always, very well protected.

It features one of the best motherboard bundles we've received to date. Composed by:

Asus Z97 Deluxe Motherboard.NFC and WTL Gaddets.Variety of cabling.USB power supply and connection for the mains.SLI bridges: Instruction manual.CD installation.Dual Thunderbolt card.

NFC: also known as Near Field Communication. It is a standard created for short-range wireless communication. The main idea was to make payments through our samarpthones without cards. At the same time it has been improved and has been used for wireless device charges and the exchange of information. Wireless charging: In this case, it has a Qi device designed for wireless charging of mobile phones and tablets. It is so simple, we only have to put a smarpthone on top (as long as it is compatible) and it will load automatically. It is a good utility to save us a light socket. We liked our tests a lot. Thunderbolt: Barely a year and a half ago I was called to revolutionize the speed at which peripherals, up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and twice as fast as USB 3.0.. With a bi-directional speed of up to 10 Gbps. The big problem lies in the few peripherals and their high price. Even so, Asus attaches an external card, that in case we need it we can click on one of the PCI Express 16x ports.

NFC and WLC

NFC & WTL with a very compact size

ThunderboltEX II / Dual card and connection outputs

At first we see that the motherboard has changed a lot and its design. The gold color is more pleasing to the eye, with a premium brushing we see that it is a PREMIUM motherboard. Its PCB is black in color and combines its expansion slots in black and gray.

The next visual change is the new design of the heatsink on the south bridge of the motherboard, disk-shaped gives a more elegant and minimalist touch. I just love it.

For the most curious I have shot a photo to the rear. We can see that in the phase area it includes two strips of heatsinks to increase its dissipation and efficiency.

The Z97 Deluxe supports up to 32GB of 3300mhz DDR3 RAM with OC. It is the first to incorporate such frequencies. Overclockers are currently floating their hands.

Dual USB 3.0 connections and ATX power.

As we have previously commented, I was very pleased with the new heatsink design. The asus logo is printed on the central area. We believe that if it included some LEDs in the letters, it would be the repera.

Phase sinks are incredibly robust and efficient. With overclock we have hardly seen this area heat up.

This is the work of a great job from the ASUS R&D team. The Asus Z97 Deluxe is the rival to beat in the enthusiastic sector of motherboards. It integrates one of the best power phases on the market with 16 digital + 2 for processor and RAM. Includes Japanese 10K capacitors with their own design.

8-pin EPS connections.

The board has a total of 7 PCI-Express ports. Three of its slots run at X16 and the other four run at x1. The board does not use any type of proprietary chip (As is the case with the PLX), that is, a single graphics card works at 16X. A Dual system would work at 8X-8X and three graphics cards at 8x - 8x - 4x.

In the lower area we have the control panel with a power and reset button, a debug led, bios erase and bios flash back. Further to the right, we already have internal USB 2.0 connections and a variety of fan connectors. It also includes a double USB 3.0 connection in the central right area. How can we see very complete?

Control Panel: Power button, bug led…

USB 2.0 and TPM connections.

Dual USB 3.0 connections and ATX power.

As we can witness Asus has chosen to incorporate its Crystal Sound 2 sound card. With encapsulated chip (realtek) and separate electronic components to minimize noise and interference with other components. EYE: The line we see is not backlit as in other motherboards.

We have a total of 10 SATA connections and the incorporation of the new SATA EXPRESS connection, in this case for two units.

We have an 802.11 AC wireless card with an external 5GHZ band .

And here, the rear panel with the most important connections: digital video outputs, miniUSB, Wifi, 4 USB 2.0, 6 USB 3.0, 2 gigabit network cards and audio output. The most complete on the market!

Finally, a photo of the socket. It is exactly the same as the previous generation: Z87. Compatible with normal Haswells and new Haswell Refresh.

UEFI BIOS

Asus has made an excellent makeover to its new BIOS. In the Z97 Deluxe we find a very nice BIOS, in Spanish and very practical.

The menus are very similar, we have a version for the basic user: EZ MODE and another for the most Siberian: Advanced Mode. In it we find the menus for overclocking (Ai Tweake r), monitoring and regulation of voltage and / or fans, disk preference and optical drives at startup.

We also have to highlight its proprietary utilities:

OC Profile: where we can save our overclock or undervolt profiles. EZ Flash 2: Application that allows us to flash the bios to the latest version. Q-Fan Tunning: It allows us to adjust and fan curves. Favorite options: It shows us which parameters we configure the most.

EZ MODE

Advanced Mode

Overclocking Practice (Ai Tweaker)

Advanced Options

Monitoring

Boot or Boot

Tools: OC Profile, EZ Flash 2, ASUS SPD

OC Profiles

Q-Fan Tunning

Animator configurator.

Software: 5-Way Optimization

Here we find one of the great improvements we find in this new Asus Z97 series. The 5-Way Optimization technology that allows us to adjust, monitor processes, performance and efficiency in energy consumption.

The application allows us to adjust the processor speed (mhz), voltage and calibration of the hot feed phases. Although the most important improvement is that we are able to assign a profile to work at different speeds in each situation. For example, if we play it is capable of increasing the speed to 4500 mhz, while with 2D applications work at stock speed without exceeding voltage. This is a big step when it comes to overclocking and energy efficiency.

Many of us have been using rehobus for many years to adjust the revolutions of our fans and liquid cooling pumps. Well, we can now retire them, since the new Asus application allows us to create our own curve and assign it when we see fit.

The application analyzes all the fans and allows us an automatic mode or a manual mode. It is very similar to the FAN Curve of the graphics Afterburner.

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7 4770k
Base plate:	Asus Z97 Deluxe
Memory:	G.Skills Trident X 2400mhz.
Heatsink	Noctua NH-U14S
HDD	Samsumg 840 250GB
Graphic card	GTX780
Power supply	Antec HCP 850

To check the stability of the processor and the motherboard, we have made an extreme OC of up to 4500 mhz with Prime 95 Custom by liquid cooling. The graphics we have used is a Gigabyte GTX780 Rev 2.0. We go to the results:

TESTS
3dMark Vantage:	P48029
3dMark11	P14741 PTS
Crysis 3	42 FPS
CineBench 11.5	11.3 fps.
Resident Evil 6 Lost planet tomb Raider Meter	1350 PTS. 135 FPS. 68 FPS 65 FPS

conclusion

The Asus Z97 Deluxe NFC & WLC is about the enthusiastic class motherboard, which stands as the market-to-beat motherboard. With 16 + 2 power phases, long-lasting Japanese capacitors and a new change of look in its design, it makes it the desire of the most Siberian users of computing.

What graphics card configurations does it allow us? For starters we have a total of 7 PCI Express expansion slots. Three of them work at x16 and allow us three configurations:

1 graphics card to x16.2 graphics cards: x8 - x8.3 graphics cards: x8 - x8 - x4.

The rest of the slots are x1, ideal to incorporate any sound card, complementary network card or television capture. We are going to notice a better sound experience, since it includes the magnificent Crystal Sound 2 sound card , compatible with headphones with great amperage and surround sound.

It has no limits on storage capacity, since it allows us to connect up to 10 SATA hard drives, or alternatively, opt for 6 SATA hard drives plus two of the new SATA Express technology that improves the user experience. Also, we have an infinity of USB 3.0 connections, double network card, M.2 connector and 802.11 AC wifi capacity.

Regarding its performance, it has left us very good feelings, since we have been able to overclock 4500 mhz at 1.18va our i7-4770k with really good results in synthetic tests CineBench 11.5 with 11.5 pts and in games like Metro 2033 with 65 FPS on average with a GTX 780. In other words, excellent results, although slightly better than the Z87 series.

I was very happy to see a new BIOS: new change of 'look', functionality and simplicity in Spanish and its excellent 5 Way-Optimization application that allows us to make hot changes and save profiles. From 10!. Also noteworthy is its excellent bundle, including very good gagdets: NFC to start the operating system from the mobile, data transfer. Wireless charging of compatible smartphones, tablets or devices and the dual thunderbolt add-in card.

In short, if you are looking to configure a new PC and you want a top motherboard with the best components on the market, with a nice aesthetic and we have an unlimited budget. The Asus Z97 Deluxe must be among the chosen ones. Its price in the market will touch € 400, which will not be within the reach of all budgets. If you want the normal version without extras, only the motherboard with its classic accessories can be found at around € 230.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ RENEWED AESTHETICS.	- AT THIS LEVEL OF PLATE, IT COULD INCLUDE COMPATIBILITY WITH 4 GPUS. (SEE CHIP PLX).
+ EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE AND ABILITY OF OVERCLOCK.	- EXCESSIVE PRICE.
+ MAXIMUM CONNECTIVITY.
+ INCLUDES WIRELESS CHARGE, NFC, WIFI 802.11 AC, ETC...
+ NEW BIOS AND SOFTWARE WITH CAPACITY OF ADJUSTMENTS IN HOT (Q-FAN TUNNING).
+ INCORPORATES TWO SATA EXPRESS CONNECTIONS.