Review of motherboards based on the Intel Z97 Express platform: Boards for gamers. Review and test of the motherboard ASUS Z97-A Package and contents

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, as well as pay attention to new functions. Motherboards are still sorted into the three families "Desktop", "The Ultimate Force" and "Republic of Gamers". The most interesting to us are the last two lines, in which new high-end models were presented. But we'll start with the "Desktop" family.

ASUS Z97-A

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

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

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

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

ASUS Z97-PRO motherboard will be presented in two versions. In addition to the regular version, the Z97-PRO (Wi-Fi ac) will be released with support for a wireless network. Otherwise, the two boards are identical. You get three PCIe x16 mechanical slots and four PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. Of course, the Z97-PRO has a new M.2 slot. The board also has the 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 take a look at the Z97-WS. The board supports 4-way SLI and 4-way CrossFireX configurations. It also gives you two PCIe 2.0 x1 and one PCIe 2.0 x4 slots. 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 combs.

ASUS Z97-DELUXE

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

The Z97-DELUXE motherboard will become the leader in the Desktop family. The main differences from other models lie in the number of interfaces, which has doubled. 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. Not without a new M.2 slot. The ASUS Z97-DELUXE motherboard has already arrived in our test lab, we will soon provide a detailed review.

ASUS Z97I-PLUS

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

For mini-ITX home systems, whether it's a compact gaming configuration or an HTPC, the Z97I-PLUS motherboard will do. This Mini-ITX "baby" 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 support for a wireless interface. However, the LAN socket is also present, it can be considered as an alternative.

ASUS GRYPHON Z97

Micro-ATX variant from the TUF family.

Before us is the "younger" 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.

Except for the TUF Armor and the TUF Fortifier back, the motherboard is 100 percent identical to the regular GRYPHON Z97.

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 Mark 1

Official successor to ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87.

One of the biggest changes in the TUF line is the division of the SABERTOOTH board into two versions. Let's start with the first version of ASUS, the official successor to the SABERTOOTH Z87. There were no significant changes. The number of PCIe slots, type and layout have not changed. The differences lie in the drive ports; now the board has two SATA Express interfaces next to four SATA 6G interfaces. 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 cover, and 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 protections.

Before us is, in fact, the same printed circuit board, but without the TUF Fortifier cover and back. Also, support for SATA Express has been removed as well.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene

Before us is the 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. The Maximus VII Gene also has six USB 3.0 ports, two of which are accessible via an internal comb. Also compared to the previous version of Maximus, Gene VII has an M.2 slot.

ASUS Maximus VII Ranger

New to the ROG family is the Maximus VII Ranger.

Last year, ASUS added the VI Hero motherboard to the Maximus family, which sold at a significantly lower price. In 2014, it will be joined by another model called "Maximus VII Ranger". The Maximus VII Ranger will be priced lower than the Maximus VII Hero, and the ROG motherboard has undergone further simplifications in order to lower the price. The differences between Maximus VII Ranger and Maximus VII Hero can only be found with close examination. The PCB is almost identical. Only the number of SATA 6G ports is different. Maximus VII Hero gives you eight ports, while Maximus VII Ranger only six. Also, the latest model sacrifices some built-in functions, 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 chassis ports. And on the I / O panel, you get four additional USB 3.0 ports.

ASUS Maximus VII Hero

As we explained above, this year will release a new version motherboard Hero. But compared to the changes are few.

With the exception of two additional SATA ports, there are no other comfort and design enhancements that differ from the Maximus VII Ranger. We get the same I / O panel on both motherboards.

So far, there is no exact information about the flagship Maximus VII Extreme. We will most likely get all the parts at the current Computex show.

The motherboard is a mid-range solution that is primarily intended for building home systems or gaming PCs with a single graphics card. The traditionally high quality of performance, advanced options for organizing a disk subsystem (including an M.2 interface with a bandwidth of 10 Gb / s and six SATA 6 Gb / s ports), a successful configuration of the interface panel (will suit most users, except for owners of multichannel acoustics), as well as a number of other features, which we will talk about a little below. And first, we suggest taking a look at the full technical characteristics of the new item.

ASUS Z97-K motherboard specification:

Manufacturer
CPU socket
Supported processors	Intel Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron of the fourth and fifth generations: Intel Haswell, Intel Haswell Refresh, Intel Devil`s Canyon, Intel Broadwell
Memory frequency	3200 * / 3100 * / 3000 * / 2933 * / 2800 * / 2666 * / 2500 * / 2400 * / 2250 * / 2200 * / 2133 * / 2000 * / 1866 * / 1600/1333 MHz
Memory support	4 x DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB memory
Expansion slots	1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16
	2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1
Disk subsystem	Intel Z97 Chipset Supports: 1 x M.2 (M.2 2260, M.2 2280) 6 x SATA 6Gb / s RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10
	1 x Realtek 8111GR (10/100/1000 Mb / s)
Sound subsystem	Realtek ALC887 Codec 8-channel audio
	1 x 24-pin ATX power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX12V power connector
Fans	1 x CPU fan connector (4-pin) 2 x system fan connectors (4-pin)
Cooling	Chipset aluminum heatsink Aluminum radiator on the elements of the power subsystem
External I / O ports	3 x audio ports 2 x PS / 2 (for connecting a mouse and keyboard)
Internal I / O ports	1 x USB 3.0 with support for two USB 3.0 (19-pin) connections 3 x USB 2.0, each supporting two USB 2.0 connections 6 x SATA 6Gb / s 1 x TPM connector 1 x front panel audio connector 1 x CMOS Clear Jumper 1 x Front Panel Connector Block
	64 MB Flash ROM UEFI AMI BIOS PnP, ACPI 5.0, SM BIOS 2.8, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0
Equipment	user guide warranty brochure cD with drivers and utilities 2 x SATA cables 1 x interface panel cover
Form factor,
Products webpage

Packaging and equipment

The novelty comes in a traditional box, the material for which is thick cardboard, decorated with printing in the corporate style, where most of it is reserved for the image of a round radiator.

As for the key information, in addition to the names of the manufacturer and the model of the device, on the front side there is a compliance with the proprietary concept of 5X PROTECTION, which includes:

• Digital PWM controllers for controlling the power supply subsystems of the central processor and RAM, which are used in accordance with the proprietary DIGI + VRM concept.
• Special fuses for increased protection against overcurrent and short-circuit current.
• Protection against electrostatic discharge.
• Japanese solid-state capacitors with a 2.5 times longer service life (up to 5000 hours at 105 ° C).
• Reinforced interface panel construction, which is made of high quality stainless steel with chromium oxide coating. It has increased resistance to oxidation processes, which makes it three times more durable.

Separately, it was noted that ASUS motherboards were tested for compatibility with more than 1000 different components, such as processors, RAM modules, video cards and others. And the number 7000+ indicates the total number of hours of testing branded models before they go on sale.

On the back of the packaging you can see the image of the tested novelty, its brief technical characteristics, as well as the key features and advantages:

• Crystal sound 2 - preinstalled on the motherboard, the Realtek ALC887 audio codec, which uses a special amplifier, offers support for eight-channel audio. Japanese audio capacitors from Nichicon are used to ensure maximum sound quality. In addition, the left and right audio channels are made on different layers of textolite, which minimizes crosstalk. Last but not least in terms of importance is support for DTS Connect and DTS Ultra PC II technologies, as well as the presence of an S / PDIF out port on the surface of the PCB.
• TurboLAN - With the help of the complete software, you can monitor the network activity of the PC in real time, as well as set the priority for each program to access network resources.
• M.2 - the novelty is equipped with support for the M.2 interface, which has a bandwidth of 10 Gb / s.
• Fan Xpert 3 - an intelligent fan control system that allows you to achieve effective cooling of your computer with an optimal noise level.

In the box with ASUS Z97-K we found a quite standard set of accessories:

• cD with drivers and utilities;
• user manual;
• two SATA cables;
• cover of the interface panel.

Board design and features

As a basis for the novelty, a dark brown ATX printed circuit board is used, which is traditional for mid-price ASUS solutions. Due to the slightly non-standard dimensions of the PCB (305 x 218 mm), the motherboard is devoid of mounting holes on the right side, which, together with the perpendicularly located SATA 6 Gb / s ports, will require some caution from the user during system assembly. This is especially true for the main power connector, connecting which can damage the printed circuit board with excessive force.

As for the design, it is traditional for the solutions of the mid-2014 sample: the radiators are painted in bronze, and the key design element is a round-shaped cooler on the chipset.

On the reverse side of the printed circuit board, you can pay attention to the familiar base plate of the processor socket, as well as to the plastic clips that secure both radiators of the cooling system.

At the bottom of the ASUS Z97-K there are the following connectors: a front panel audio connector, S / PDIF out, COM and TPM ports, a CMOS jumper, and a front panel connector. Additionally, we note three pads for activating USB 2.0 ports. In total, the chipset supports eight USB 2.0 ports: six internal and two on the interface panel.

The possibilities of organizing the disk subsystem are presented by the M.2 connector (the formats of SSD-drives M.2 2260 and M.2 2280 are supported), as well as six SATA 6 Gb / s ports. There is support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10. All interfaces are implemented using a set of system logic.

Due to the lack of free chipset lines, the M.2 (NGFF) interface shares the bandwidth with two SATA 6 Gb / s ports (SATA6G_5 and SATA6G_6 in the diagram), so their simultaneous use is impossible.

The ASUS Z97-K motherboard is equipped with four DIMM slots for installing DDR3 memory modules. The RAM can work in two-channel mode. To implement it, the bars must be installed either in the first and third, or in the second and fourth slots. Modules operating at frequencies from 1333 to 1600 MHz in nominal mode and up to 3200 MHz in overclocking are supported. The maximum memory capacity can be up to 32 GB, which will be enough for almost any task.

Additionally, we note a connector for a remote panel with USB 3.0 ports. Thus, the tested model has only six USB 3.0 interfaces: four external and two internal. All of them are implemented by the chipset.

The cooling system of the motherboard in question consists of two main aluminum radiators: one removes heat from the Intel Z97 chipset, while the other covers the elements of the processor power subsystem.

During testing, the following temperature indicators were recorded:

• chipset cooling heatsink - 38.1 ° C;
• heatsinks for cooling elements of the processor power subsystem - 46 ° C.

The results obtained can be characterized as good, since there is still a fairly large margin to the critical values.

The processor is powered according to a 4-phase scheme for computing cores and additional nodes. The converter itself is based on the ASP1252 digital PWM controller with a built-in DIGI + VRM power management subsystem. All components of the processor power supply are highly reliable: solid-state capacitors and chokes with a ferrite core are used. The main 24-pin and additional 8-pin connectors are provided for supply voltage.

There are six slots to expand the functionality of the ASUS Z97-K motherboard:

1. PCI Express 2.0 x1;
2. PCI Express 3.0 x16 (in x16 mode);
3. PCI Express 2.0 x1;
4. PCI Express 2.0 x16 (maximum in x4 mode);

As you can see, of the two PCI Express x16 slots, only the first is connected to the processor, which is recommended for installing a video card, since it always uses all the available sixteen PCI Express 3.0 lanes. As for the second connector, it is connected to the chipset and its bandwidth is limited to only four PCI Express 2.0 lanes. Thanks to the support of AMD CrossFireX technology, of course, you can install a pair of graphics accelerators, but the x16 + x4 lines distribution scheme will not allow you to realize the potential of such a bundle.

Also note that PCI Express 2.0 x1 expansion slots share the bandwidth with PCI Express 2.0 x16, so by default it operates in x2 mode, not x4.

If you decide to use the capabilities of the graphics core integrated into the CPU, then you have three video outputs at your disposal: HDMI, D-Sub and DVI-D, switching between which is carried out by the ASMedia ASM1442K chip.

Since the Intel Z97 system logic set does not support the PCI bus, the functioning of the two corresponding slots is implemented using the PCIE-PCI bridge based on the ASMedia ASM1083 controller.

Multi I / O capabilities are assigned to the NUVOTON NCT5538D chip, which controls the operation of system fans, COM and PS / 2 ports, and also provides monitoring.

A gigabit LAN controller Realtek 8111GR is used to support network connections. Allocation of network resources and prioritization of traffic will help to carry out the proprietary utility TurboLAN.

The sound subsystem of the motherboard in question is based on the 8-channel HDA codec Realtek ALC887, which supports 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1 audio systems and has a number of proprietary features (Crystal Sound 2 concept). It assumes the presence of a special TI R4580I audio amplifier and Japanese audio capacitors from Nichicon to improve the quality of the reproduced sound. The very same area of \u200b\u200bthe PCB with the sound path is shielded with a protective strip, and the right and left audio channels are located on separate layers of the printed circuit board.

The interface panel of the ASUS Z97-K model includes the following ports:

• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x DVI-D;
• 1 x D-Sub;
• 2 x PS / 2 (for connecting a mouse and keyboard);
• 1 x LAN (RJ45);
• 4 x USB 3.0;
• 2 x USB 2.0;
• 3 x audio ports.

This layout of the interface panel can be called quite successful, if you do not take into account the inconvenient connection of multi-channel acoustics. Otherwise, everything is very good, since there are three video outputs, a sufficient number of USB ports, the ability to use peripherals with a PS / 2 interface and support for a COM port, which can be brought to the rear panel of the PC using an expansion card and an internal connector.

The possibilities of organizing cooling inside the system case of ASUS Z97-K are quite standard. There are three 4-pin fan headers, one for the CPU cooling system, while the other two are for system turntables.

UEFI BIOS

The tested novelty uses a modern preloader based on the UEFI graphical interface, in which you can configure settings with the mouse. It offers two main use cases.

"EZ Mode", in which all the necessary parameters are grouped on one screen, and the acceleration is carried out using the "EZ Tuning Wizard".

Or the familiar "Advanced Mode", where all settings must be made manually.

All items related to overclocking the system are in the "AI Tweaker" tab.

The memory frequency multiplier allows you to set the speed of the connected modules in the range from 800 to 3400 MHz.

You can also access the memory latency adjustments as needed.

To increase stability during overclocking, the settings for controlling the digital power subsystem DIGI + VRM can be used.

The settings required for overclocking and optimizing the system are summarized in the table:

Parameter	Menu name	Range
System bus frequency
		100, 125, 166, 250
RAM frequency	Memory Frequency	3400, 3200, 3000, 2933, 2800, 2666, 2600, 2400, 2200. 2133, 2000, 1866, 1800, 1600, 1400, 1333, 1066, 800
RAM timings		CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, RAS PRE Time, RAS ACT Time, DRAM COMMAND Mode, RAS to RAS Delay, REF Cycle Time, Write Recovery Time, READ to PRE Time, FOUR ACT WIN Time, WRITE to READ Delay, Write Latency
	Min. CPU Cache Ratio Limit
	Max CPU Cache Ratio Limit
The frequency of the PWM controller of the processor power converter	Fixed CPU VRM Switching Frequency (KHz)
	Long Duration Package Power Limit
	Package Power Time Window
	Short Duration Package Power Limit
	CPU Integrated VR Current Limit	0,125 - 1023,875
	Power Current Slope	Auto, Level -4 - Level 4
	Power Current Offset	Auto, -100% - 100%
	Power Fast Ramp Response
	Power Saving Level 1 Threshold
	Power Saving Level 2 Threshold
	Power Saving Level 3 Threshold
	CPU Core Voltage Override
	CPU Cache Voltage Override
	CPU System Agent Voltage Offset
	CPU Analog I / O Voltage Offset
	CPU Digital I / O Voltage Offset
CPU input voltage	CPU Input Voltage
RAM modules voltage
Chipset voltage	PCH Core Voltage
	DRAM CTRL REF Voltage	0,39500 - 0,63000
	DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHA	0,39500 - 0,63000
	DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHB	0,39500 - 0,63000	The "Monitor" section provides access to monitoring the temperature of the processor and chipset. But you can monitor the voltages on the + 12V, + 5V and + 3.3V power lines, like some other parameters, from any section, since this information is constantly displayed on the right side panel. Separately, it is worth noting the ability to take screenshots in the BIOS and support for the Russian language. Overclocking capabilities As a result of manual overclocking of the Intel Core i7-4770K processor, by increasing the multiplier to x46 and the voltage to 1.210 V, its stable operating frequency was 4600 MHz, which is a good result for a high-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) allowed us to increase the processor frequency to 4300 MHz at a voltage of 1.224 V. The memory started working at DDR3-2400 MHz. 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 4250 MHz at a voltage of 1,200 V. At the same time, the system automatically increased the memory speed to the value of DDR3-2000 MHz. Also, these features can be activated through the BIOS. As for the capabilities of the “EZ Tuning Wizard”, which we mentioned earlier, at the beginning of its configuration, you must select the scenario for using your computer: “Daily Computing” or “Gaming / Video Editing”. Next, you should indicate the type of cooling system installed: a complete boxed cooler, an improved tower type cooling system, a liquid cooling system, or an option with a question mark for those who are not sure about the type of cooling system used. Depending on the combination of the above items, the optimal (according to the system) automatic overclocking profile will be selected. For example, after selecting the items "Daily Computing" and "Box cooler", the system set the overclocking level at 23% for the processor and 40% for the memory, which resulted in a processor frequency of 4300 MHz at a voltage of 1.224 V, while the RAM worked at a frequency DDR3-2400 MHz. The selection of the most extreme items ("Gaming / Video Editing" and "Water cooler") offers overclocking by 31% and 43% for the processor and memory, respectively. That is, the CPU frequency reached 4589 MHz at 1.273 V, and the memory speed was set at DDR3-2446 MHz. The test RAM modules with a maximum nominal operating frequency of 2400 MHz were successfully overclocked to DDR3-2666 MHz. Manually increasing the system bus frequency allowed us to reach the level of 185.99 MHz, which is an excellent indicator. Testing The following equipment was used to test the capabilities of the ASUS Z97-K motherboard: CPU Intel Core i7-4770K (LGA1150, 3.5 GHz, 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 2GB GDDR5 Video capture device AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB SATA-300 NCQ Optical drive ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA Power Supply Seasonic X-560 Gold (SS-560KM Active PFC) CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2 x 120mm blower / blower fans) Test results ASUS Z97-K demonstrates excellent performance indicators that are on a par with competitors. This allows us to speak about the high quality of its performance, selection of a good element base and successful optimization of BIOS settings. Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC887 codec RightMark Audio Analyzer Test Report 16-bit, 44.1 kHz Noise level, dB (A) Dynamic range, dB (A) Harmonic distortion,% Very well Very well Very well Intermodulation at 10 kHz,% Very well Overall score Very well Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz Frequency response (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB Noise level, dB (A) Very well Dynamic range, dB (A) Very well Harmonic distortion,% Very well Harmonic distortion + noise, dB (A) Intermodulation distortion + noise,% Very well Interpenetration of channels, dB Intermodulation at 10 kHz,% Very well Overall score Very well A bundled sound card based on the 8-channel Realtek ALC887 codec with a number of interesting features that we talked about earlier demonstrates very good sound quality, which will be more than enough for most users for everyday use. Otherwise, you can purchase a discrete PCI or PCI Express sound card. conclusions Based on the results of our acquaintance with, it can be noted that the initial conclusions were fully confirmed. The novelty combines an acceptable cost and up-to-date equipment, which favorably differs by the expanded possibilities for organizing the disk subsystem, an improved sound subsystem with the Crystal Sound 2 design, as well as the traditionally high quality of performance and a reliable element base. Separately, we will highlight the quite successful layout of the interface panel, which may not suit only the owners of multi-channel acoustics, since to connect it you will have to use the front audio outputs. As for the features of the new product, in addition to the aforementioned nuance with acoustics, it is worth noting the lack of free chipset lines. Therefore, PCI Express 2.0 x1 expansion slots share bandwidth with PCI Express 2.0 x16, which by default operates in x2 mode instead of x4. Also, keep in mind that simultaneous use of the M.2 interface and two of the six SATA 6Gb / s ports is not possible. As a result, the ASUS Z97-K motherboard, although not devoid of a number of features, is still quite capable of attracting users who are looking for a reliable solution for assembling a home entertainment system with one video card. Advantages: reliable 4-phase DIGI + VRM digital power subsystem; improved element base for more reliable and stable operation of the motherboard; support of the corporate concept 5X PROTECTION; support for a large number of USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb / s ports; availability of an M.2 (NGFF) interface with a bandwidth of 10 Gbit / s; support for DDR3-3200 MHz RAM modules; good opportunities for automatic and manual overclocking; support for AMD CrossFireX technology; improved audio subsystem with the proprietary Crystal Sound 2 design; convenient and functional BIOS; support for a number of useful proprietary technologies. for the equipment provided for the test stand. See all prices of Asus + Z97-K Article read 39681 times Subscribe to our channels

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

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

So, we decided to test six motherboards based on the new chipset and tell the readers about their advantages and disadvantages. For testing, we used the fastest processor available at the time of testing - 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 kinds of inscriptions telling about the undeniable advantages of this motherboard.

The use of the Intel Z97 Express chipset provides the user with the ability 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 (with the maximum available memory frequency in BIOS being 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. For heat removal from the transistors of the converter, two aluminum radiators are responsible, which are pressed with screws. 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 HDA 5.1-channel audio codec Realtek ALC1150 is responsible for the audio section, 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 tone 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 supporting AHCI, Intel Smart Response modes, as well as RAID 0, 1, 5, 10. In addition, the board has SATA Express and M.2 PCIe connectors supporting 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 available 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 front of the box is decorated with 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 a listing of its specifications.

The delivery set pleased us - in addition to the user's manual and a disc with drivers and proprietary software, six SATA cables with decorative braids, a plug for the back of the case, CrossFire and SLI bridges, as well as hard adapters for combining three and four video cards based on NVIDIA chips are included. In addition, in the box we found an expansion card with a wireless module, an external antenna and an additional cable for connecting Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 to an internal USB. There is also a bracket in the 3.5-inch compartment 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 austere and quite interesting. Among other things, the advantages of the product include the abundance of all kinds of connectors.

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

The sound subsystem of the motherboard is based on the Creative Sound Core3D quad-core sound processor, protected by a metal shield. To reduce interference, the audio path is partially separated from the general PCB array. To make this solution look even more impressive, the platform is illuminated along the perimeter with red LEDs installed on the back of the board.

ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 (cost not determined)

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

The model provided for testing is not top-end. Nevertheless, both the packaging and the bundle do not cause any complaints.

The board comes in a black box with a strict but pretty design. There is nothing superfluous on the front side - the name of the model is at the bottom, logos of the supported technologies are slightly higher and, of course, the picture in the center reminds of the most interesting functions.

The package bundle is common - several booklets, instructions, DVD with drivers and software, a dummy bracket for the rear panel of the case, cables, a hard bridge for SLI and an HDD saver cable. Alas, there is no front USB panel 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 supplied 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 turning on and restarting, 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 available with the mouse.

MSI Z97 Gaming 5 (average price RUB 5700)

This motherboard comes in a relatively modest package - no transparent windows, no nested boxes, no carrying handles. But the package bundle did not disappoint - it includes a bunch of paper manuals, a cardboard door handle asking you not to disturb, a set of M-Connectors, a set of stickers for labeling cables, a plug for the interface panel of ports, 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 lines each) PCI Express x16 slots, spaced far enough from each other to easily install video cards with three-slot cooling systems. There are six SATA-III connectors, in addition, the chipset supports the operation of the M.2 (NGFF) port, for the needs of which two PCI-E lanes are allocated. In general, the basic functionality is pretty good. The power supply of the central processor is implemented according to an 8-channel scheme, while all the MOSFET elements are cooled using massive radiators. As it should be, the board has an additional 8-pin power connector, through which twice the current can pass as compared to the standard ATX12V connector, which is important when overclocking the system.

The cooling system consists of three elements - two heatsinks based on power transistors of the CPU power regulator, interconnected by a heat pipe, and a heatsink on the Intel Z97 Express system logic set. The radiators are securely fastened with 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 has survived only on the chipset heatsink covered with a solid plate.

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

The UEFI system, which has come to replace the familiar 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 RUB 8500)

This motherboard is shipped 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 you can find an image of the board and a short list of its technical characteristics. The package bundle is not bad: in addition to the board itself, a detailed manual is supplied, a disk with drivers and applications, six SATA interface cables, a dummy plug for the back 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 plate on do not disturb door.

The micro ATX board is made on a black PCB. The power subsystem of the Extreme Engine Digi + III 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 powered by the Intel Z97 Express chipset, while the two additional ones are controlled by the ASMedia ASM 1061 controller. All SATA connectors are parallel to the board, so even full-size expansion cards will not complicate the connection of drives. In addition, the board is equipped with an M.2 connector, which allows connecting drives via the PCI Express bus.

Of the interesting features, you can highlight 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 contains several built-in sensors that monitor the temperature in the most critical places. Using their readings, the UEFI BIOS automatically adjusts the rotational speed of the processor and system fans to achieve the most efficient cooling at low noise levels.

Asus Z97 Deluxe (average price RUB 10,300)

The Asus Z97 Deluxe motherboard comes in a regular size black box. No frills such as a hinged lid or carrying handle are provided. In addition to the card itself, packed in an antistatic bag, the kit includes a rear panel interface blank (black), six SATA III cables, an SLI bridge, a user manual, a CD with drivers and software, adapters to simplify connection of chassis cables, and an external antenna ...

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

The proprietary Digi + Power Control solution is responsible for the operation of the power system, supporting 16 phases. Cooling of power circuits is carried out by rather large radiators connected by a heat pipe. The round heatsink of the chipset is also large enough; no problems with cooling it arose 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 are available separately).

The model uses a BIOS version with UEFI support, developed by AMI. Mouse and Russian are supported, which is pretty nice. There are also two options for accessing the settings - the simplified EZ Mode and the full list of all available Advanced Mode options.

Our testing has shown that, despite not very high performance gains compared to the previous platform, motherboards based on the Intel Z97 Express chipset will confidently occupy their niche in the field of productive 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 it was quite logical that 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 options. The second one does not support overclocking processors with an unlocked multiplier and the distribution of sixteen PCI Express 3.0 lanes in 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 Intel H97 Express for the time being, but let's talk about the flagship - fortunately, we have a motherboard for testing. ASUSZ97- A - first swallow based on Intel Z97 Express.

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

In fact, there are literally a few key differences from Intel Z87 Express, namely the implemented support for the SATA Express interface, PCI Express and M.2 PCIe drives (NGFF SSD). 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 an M.2 PCIe interface (NGFF SSD) can act as the main boot device, which will significantly increase the system startup speed.

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

The main change in the new platform concerns the power subsystem requirements for working 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, we present a comparative table of supported processors by the past 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 suggest you go directly to the acquaintance with ASUS Z97-A.

Since the Intel Z97 Express system logic set does not support the PCI bus, the functioning of the two corresponding slots is implemented using the 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 this motherboard is based on the 8-channel HDA codec Realtek ALC892, which supports 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1 audio systems and has a number of proprietary features (the Crystal Sound 2 concept), which we mentioned at the beginning of the review.

The interface panel of the ASUS Z97-A model 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.

Such a 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, as well as an optical audio output. It is also possible to bring the COM port to the rear panel of the PC using the internal connector.

UEFI BIOS

ASUS Z97-A motherboard uses a state-of-the-art UEFI GUI preloader that can be configured with a 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 rotational speed of the installed fans. Additionally, in this section, you can monitor the voltage on the processor core and on the + 12V, + 5V and + 3.3V power lines.

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 ability to take screenshots in the BIOS and support for the Russian language.

Overclocking capabilities

As a result 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 high-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) allowed the processor frequency to be increased 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 CPU overclocking function 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. This function can also be used through the BIOS or using the TPU switch in "2" mode.

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

Testing

The following hardware was used to test the capabilities of the ASUS Z97-A motherboard:

CPU	Intel Core i7-4770K (LGA1150, 3.5 GHz, 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 2GB GDDR5
Video capture device		AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB SATA-300 NCQ
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Seasonic X-560 Gold (SS-560KM Active PFC)
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120 mm blowing / blowing fans)

Test results

ASUS Z97-A demonstrates excellent performance indicators that are on a par with competing counterparts. This allows us to speak about the high quality of its performance, selection of a good element base and successful optimization of BIOS settings.

Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC892 codec

RightMark Audio Analyzer Test Report

16-bit, 44.1 kHz

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

Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz

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

The Crystal Sound 2 design with the pre-installed Realtek ALC892 codec delivers excellent sound reproduction that is more than enough for your everyday use.

conclusions

The motherboard is a high-quality solution made in the 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 should be noted the rich possibilities for organizing the disk subsystem, namely: the implementation of support for SATA 6 Gb / s, SATA Express and M.2 (NGFF) interfaces at the Intel Z97 Express chipset level. Additionally, we note the pleasant design, 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, as well as a high-quality sound subsystem.

Separately, we highlight the "5-Way Optimization" function in the AI \u200b\u200bSuite III software, with which you have the ability to customize the system operation solely for your needs, in terms of 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 simultaneous use of the M.2 (NGFF) connector and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 expansion slots. Otherwise, the novelty is completely devoid of any drawbacks.

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

Advantages:

• reliable 8-phase DIGI + VRM digital power subsystem;
• 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 SATA Express and M.2 (NGFF) connectors;
• good package; SeaSonic and TwinMOS Technologies for the equipment provided for the test stand.

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Foreword

Choosing just one of the most suitable motherboards from the myriad available models is never easy. All sites of motherboard manufacturers offer their comparison systems, but they are all not perfect enough, they do not show the full picture, being limited to basic specifications and characteristics, like a set of logic that underlies the boards, they support various processors, indicating the number of ports and connectors. Last year, ASUSTeK decided to remedy this situation by preparing very detailed table models based on Intel Z87 logic. The comparison was carried out for almost fifty indicators, among which not only the number of different ports or connectors, but also the presence of special capabilities or technologies. The "Customize Table" button made it possible to hide irrelevant parameters or immediately exclude boards that you were not interested in. The table could be sorted by any of the fields, clicking on the name of the model opened its image, and the button on the right allowed you to download all the data in csv format. When selecting motherboards from ASUSTeK for testing, I had to use this table many times. It turned out to be really convenient and detailed enough to highlight and show even those differences between the models that are not immediately visible.

ASUSTeK prepared a similar table for new LGA1150 boards, which is located on the promo page models based on Intel 9 series chipsets. In the same way, you can independently exclude deliberately inappropriate boards or insignificant parameters, and a small survey will help to further facilitate the choice. You will be asked to answer four simple questions about the purpose of the computer, whether and how overclocking is planned, whether wireless technologies are necessary and the preferred form factor of the board.

Taking into account the answers received, the huge table will automatically be reduced to several models, from which it will be even easier to choose the most suitable one. For example, I was asked to look at MAXIMUS VII HERO or MAXIMUS VII RANGER and I completely agree with this choice. We really need to explore the capabilities of the new "Republic of Gamers" series motherboards and we will definitely do this in one of the next reviews, but for now we will test the Asus Z97-Deluxe model.

Packaging and equipment

The Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard is one of the flagship models, and therefore the design of its packaging is somewhat different from the boxes of ordinary motherboards. Outwardly, everything looks exactly the same - on the front side the model name and logos, and on the back there is an image of the board, a list of technical characteristics and short story about some of the distinctive features. However, the front wall is made in the form of a hinged cover, it is fastened with Velcro, and through a large transparent window you can see what the board looks like.

Inside the box, the board packed in an antistatic bag is located in a separate compartment, and below in a two-compartment compartment there are components:

six Serial ATA cables with metal latches, half with two straight, half with one straight and the second L-shaped connector, cables are specially designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb / s devices (they are distinguished by white inserts on the connectors);
flexible bridge for combining two video cards in SLI mode;
Wi-Fi antenna;
rear panel cover (I / O Shield);
set of adapters "Asus Q-Connector", which includes modules for simplifying the connection of buttons and indicators of the front panel of the system unit, as well as a USB 2.0 connector;
user guide;
brochure detailing the specific features of Z97 series motherboards;
DVD with software and drivers;
"Powered by ASUS" sticker on the system unit.

Design and capabilities

Motherboards are high-tech devices, the design of which is developed taking into account the functionality and ease of use, while the attractive appearance is secondary. Nevertheless, the Asus Z97-Deluxe looks nice, and the round chipset heatsink and gold-colored inserts on the heatsinks of the processor power converter give it an additional charm. Powerful digital converter "ASUS DIGI + VRM" includes 16 phases and is made on a high-quality element base. The central radiator does not cool anything by itself; it is connected with a heat pipe to one of the radiators on the heating elements of the processor power converter and provides additional area for heat dissipation.

Intel Z97 chipset provides the ability to bring out six SATA 6Gb / s ports, of which two are included in sATA connector Express, it shares the bandwidth with the M.2 slot, which has 60mm or 80mm SSD mounts. The optional ASMedia ASM1061 controller adds two more SATA 6Gb / s ports, and the ASMedia ASM106SE controller adds another SATA Express port. Thus, theoretically, 10 SATA drives can be connected to the board at once, but there are some nuances, which will be discussed below, the number of available ports may be reduced.

PCI Express lines are used not only to implement the corresponding connectors, but also to connect additional controllers. The lack of free PCI Express lanes is typical for all modern Intel chipsets; they promise to fix this problem only in upcoming chipsets. The lack of lanes is especially acute in motherboards based on 9th series chipsets, which are equipped with M.2 or SATA Express connectors, since two PCI Express lanes are required to use any of these connectors. The Asus Z97-Deluxe model has a lot of additional controllers; to reduce the severity of the problem, an ASMedia ASM1187e switch has been added to the board, which turns one PCI Express line into seven. Nevertheless, the restrictions still remained, it was not possible to completely eliminate the shortage. The PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, which is based on four PCI-E chipset lanes, shares the bandwidth with an additional SATA Express connector and a controller that brings a couple of additional USB 3.0 ports to the rear panel. When using two of the listed connectors and controllers, the remaining one will be automatically disabled.

The board partially uses the logic set capabilities for dividing PCI Express processor lines. Not three, but only two PCI Express 3.0 / 2.0 x16 slots are able to share the bandwidth of sixteen PCI Express processor lines. It supports combining video cards in NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI or AMD 3-Way CrossFireX modes, in the latter case, for the third video card, you can use the PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, which is based on PCI-E chipset lines, belongs to the second generation of the interface and provides a maximum speed of x4 ... In addition to those already listed, there are four PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots for expansion cards.

The rear panel of the board looks good as it makes full use of the available space. A complete list of the displayed connectors is as follows:

hDMI, DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort video outputs;
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module (AzureWave AW-CE123H);
four USB 2.0 ports, and four more can be brought out using two internal connectors on the board;
six USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors) appeared due to the capabilities of the Intel Z97 chipset and the additional ASMedia ASM1042E controller, and the ASMedia ASM1074 splitter using two internal connectors allows you to bring out four additional USB 3.0 ports;
two LAN connectors (network adapters are based on Intel WGI217V and Intel WGI211-AT gigabit controllers);
optical S / PDIF, as well as six analog audio connectors, the operation of which is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC1150 codec.

One of the distinctive features of the Asus Z97-Deluxe board is the presence of an integrated AzureWave AW-CE123H module, which is based on Broadcom circuitry and provides support for Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac wireless technologies in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, as well as Bluetooth V4.0. In addition, it should be noted the technology "Crystal Sound 2", aimed at improving the sound quality. The circuit uses a high-impedance headphone amplifier, special capacitors are used, the right and left channels are separated in different layers of the textolite, and the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe audio subsystem is isolated from the rest of the board to reduce interference. This is a fairly standard set of features that similar technologies have on motherboards from other manufacturers. A special feature of "Crystal Sound 2" is the "de-pop" function, which reduces the popping effect when connecting an audio system.

The schematic diagram of the board reveals a number of additional features. The board has six four-pin connectors for connecting fans, two of them are processor connectors at once, and all of them allow you to adjust the rotation speed of even three-pin fans. By the way, a connector has been added for connecting an additional temperature sensor, the fan rotation speed can be set depending on its readings. There are buttons for power on, reset, “Clear CMOS” for resetting BIOS settings, “USB BIOS Flashback”, which is intended for convenient firmware updates, and a “MemOK!” Button that allows the board to start successfully even if there are problems with RAM. We are familiar with the EPU (Energy Processing Unit) and TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) switches. The first one turns on the energy-saving mode, and the second one helps in overclocking the system, and in one position the processor will be overclocked only by increasing its multiplication factor, and in the second, a change in the base frequency will be added. The new "EZ XMP" switch allows you to immediately use the overclocking profile of the memory modules. A pair of DirectKey Connector pins can be brought out with a separate button or connected to the infrequently used Reset button on the computer case, which will make it possible to automatically enter the BIOS when the board starts up.

The complex of technologies “Q-Design”, which simplifies the assembly and operation of systems based on ASUSTeK motherboards, should be definitely noted. “Q-Code” is a POST code indicator that allows you to pinpoint the source of startup problems. The “Q-LED” LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) that light up during system initialization serve a similar purpose; with their help, diagnostics are less accurate, but performed much easier and faster. “Q-Slot” are convenient wide latches for video card slots, and “Q-DIMM” are single sided latches for memory modules. "Q-Connector" is a set of adapters that includes modules to simplify the connection of buttons and indicators on the front panel of the system unit, as well as a USB 2.0 connector. The complex of functions "5X Protection" includes a stable power supply, protection against overloads, against short circuits and against static electricity. Solid capacitors and a thin chromium oxide plated steel backplate that is resistant to oxidation and corrosion are designed for long service life. Five ways to optimize system performance "5-Way Optimization" combines well-known features and technologies: TPU, EPU, DIGI + Power Control, Fan Xpert 3 and Turbo App. They enable the system to run faster, more economically and more efficiently.

All the main technical characteristics of the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard have been compiled into a single table, and by clicking on it, you can open a summary comparison table with the specifications of the previously tested models:

Asus Z97-A;
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3;
MSI Z97 MPOWER.

BIOS Features

We studied the new look and new features of the UEFI BIOS of ASUSTeK motherboards in great detail in the review of the Asus Z97-A motherboard. The Asus Z97-Deluxe BIOS looks exactly the same and has the same capabilities, so this time we will only recall the main features, without going into details.

When entering the BIOS, we, as before, find ourselves on the page of the simplified mode "EZ Mode", but now it not only looks different, the list of its capabilities has significantly expanded. In the "EZ Mode" you can set the correct date and time, change the interface language, familiarize yourself with basic information about the system, load the default settings. You can configure the operation of memory, drives, fans and set the order of polling boot devices. With the help of "EZ System Tuning" you select the operating mode of the system, "Q-Fan Tuning" is designed to select the optimal fan speed, and the "EZ Tuning Wizard" will help you overclock the system and organize a RAID array.

The starting mode "EZ Mode" is designed to select the basic parameters of the system, and the full-featured mode "Advanced Mode" is used for detailed settings. Switching between modes is carried out using the "F7" key, and later the preferred mode can be made the starting one in the settings.

In the “Advanced Mode” mode, a new menu has appeared above the list of sections, which allows you to set the time and date, change the interface language, go to the main “hot” features: the list of the most common parameters “My Favorites” (F3), fan control “Q-Fan Control ”(F6), the“ EZ Tuning Wizard ”(F11). The "Quick Note" (F9) option allows you to write down and keep some important reminders, and the previous list of active "hot" keys is now hidden behind an intuitive icon in the form of a question mark, as before it can be invoked with the traditional F1 key. The "Main" section still provides basic information about the system, allows you to set the current date and time, you can change the BIOS interface language, including Russian, and in the "Security" subsection you can set user and administrator access passwords. However, even such a small section has already ceased to fit on one page, the “Security” subsection is not visible on the screen as before. To find it, you need to scroll the mouse wheel or flip with the keys, but the former prompting scroll bar with arrows at the top and bottom has turned into a narrow inconspicuous strip without arrows. If you do not know in advance, it is difficult to guess that not all options of the section are initially shown.

The column on the right now constantly displays monitoring information: frequencies, temperatures, voltages, and the contextual help information for the selected parameter has moved down. The bottom is no worse than the right, but in addition to this, a new menu with hot keys has been added at the top, and the “Last Modified” option remains at the bottom, which does not get a separate “hot” key and the “F7” link to return to the simplified “EZ” mode Mode ". As a result, our field of view has increased in width, but it was quite enough before, but it has noticeably decreased vertically - this is a significant drawback of the new BIOS design.

As before, the "Main" section is not the first in the list, in front of it is the "My Favorites" page, which is designed to collect in one place all the parameters you use most often. Initially, the page is empty, when you press the "F3" key, a list of BIOS sections is displayed, which you can expand and select the options you need to save. The previous restrictions on adding parameters were eliminated in previous BIOS versions, however, the “My Favorites” section is still left aside, it cannot be selected as the starting point, like any other section.

The bulk of the overclocking options is concentrated in the "Ai Tweaker" section. It has always been rather big, and initially you see a far from complete list of parameters, since all of them are set by the board automatically, but as soon as you proceed to manual configuration, many options previously hidden as unnecessary appear.

For example, if you just change the value of the parameter "Ai Overclock Tuner" to "X.M.P." to automatically change the parameters of the memory subsystem, or to "Manual", then additional options will appear immediately. Some of the parameters are traditionally placed in subsections so as not to overly clutter up the main one. In particular, the memory timings are changed on a separate page, their number is very large, but it is quite convenient to use the capabilities of this subsection. Using the scroll bar, it is easy to see all the timings set by the board for two memory channels. You can change only a few of them, for example, only the main ones, leaving the default values \u200b\u200bfor the rest.

A separate subsection contains the options that have appeared thanks to the digital power system "DIGI +". Directly in the BIOS, you can control proprietary energy-saving technologies that allow you to change the number of active phases of the processor power supply depending on the level of its load. The technology to counteract the voltage drop on the processor under load "CPU Load-Line Calibration" can not only be enabled or disabled, but also the degree of resistance can be measured.

ASUSTeK boards have an advantage in the form of numerous options in the “Internal CPU Power Management” subsection related to the voltage converter integrated into the processor. In addition to the usual parameters available on boards from other manufacturers, which allow increasing the permissible limits of processor consumption, a number of additional options will make it possible to speed up the response time and reduce power consumption at rest.

The voltages in the "Ai Tweaker" section can be set both above and below the nominal, the current values \u200b\u200bare indicated next to the parameters that change them, which is very convenient. When changing the voltage on the processor, you can choose between three different options. It can be rigidly fixed at a certain value, you can only add or remove the required value in the "Offset" mode, or you can use the adaptive (interpolation) option. We talked in more detail about the differences between the three methods of changing the voltage on the processor in the review of the Asus Z87-K board. This completes the capabilities of the "Ai Tweaker" section, meanwhile, we have not yet found a whole group of very important options that control processor energy-saving technologies. This is a characteristic drawback not only of ASUSTeK boards, but also of most boards from other manufacturers. The root of the problem lies in the AMI BIOS, which underlies the UEFI BIOS of modern motherboards and in its irrational basic layout.

The capabilities of the subsections of the "Advanced" section are generally well known to us and understandable from their names. They allow you to configure the operation of a set of logic and additional controllers, various interfaces, enable specific technologies such as "Intel Rapid Start" and "Intel Smart Connect".

In the CPU Configuration subsection, we learn basic processor information and manage some processor technologies, such as virtualization technology. However, we still do not see the parameters related to Intel processor energy saving technologies, since they are hidden even deeper, on a separate page "CPU Power Management Configuration". Actually, initially only four parameters are visible on the screen, since the "CPU C States" option is set to "Auto", and all subsequent parameters are hidden. We specifically changed the value of the "CPU C States" option to "Enabled" to demonstrate a large number of previously hidden parameters that can be changed. They have a very significant effect on the power consumption of the system at rest, so it is better to set their values \u200b\u200bmanually, and not leave it to the discretion of the board. In the example below, the only thing left to do is to select the "Package C-States Support" parameter.

The “Monitor” section reports the current values \u200b\u200bof temperatures, voltages and fan speed, and the possibilities for adjusting the fan speed have expanded significantly. The new "Q-Fan Tuning" parameter allows you to calibrate the fans, this ability was first introduced in the BIOS of Asus boards. For all fans, you can select the preset speed control modes from the standard set: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo", leave the full speed of rotation, or select the appropriate parameters in manual mode. When manually configured, the "Allow Fan Stop" parameter allows the fan to stop completely. A sad drawback of many modern motherboards was the lost ability to adjust the rotational speed of three-pin processor fans, but now this function has finally returned to ASUSTeK motherboards. Not only all system sockets, but also both processor sockets are capable of reducing the rotational speed with a three-pin connection, and not just individual connectors, as on motherboards from other manufacturers. Note that in addition to the traditional temperatures of the processor and the board, the temperature of the chipset, the power converter and the temperature from an additional sensor that can be connected are separately indicated, and the speed control of the system fans can be made dependent on any of these temperatures. The number of revolutions of all six fans is controlled, and not just a few, as is often the case.

Next is the "Boot" section, where we select the parameters that will be applied at system startup. Here, by the way, you need to change the starting mode "EZ Mode" to "Advanced Mode". At the same time, you can disable the "Fast Boot" parameter for the duration of the setup, so as not to encounter problems when entering the BIOS due to the fact that the board starts up too quickly and you simply do not have time to press a key in time.

The next section “Tool” contains a couple of extremely important and regularly used subsections, as well as one that is almost useless. In addition, there is a new parameter "Setup Animator" that allows you to disable the beautiful, but quickly annoying animated screen change and thereby speed up the work in the BIOS.

The built-in utility for updating the firmware "Asus EZ Flash 2" is one of the most convenient and functional programs of this kind. One of the advantages is support for reading from partitions formatted in NTFS. So far only motherboards from ASUSTeK and Intel have this feature. Unfortunately, the ability to save the current firmware version before updating was eliminated altogether.

The Asus Overclocking Profile subsection allows you to save and quickly load eight complete BIOS settings profiles. Each profile can be given a short name to remind you of its content. Profiles can be exchanged by storing them on external media. The downside is that the error has not yet been fixed, due to which the disabling of the start image display is not remembered in the profiles.

In addition, in the "Tools" section there is a subsection "Asus SPD Information", where you can get acquainted with the information hardwired into the SPD of memory modules, including the XMP profiles (Extreme Memory Profile). However, the place for this subsection was not chosen well, because the memory latencies change in a completely different subsection, very far from here, and it is inconvenient to use the information provided.

With the help of the last section "Exit" you can load the default values \u200b\u200bof the parameters, save the changes made or discard them, but its capabilities successfully duplicate the "hot" keys, so it is not at all necessary to enter it. Thanks to the "F7" key in the lower right corner, you can always return to the simplified "EZ Mode", there is also the "Last Modified" option, which did not get a separate "hot" key. It displays a list of the last changes made, it is saved even when you reboot or shutdown the system. You can always look and remember what changes were made to the BIOS settings the last time.

A pop-up window similar to "Last Modified" turned out to be extremely convenient, which automatically shows a list of changes every time you save the settings. By looking at the list, you can easily check the correctness of the specified values \u200b\u200bbefore applying the changes, make sure that there are no erroneous or forgotten options. In addition, using this window, it is easy to find out the differences between the current settings and the values \u200b\u200brecorded in the BIOS profiles. After loading the profile, you will instantly see all its main differences from the previously set parameters in the window that appears.

The familiar appearance of the UEFI BIOS of ASUSTeK motherboards has changed dramatically, a number of new functions and capabilities have been added. First of all, you notice a significant reworking of the simplified starting mode "EZ Mode", which has ceased to be useless. The number of parameters available for changing has increased, configuration wizards have been added, which, using several consecutive steps, help the user to get an overclocked system or organize the operation of a RAID array. It is still better to carry out detailed configuration in the fully functional Advanced Mode, but the starting one now quite successfully copes with the task of initial, preliminary system configuration. In addition, it should be noted the new advanced features of Asus boards for adjusting the fan speed. A real treat for fans of efficient yet quiet cooling. All settings can now be done directly in the BIOS, without the help of additional programs and utilities.

The new BIOS fonts and colors do not cause any objections, but the structural changes to the Advanced Mode pages turned out to be rather negative. On the right, monitoring information is now constantly displayed: frequencies, temperatures, voltages, and the contextual help information for the selected parameter has moved down. The bottom is no worse, but besides this, a new line with "hot" keys has been added at the top, and in the lower right corner there is an option "Last Modified" and a link "F7" to return to the simplified "EZ Mode". As a result, our field of view has increased in width, but it was quite enough before, but it has noticeably decreased vertically - this is a significant drawback of the new BIOS design. Even relatively small sections have already ceased to fit on one page, which is why hidden parameters may go unnoticed and not found by users. The situation is no better in large sections. Due to the reduced field of view, it is easy to accidentally scroll or scroll, and as a result, skip a required parameter or even an entire group.

The new UEFI BIOS looks different, but no deep changes have been made and this is also a minus. New parameters were added, but the general structure remained the same, the same set of sections with the same shortcomings. As before, the section "My Favorites" or any other cannot be set as the starting one, and why then waste time organizing it? Important parameters that govern processor power-saving technologies are still hidden deep in the BIOS, difficult to find and take a long time to reach. The Asus SPD Information subsection is still useless, because it is not at all where the frequencies and latencies of the RAM change. There are even previous errors, for example, profiles still do not remember turning off the start picture. In general, the BIOS of ASUSTeK motherboards is very good, but it is upset with minor partial flaws, which, unfortunately, have not been corrected for years.

Proprietary software

Several years ago, instead of the usual set of heterogeneous and diverse looking proprietary programs, ASUSTeK's motherboards were supplied with a set of utilities "AI Suite". There is only one downside to this approach - you always have to download a large package, even if only one program is required from the set. However, as more and more fast communication channels develop, it becomes less and less significant, but all other advantages remain in force. Thanks to a single installer and common program shell, it is convenient to install, update, run and uninstall. They are designed for different tasks, but they are designed in the same style, and were originally designed to be used together. Over time, the composition and appearance of the utilities included in the complex has changed, for a detailed consideration of the capabilities of all programs included in the package, a separate review is required, but we will briefly describe their functionality.

As before, the entire “AI Suite III” software package must be downloaded in its entirety, but during installation, only the necessary utilities can be checked. In addition, you can choose a location for installation, unlike many proprietary programs from other manufacturers, which are installed only on the system disk, which is much more convenient for them, and not for the user.

After loading operating system Utility "EZ Update" will automatically check for updates, and in the lower right corner of the screen it will appear, reminding of its existence, and a small panel will immediately hide. The panel reappears if you move the mouse cursor to the edge of the screen, it allows you to change the power-saving mode, fan speed profile, and go to system messages. In the settings, the panel display can be disabled.

The window “Dual Intelligent Processors 5” is the starting point in the “AI Suite III” software package. It not only performs information functions, reporting the current parameters of the computer. Directly from this window, you can go directly to configuring individual systems.

In the upper left corner, the blinking arrow strongly suggests to carry out preliminary optimization "5-Way Optimization" before using the complex of programs. Optimization includes several steps and is performed automatically, however, advanced settings are available to select the preferred modes of TPU (TurboV Processing Unit), EPU (Energy Processing Unit), "DIGI + Power Control" and "Fan Xpert 3" functions. At the top right, a performance and energy saving profile is selected, and at the very bottom is a panel with monitoring indicators. Clicking on any of the fields will allow you to visually track the change in the corresponding parameters in the form of graphs for voltages, temperatures or fan speeds and a graph for the frequency of processor cores. The icon in the form of gears at the right edge of the panel will open the settings window, where you can set the permissible ranges of voltage, temperature and fan speed changes.

The central part of the window "Dual Intelligent Processors 5" allows you to go to the configuration of individual subsystems and the first is the TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) function. With its help, you can overclock the system: change the base frequency, multiplication factors of the processor cores, select the voltage change mode.

Fan Xpert 3 software allows you to select one of the preset modes, or independently adjust the temperature dependence of the rotation speed of any of the fans. The window in the lower left corner strongly recommends pre-calibrating the fans.

The program window "DIGI + Power Control" allows you to control the operating modes of the digital converter of the processor or memory power supply, if the next tab "DRAM" is selected. On the left, a value is selected, and on the right, the functionality is explained and the effect of changing a parameter is clearly illustrated.

The new "Turbo App" program will help you prioritize the use of running applications.

The following program "EPU" allows you to configure the operating parameters of the modes of energy saving "Auto", "Performance", "Max Power Saving" and "Away Mode".

Other programs included in the AI \u200b\u200bSuite III are also easy to find. An icon in the form of several cells is highlighted in the upper right corner of any window, which displays a list of the remaining installed utilities. They will allow you to quickly charge your mobile device, check for updates, provide system information, speed up the operation of USB 3.0 devices, and help with firmware updates.

Complex "AI Suite III" is the main, but not the only source of proprietary programs and utilities. The group of programs "Asus HomeCloud" provides access to your computer from the outside, allows you to organize the broadcast of multimedia files using the "Media Streamer" function. The "Wake on WAN" technology makes it possible to remotely launch and control a PC using a smartphone or tablet. Wi-Fi GO! will offer to synchronize files on your computer and smartphone, will allow you to use your smartphone as a keyboard and mouse. Cloud GO! Technology provides a unified interface for working with Asus WebStorage, Dropbox, Google Drive and Skydrive services with the ability to create data backups. A small utility "Asus Boot Setting" will help you automatically enter the BIOS the next time you start your computer. Powered by cFosSpeed \u200b\u200btraffic management optimization technology, Turbo LAN allows you to prioritize network bandwidth usage by various applications through an easy-to-use user interface.

ASUSTeK programs break the old ideas about the uselessness and uselessness of proprietary utilities. Now these utilities not only help in configuration and management, but also expand the capabilities of motherboards, which is an additional advantage of Asus motherboards.

Test system configuration

All experiments were performed on a test system with the following set of components:

Motherboard - Asus Z97-Deluxe rev. 1.03 (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS version 1203);
Processor - Intel Core i5-4670K (3.6-3.8 GHz, 4 cores, Haswell, 22 nm, 84 W, LGA1150);
Memory - 4 x 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM G.SKILL TridentX F3-2133C9Q-32GTX, (2133 MHz, 9-11-11-31-2N, supply voltage 1.6 V);
Video card - Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD (AMD Radeon HD 7970, Tahiti, 28 nm, 1000/5500 MHz, 384-bit GDDR5 3072 MB);
Disk subsystem - Crucial m4 SSD (CT256M4SSD2, 256 GB, SATA 6 Gb / s);
Cooling system - Noctua NH-D14;
Thermal paste - ARCTIC MX-2;
Power supply unit - Enhance EPS-1280GA, 800W;
Case - an open test bench based on the Antec Skeleton case.

The operating system was Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64 bit (Microsoft Windows, Version 6.3, Build 9600) with the latest additions, a set of drivers for the AMD Catalyst 14.4 video card.

The nuances of work and overclocking

As for the features of operation and overclocking, the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard is no different from other boards from ASUSTeK. The assembly of the test system took place without problems, the firmware was successfully updated to the most current version at the time of checking the version.

The output of the boot image can be permanently disabled using the appropriate setting in the BIOS or temporarily, only for the current start using the Tab key, but we will not wait for the prompts to appear, but we will see another characteristic drawback. As the startup procedure progresses, the board will display a lot of useful information about the model name, BIOS version, processor name, memory size and frequency, number and type of USB devices, as well as a list of connected drives. However, it is impossible to find out the real frequency of the processor, the board reports only the nominal. In fact, its frequency will be higher not only during overclocking, but even during normal operation, since under load it will be increased by Intel Turbo Boost technology. This drawback is all the more annoying, since we know that motherboards from ASUSTeK, which belong to the "ROG" series, are able to correctly determine not only the nominal, but also the real frequency of the processor.

Modern motherboards start very quickly, but this advantage of ASUSTeK motherboards has turned into another drawback. Only at the first start, such a start speed is used that the user still has the opportunity to enter the BIOS, but subsequent reboots occur so quickly that it is already very difficult to do this and it will not work out on the first try. Asus Z97-Deluxe does not have a special DirectKey button for entering BIOS, but there are a couple of DirectKey Connector pins, to which you can connect the Reset button on the system unit. However, the principle of operation of the "DirectKey" button is not very convenient, because instead of rebooting and then immediately entering the BIOS, it first turns off the system, after which it must be turned on again, and only then "automatically" will you find yourself in the BIOS. Instead of a button, you can use the Asus Boot Setting utility, there are no such remarks about its functionality, but the program must be installed first, in addition, it is suitable only for users of Microsoft Windows operating systems. So at the setup stage, the easiest way is to do without buttons and utilities altogether, just disable the Fast Boot option in the Boot section, which works by default, in order to save yourself from unnecessary difficulties with entering the BIOS.

After loading the operating system, it may seem that the board provides the normal operating conditions for the processor, but this is not the case. If you manually enable all Intel processor power-saving technologies on the "CPU Power Management Configuration" page in the "CPU Configuration" subsection of the "Advanced" section of the BIOS, the system will become noticeably more economical. A small additional saving can be achieved if in the “DIGI + VRM” subsection of the “Ai Tweaker” section you set the optimized operating mode of the board power converter using the “CPU Power Phase Control” parameter. In addition, in the "Internal CPU Power Management" subsection, you can enable the "Power Decay Mode" option and set the balanced mode for the "CPU Integrated VR Efficiency Management" parameter.

Like other models by ASUSTeK, the board provides the opportunity to use the Asus MultiCore Enhancement function, which at any load level will allow increasing the processor multiplication factor to the maximum value provided by Intel Turbo Boost technology only for a single-threaded load. Initially, the parameter is set to "Auto", but it does not function, and to enable it, you need to start overclocking, for example, change the memory parameters using the "X.M.P." profile. To achieve more significant results, it is suggested to use the “OC Tuner” parameter in the BIOS or the “TPU” switch on the board, however, any automatic overclocking methods are imperfect, when choosing the optimal parameters manually, you always get a better result.

The most rational thing is to overclock the processor without increasing the voltage on it, but on an Asus board you cannot simply increase the processor multiplier and not change anything else. In this case, the voltage on the processor cores will be automatically increased by the board, and the voltage converter integrated into the processor will immediately detect an increase and independently begin to raise the voltage even more under load. All this, most likely, will lead to overheating and certainly to a waste of energy and we will not be able to achieve any energy efficient overclocking. To avoid the board automatically raising the voltage when the processor is overclocked, it is necessary to set the “CPU Core Voltage” parameter to manual mode, but do not touch anything else. In this case, the voltage is not increased by the board, and therefore is not overestimated by the converter integrated into Haswell processors.

Just in case, you can also disable the technology to counter voltage drop on the processor under load "CPU Load-Line Calibration" and the "Internal PLL Overvoltage" parameter. They may be needed only at very high overclocking, but at normal overclocking they are not needed.

Only overclocking without increasing voltage can be energy efficient. It will significantly increase productivity, speed up calculations, and at the same time, the total energy consumption, despite the increase in power consumption per unit of time, will even decrease, since due to the acceleration of calculations, the amount of electrical energy required to carry out the same volume of calculations will decrease. Only such acceleration will have a minimal effect on pollution. environment, will not have a negative impact on the environment, which was convincingly proved long ago in the article “ Power consumption of overclocked processors". However, during the tests of motherboards we have a different task. It is necessary to provide the maximum possible and the most varied load, check the boards when operating in various modes, which is why we do not use the optimal overclocking method, but the one that allows us to achieve the best results. For motherboard tests, the higher the frequency and voltage, the better, because the greater the load on the board. Only when working in extreme, close to the limit conditions, can problems be identified more easily and quickly, errors and deficiencies can be detected.

Previously, we always increased the voltage in the "Offset" mode, plus a similar adaptive or interpolation mode became available for LGA1150 processors, however, for Haswell processors, both options were unacceptable. As you already know, when you add any, even the smallest value to the nominal voltage, the stabilizer integrated into these processors immediately notices changes and when a load appears, the voltage begins to increase even more. All this naturally leads to an increase in heat generation, temperature, and as a result, this method of overclocking turns out to be inapplicable due to overheating. To avoid this negative effect, Haswell processors have to be overclocked at a constant, constant and fixed voltage. It is for this reason that during testing of motherboards we overclock the processor to 4.5 GHz while fixing the voltage on the cores at the level of 1.150 V while simultaneously using the parameters recorded in the "X.M.P." profile for memory modules.

Of course, when overclocking with fixing the voltage on the processor cores, energy-saving technologies partially stop working, the processor multiplier at rest drops, but the voltage does not drop anymore and remains unnecessarily high. We have to reassure ourselves that this is not for long, only out of necessity and only for the duration of the tests, and, besides, it has almost no effect on the system's power consumption at rest.

By the way, earlier we published the article “ LGA1150 Haswell Processors - Normal Operation and Overclocking Methods". This material is intended to explain to new users of the LGA1150 platform the basic principles of selecting the optimal parameters for operating in nominal mode and for overclocking Haswell processors on motherboards from various manufacturers. There you will find illustrated recommendations on how to enable Intel energy-saving technologies and increase the allowable limits for processor consumption, how to overclock them with an increase in core voltage, and without that.

Performance comparison

Comparison of motherboards in terms of speed is traditionally carried out in two modes - when the system is operating under nominal conditions, and also during overclocking. The first option is interesting from the point of view, which allows you to find out how well the motherboards work with the default parameters. It is known that a significant part of users are not engaged in fine tuning the system, they only set in the BIOS standard values \u200b\u200bof parameters, which are not optimal, but do not change anything else. So we first measure the speed of the systems in programs for various purposes and in computer games, almost without interfering with the default settings set by the boards. The results in the diagrams are sorted by performance level, and the figures for the Asus Z97-Deluxe are highlighted for clarity.

In the Cinebench 15 photorealistic 3D rendering speed test, we run the processor tests five times and average the results.

The Fritz Chess Benchmark utility has been used in benchmarks for a very long time and has proven itself to be excellent. It produces well-repetitive results, performance scales well depending on the number of computational threads used.

The x264 FHD Benchmark v1.0.1 (64bit) test allows you to evaluate the system performance in terms of video encoding speed in comparison with the results available in the database. The original version of the program with the encoder version r2106 allows using AVX processor instructions for encoding, but we replaced the executable libraries with version r2334 in order to be able to use the new AVX2 instructions that appeared in Haswell processors. The average results of five passes are shown in the diagram.

We measure performance in Adobe Photoshop CC using our own benchmark, which is a creatively reworked Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed \u200b\u200bTest that includes typical processing of four 24-megapixel digital camera images.

The popular archiver WinRAR 5.10 Beta 4 is used to measure the time spent on packaging the distribution kit of Adobe Photoshop CC, and the results are averaged. As in the previous test, the faster the set of actions is performed, the lower the result, the better.

Computer metro game: Last Light is very beautiful, but highly dependent on the performance of the video card. We had to use Medium Quality settings to maintain playability at 1920x1080. The diagram shows the results of passing the built-in test five times.

F1 2013 races are much less demanding on the computer's graphics subsystem. At 1920x1080, we set all the settings to maximum, choosing the "Ultra High Quality" mode, and additionally enabled all available image enhancement features. The built-in test is run five times and the results are averaged.

The new version of the game Thief did not receive high marks, but the graphics are very high quality, there is a built-in performance test, and in addition, you can use AMD Mantle technology. In order to be able to see the speed gain from overclocking the system in the future, we had to set low quality settings “Low Quality”. If you often play computer games, you have a good video card and a powerful processor, then there is no need to overclock it.

Related models, when working under the same conditions, should demonstrate approximately the same level of performance, this is what can be seen in the diagrams. Motherboards are periodically swapped, but the difference in speed is small, the performance of the systems is almost the same. Now let's see what results the systems will show when overclocking the processor and raising the memory frequency.

Again, the difference is almost invisible, in terms of performance, not only when working in nominal mode, but also when overclocked, the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard functions perfectly fine.

Energy consumption measurements

Power consumption of systems during operation in nominal mode and during overclocking is measured using the Extech Power Analyzer 380803. The device is switched on in front of the computer's power supply, that is, it measures the consumption of the entire system "from the outlet", excluding the monitor, but including losses in the power supply itself. When measuring consumption at rest, the system is idle, we wait for the complete cessation of post-start activity and the absence of calls to the drive. The results in the diagrams are sorted as consumption increases, and the Asus Z97-Deluxe is highlighted for clarity.

In contrast to the simple model Asus Z97-A, which favorably differs from other motherboards in power consumption below the average level, the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard, which is full of additional features and controllers, consumes much more. However, it is too early to draw conclusions, since all the boards operate with sub-optimal default settings. Let's try to enable all processor energy-saving technologies, forcibly activate in the BIOS settings all the options of the CPU C-State group, which are set to Auto by default, in order to see the real relationship between the models.

All boards, except for the Gigabyte model, have reduced power consumption, but the Asus Z97-Deluxe board remains the most wasteful. It can no longer be said that it consumes much more than the average level, but the difference is clearly visible.

Just in case, we remind you that in test systems we install a discrete AMD Radeon HD 7970 video card, but if we refuse it and switch to using the graphics core integrated into the processors, then the total consumption of ordinary systems should fall even below 30 W. The economy of Haswell processors alone is very impressive and looks tempting, but it's a pity that with the default settings, motherboards do not allow us to enjoy this advantage; manual correction of BIOS parameters is required.

To create a load on the Haswell processor, we returned to the "LinX" utility, which is a graphical shell for the Intel Linpack test, and the version 0.6.4 we use uses AVX instructions for calculations. This program provides a load much higher than typical, but if one program can load more work and warm up the processor than usual, then it is quite possible that another can also, which is why we create a load on the processor when measuring power consumption using the LinX utility. Under load, both boards from ASUSTeK turned out to be more economical than their rivals, but this is not an advantage, but a consequence of their characteristic drawback. Regular non-ROG motherboards from Asus drop the processor frequency under high load, which makes them consume less, but also runs slower.

Now the LinX utility is used by us to measure the power consumption of systems, previously we have repeatedly used it in tests of cooling systems, because it heats up processors very much. However, the Linpack program underlying it gives the system performance in gigaflops as one of the resulting indicators. "FLOPS" ( FLoating-point Operations Per Second) - the number of floating point operations per second, "giga" - ten to the ninth power. To clearly show the difference in performance, I carried out additional tests in the LinX utility, when the allowable limits of processor consumption in the BIOS of the Asus board were increased and the processor frequency did not drop even under high load. It turned out that the speed of calculations will be about 5% higher.

Only now it became clear that additional tests could not even be carried out, the result was predictable in advance. It is known that changing the operating frequency of a Core processor by 100 MHz leads to a speed difference of about 2–2.5% in computing tasks. Under high load, the frequency of the Intel Core i5-4670K processor on Asus boards drops from 3.6 to 3.4 GHz, the difference is 200 MHz, so a four or five percent lag behind motherboards from other manufacturers could be predicted in advance. However, the differences in power consumption and speed between ASUSTeK's LGA1150 motherboards and other manufacturers will be noticeable only at high enough loads. Performance tests in the previous chapter of this article did not reveal any noticeable difference in speed between the boards under normal loads.

Now let's estimate the power consumption when overclocking systems and no load. Even during overclocking, we always make the most of all processor energy-saving technologies, and therefore the arrangement remains the same as it was with the economical settings when operating in the nominal mode. Compared to the "Eco" settings, the consumption of the boards does not change or increases by only 1W. By the way, note that during overclocking with increasing voltages, Asus and MSI boards consume even less than in the first diagram when operating in nominal mode, but with sub-optimal default settings. Once again, the undesirability of standard settings and the need to enable processor energy-saving technologies are confirmed, since not all of them work initially on LGA1150 motherboards. Unfortunately, the above does not apply to Gigabyte's motherboard, power-saving modes are not enabled on it, there is no saving, nevertheless, the multifunctional Asus Z97-Deluxe still consumes a little more.

It should be added again that for a total assessment of the level of energy consumed by the system, it is necessary to load the video card with work, and the final result will depend on its power. In power consumption tests, we use only the processor load, but if we measure the power consumption when the discrete AMD Radeon HD 7970 video card is running in games, then the total power consumption of a conventional system will significantly exceed 200 W, approaching 250 W when operating in nominal mode and exceeding this value during overclocking. ...

When overclocked under load, the power consumption of MSI Z97 MPOWER and Asus Z97-A boards is compared and becomes the same. The flagship model Asus Z97-Deluxe consumes noticeably more, however, despite its many additional controllers and a strengthened power system, it still turns out to be more economical than the simple entry-level Gigabyte gaming board, which continues to waste energy.

The considerable power consumption of the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard is not encouraging, but in order to justify it, it should be noted that it is due to a large number of additional features and controllers, a powerful power converter system. All energy-saving technologies work properly for this flagship model, but the fundamental laws of physics cannot be canceled, more complex boards are usually less economical, and individual exceptions to the general situation do not change.

Afterword

The test results for the Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard turned out to be logical and somewhat predictable. This model looks good, easily overclocks, provides a normal level of performance in typical applications when working not only in the nominal mode, but also during overclocking. Nothing else could be expected from a flagship board of such a large and well-known manufacturer as ASUSTeK. The power consumption of the board is slightly higher than average, but this is understandable, because the number of its capabilities and additional controllers is very large: two additional SATA controllers, two USB 3.0, two network controllers, plus a module providing support for wireless technologies and a PCI Express line switch. The complex of functions "ASUS 5X PROTECTION" provides a stable power supply, protection against overloads, against short circuits, against static electricity and a long service life. Crystal Sound 2 technology is designed to improve sound quality. The complex of technologies "Q-Design" simplifies the assembly and operation of the system. Thanks to the rich proprietary software, "5-Way Optimization" technology, numerous buttons and switches, you can select the desired operating mode without even entering the BIOS. However, it should be noted that in the UEFI BIOS of ASUSTeK motherboards, the simplified "EZ Mode" startup mode for inexperienced users and preliminary settings has been significantly redesigned, and the full-featured Advanced Mode provides full control over the system. A set of programs "Asus HomeCloud" will provide remote access to the computer and streaming of multimedia files. Wi-Fi GO! will ensure the joint work of a computer with a tablet or smartphone. The flagship board Asus Z97-Deluxe is very good, its high rating is natural, but a natural limitation for the buyer is a considerable price, such a model is purchased only by those who really need its advanced capabilities.