Seven low-cost motherboards based on Intel Z97: comparative review and testing. Review and test of the motherboard ASUS Z97-A ⇡ Description of test systems and test methods

In the current difficult economic conditions, when purchasing a new personal computer, the question often arises: how to save money? There can be a lot of directions for cost optimization: you can choose a slower processor, reduce the volume random access memory, find a smaller SSD, or abandon it altogether in favor of an HDD, or, in the end, replace the flagship video card with a mid-range model. But resorting to such measures is not very pleasant, because they all noticeably impair the performance and responsiveness of the platform. However, fortunately, there is another way to save money, which, with the right approach, does not lead to painful consequences - the use of inexpensive motherboards.

In the general case, the motherboard does not directly affect the performance of the system - it only requires sufficient functionality and stable operation with all other equipment. Meanwhile, users often choose redundant and expensive boards, because they are the ones that bribe with promising characteristics and advertised features. This is being actively promoted by the motherboard manufacturers themselves, who have recently seriously expanded their product lines by creating separate model lines for gaming, overclocking and highly reliable motherboards. Such segmentation, additionally supported by aggressive (and not always crystal-clear) advertising, provokes a shift in consumer interest towards more expensive specialized motherboard models, while in most cases you can limit yourself to a completely ordinary motherboard with a price one and a half to two times lower.

This material will be devoted to the proof of this thesis. We took several inexpensive full-size motherboards for LGA1150 processors based on the most popular Intel Z97 chipset - and we plan to show that their capabilities are enough for a modern high-quality and productive computer. The fact that the board is based on the Z97, that is, on the top-level Intel chipset, actually guarantees that it has all the functions necessary for a modern high-performance personal computer. And if you do not need any special things like connecting a large number of hard drives or supporting more than a dozen USB ports, then you will hardly need an expensive board. After all, almost any, even a budget, motherboard on Intel Z97 is able to offer everything that is required in a modern high-speed platform: support for modern Haswell and Devil's Canyon processors, as well as promising Broadwell processors; four slots for installing DDR3 SDRAM with speeds from 1333 to 3000 MHz; one or two PCI Express 3.0 x16 graphics slots; a set of several PCI Express 2.0 and possibly PCI expansion slots; six SATA 6 Gb / s ports and most likely one M.2 slot; six USB 3.0 ports and at least no less USB 2.0 ports; integrated gigabit network; as well as an integrated audio codec with six or eight channels. Moreover, any motherboard based on Intel Z97 must have a set of overclocking capabilities, allowing you to overclock the processor and memory.

There is no doubt that the above list of features can cover the needs of the vast majority of users, including those from the enthusiast community. Therefore, the only requirements that really make sense to put forward in the address of inexpensive motherboards based on Intel Z97 are the equipment with a processor power converter with sufficient power and, if necessary, support for multi-GPU configurations based on SLI and CrossrireX technologies. In our comparative review, we will see how the motherboards available in stores with a price of no more than $ 150 meet these requirements. We asked manufacturers to provide us with their inexpensive LGA1150 ATX form factor platforms, based on Intel Z97 and not related to any special series, and received seven motherboards for experiments from all the leading companies on the market. Meet the test participants!

⇡ Comparative characteristics of the tested boards

	ASRock Z97 Extreme4	ASRock Z97 Pro4	ASUS Z97-A	ASUS Z97-С	ASUS Z97-K	Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H	MSI Z97 Guard-Pro
CPU socket	LGA1150	LGA1150	LGA1150	LGA1150	LGA1150	LGA1150	LGA1150
Chipset	Intel Z97	Intel Z97	Intel Z97	Intel Z97	Intel Z97	Intel Z97	Intel Z97
Memory slots	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM	4 x DDR3 DIMM
Memory support	Up to DDR3-3200	Up to DDR3-3100	Up to DDR3-3200	Up to DDR3-3200	Up to DDR3-3200	Up to DDR3-3100	Up to DDR3-3300
PCIe 3.0 x16 slots	3	1	2	1	1	2	1
Multi-GPU support	x8 / x8 / x0 or x8 / x4 / x4	No	x8 / x8	No	No	x8 / x8	No
PCIe 2.0 x16 slots	No	1 (x4)	1 (x2)	1 (x4)	1 (x4)	1 (x4)	1 (x4)
PCIe 2.0 x1 slots	3	2	2	2	2	3	4
PCI slots	No	2	2	3	2	1	No
Audio codec	Realtek ALC1150	Realtek ALC892	Realtek ALC892	Realtek ALC892	Realtek ALC887	Realtek ALC1150	Realtek ALC892
Gigabit Network Controller	Intel I218V	Intel I218V	Intel I218V	Intel I218V	Realtek 8111G	Intel I217V	Realtek 8111G
Additional SATA controller	ASMedia ASM1061	No	No	No	No	No	No
Additional controller USB 3.0	ASMedia ASM1042AE	No	No	No	No	No	No
Form Factor	305 × 244 mm	305 × 218 mm	305 × 244 mm	305 × 218 mm	305 × 218 mm	305 × 225 mm	305 × 220 mm
Internal ports
SATA 6Gb / s	6 + 2	6	6	6	6	6	6
SATA Express	1	1	1	1	No	1	No
M.2 slot	There is	There is	Yes (PCIe only)	There is	There is	There is	There is
USB 3.0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
USB 2.0	4	4	6	6	6	4	4
Serial Port	1	1	No	1	1	1	1
Parallel Port	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
External ports
USB 3.0	4 + 2	4	4	4	4	4	4
USB 2.0	2	4	2	2	2	4	2
Gigabit network	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Analog audio	5	5	5	6	3	5	6
S / P-DIF-out	There is	There is	There is	No	No	There is	No
PS / 2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1
Video		D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI	D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort	D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI	D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI	D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI	D-Sub, DVI-D, DisplayPort

⇡ ASRock Z97 Extreme4

Over the past few years, ASRock has been able to achieve very good results in the motherboard market, becoming one of the three largest manufacturers. It has achieved this largely due to its policy that ASRock motherboards are usually made more functional than offerings of similar value from other companies. ASRock Z97 Extreme4 is far from the cheapest offer in comparison with other participants in this review, its cost is about $ 130, but the specifications of this motherboard are more typical for products of the upper price category. Z97 Extreme4 has a high-quality audio codec, has additional SATA and USB 3.0 controllers, and is also equipped with tools popular among overclockers - and this allows us to say that it is quite justifiably attributed to the Extreme series.

The design of the board does not cause any special complaints either. Z97 Extreme4 uses the entire area of ​​the ATX format, and therefore slots and connectors are located quite freely. The distance between PCIe x16 slots is quite enough to accommodate powerful video cards, and all cables are connected to connectors distributed along the bottom and right edges of the board. There is no unnecessary tightness in the vicinity of the processor socket. The first PCIe x16 slot is moved one position away from the LGA1150, the height of the power supply heatsinks does not exceed 32 mm, and the memory slots are 28 mm away from the processor socket. This means that it is quite possible to install massive coolers on the Z97 Extreme4, and the only problem that may arise is mechanical incompatibility with memory modules with high heatsinks installed in the slot closest to the processor.

The power supply subsystem of the processor has a 12-phase design, which is almost impossible to find on inexpensive motherboards. However, ASRock engineers did not skimp on the advanced power system based on Dual-Stack MOSFETs with lower RDS (on), Nichicon polymer capacitors with extended lifespan and premium alloy core chokes. The heating elements of this circuit are cooled by two massive aluminum radiators, which are fixed with screws, albeit without the use of reinforcing plates on the back of the board. This heat sink is more than enough: during the tests, the temperature of the power converter did not exceed 45 degrees, even during overclocking.

The scheme of operation of expansion slots is also somewhat different from the typical one. ASRock Z97 Extreme4 has three PCIe x16 slots, which are connected to the internal processor controller. This makes it possible to build on this board not only two-component multi-GPU configurations, but also CrossfireX arrays of three video cards (3-way SLI cannot be created, since NVIDIA cards require at least x8 / x8 / x8 operating mode). However, due to the fact that there are no additional PCIe bridges on the board, the usual formula for these slots is x16 / x0 / x0, and it can only be transformed into x8 / x8 / x0 or x8 / x4 / x4. When creating multi-GPU configurations, it may be useful to have an additional MOLEX connector on the board, through which you can amplify the power supply to the graphics slots. To install conventional peripheral expansion cards on the Z97 Extreme4, there are three PCIe x1 slots, for the operation of which the chipset is responsible.

The use of an additional ASMedia ASM1061 controller on the board made it possible to place eight SATA 6 Gb / s ports on it at once (six of them are chipset). A pair of chipset SATA ports can be used as part of the SATA Express port, plus the board also has an M.2 slot, in which you can install both PCI Express and SATA models of solid-state drives. The board not only supports all possible ways of connecting modern drives, but also allows you to create RAID arrays, which means that the possibilities for building a disk subsystem on ASRock Z97 Extreme4 can be considered more than flexible. An interesting addition to this abundance is ASRock's proprietary HDD Saver technology, which allows hardware power management of a pair of hard drives connected to an ASMedia controller.

ASRock has increased the capabilities of the Intel Z97 chipset in terms of supporting USB ports. By adding the ASMedia ASM1042AE chip, engineers have two additional USB 3.0 ports, bringing the total to eight. As a result, the back panel of ASRock Z97 Extreme4 is quite densely filled with all kinds of connectors. Six USB 3.0 ports are brought to it (two more are present in the form of a needle connector on the board); two USB 2.0 ports (and four more such ports can be connected to the board); a gigabit network socket powered by an Intel I218V controller; PS / 2 port for mouse or keyboard; as well as audio and monitor connectors. To use the graphics core built into the processor, all four connection options are offered - HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub and DisplayPort, while you can simultaneously use up to three monitors.

As for sound, there are five analog audio jacks and an optical S / P-DIF-out on the rear panel. One of the best eight-channel codecs, Realtek ALC1150, is responsible for the operation of the audio path, which, along with its entire strapping, is shielded from the rest of the board space. Also, when implementing the analog part of the sound circuit, ASRock did not skimp on high-quality capacitors and a powerful amplifier, which allows using headphones with high internal impedance with the board.

The attention that the developers of the Z97 Extreme4 paid to the needs of enthusiasts deserves a separate mention. Especially for this category of users, power and reset buttons, a reset button for BIOS settings, an indicator for POST codes and two independent BIOS chips with a switch that selects the active microcircuit were added to the board. Such a functional set can be seen very rarely on inexpensive motherboards, which - compared to other inexpensive motherboards of the same class - puts the Z97 Extreme4 one step closer to advanced users.

However, ASRock Z97 Extreme4 is not hard to find disadvantages that are important for enthusiasts. For example, although this board has two connectors for processor and four connectors for case fans, using all of them is not so easy. Four-pin connection is supported by only one processor and one body connector. And two three-pin housing connectors are located in the center of the board - they will become difficult to access after installing a processor cooler and a video card. Adjusting the rotational speed depending on temperature is also supported not everywhere, but only for processor and three case fans.

The Z97 Extreme4 package includes the usual set of accessories. At the same time, ASRock did not skimp on a hard SLI bridge and an HDD Saver cable, which allows you to connect the power of two hard drives not to the power supply, but directly to the board. Unfortunately, the included I / O Shield back cover is completely ordinary: tinny and uncomfortable.

ASRock has lagged behind the rest of the manufacturers in the redesign of the UEFI shell. While all leading manufacturers now have full-fledged graphical modes to simplify configuration, the Z97 Extreme4 UEFI is similar in structure to the old text-based BIOS Setup. At the same time, it works in a graphics mode with a resolution of 1024 × 768 and supports a mouse, but its structure is completely inherited from products of past generations. The only fundamental change is the appearance of an additional page My Favorite, where you can move any frequently used options.

However, we still would not blame ASRock developers for being passive, because instead of experimenting with the interface, they implemented many useful functions from a practical point of view. For example, Z97 Extreme4 not only knows how to update its firmware via the Internet without the use of additional programs, but can also download a complete set of necessary Windows drivers from the Internet directly from UEFI. The System Browser page also deserves a mention, where you can get information about the equipment used in the system in a convenient form.

The possibilities for configuring the processor and memory look typical: all the options necessary for overclocking are available in full. The memory subsystem timings are very conveniently implemented: UEFI allows you to access the SPD and XMP profiles and select only a few parameters for use in them.

A complete impression of the BIOS capabilities can be obtained from our gallery.

uefi asrock z97 extreme4

In line with the latest fashion, ASRock has created an application store for its motherboards, which, however, has not very impressive content. The main utility for enthusiasts will be the A-Tuning program, which allows you to control frequencies and voltages directly from the Windows environment. In addition, the utility provides functions for system monitoring and information retrieval, driver updates and some other service capabilities, such as creating a RAM disk.

software asrock z97 extreme4

In general, ASRock Z97 Extreme4 favorably stands out not only for its wide capabilities, in which it surpasses the solutions of competing manufacturers, but also for its obvious focus on overclocking experiments. At the same time, although the board has a fairly lapidary UEFI shell, not without some roughnesses in working out a number of options, it nevertheless does not cause serious complaints about it. The only disappointing thing is the set of connectors for connecting fans and their location, as well as the slightly overestimated power consumption of the board when idle.

⇡ ASRock Z97 Pro4

We expected to see a cheaper version of the Extreme4 described above in the ASRock Z97 Pro4 motherboard, but the reality turned out to be different. This board has individual wiring, and besides, it is ideologically constructed in a completely different way, in no way pretending to be a platform for enthusiasts. However, although the Z97 Pro4 is priced at just $ 110, this board is a solid platform. Of course, its capabilities are not as rich as those of the Extreme4 modification, but from the point of view of the ratio of cost and equipment, the Pro4 seems to be a very good option. However, let's move from general words to details.

To begin with, the size of the ASRock Z97 Pro4 is slightly less than the standard ATX in depth: it has been cut from 24.4 to 21.8 mm. This is a common practice for inexpensive motherboards, but such saving of PCB entails two drawbacks at once. Firstly, the board cannot be fixed in the case at all four corners and its front edge sags, which leads to an unpleasant deformation of the PCB plane when changing DIMMs and connecting the power cable. Secondly, reducing the usable area automatically means tighter placement of components.

For example, ASRock engineers on their Z97 Pro4 were unable to get the LGA1150 socket out of the way. Although on the side of the power converter and DIMM slots, which are pushed back from the processor socket by a perfectly acceptable 28 mm, nothing can prevent the installation of a processor with a cooler, problems can arise from the side of the graphics card. The first PCIe x16 slot is pushed to the extreme position of the processor - and this entails two troubles at once. With a video card installed, coolers for 140mm fans will "rub" against its back side, plus the video card will partially make it difficult to access the DIMM slot latches. However, both of these problems are quite possible to survive, because there are no complaints about the location of the other components, so when assembling a computer based on the Z97 Pro4, you just need to follow the correct sequence of installing the components.

The motherboard under consideration differs from the more complex Z97 Extreme4 not only in the absence of additional SATA and USB controllers, although this is striking in the first place. The reduction in price also affected the processor power converter, which on the Z97 Pro4 is assembled according to a six-channel scheme. However, at the same time, it remains quite powerful and fully covers the needs of the bulk of overclockers. It uses the same high-quality electronic components as on more expensive boards, and uses a 30 mm high heat sink with a large surface area to cool the heating semiconductor elements. At the same time, this radiator is pressed with screws, although without the use of a reinforcing plate on the back side of the board. Nevertheless, during the tests, we did not encounter any signs of excessive heating of the power supply circuit, even during overclocking.

The Z97 Pro4 also stands out with a set of expansion slots. Although you can see two PCIe x16 slots on this motherboard, only the first slot is related to the processor. In other words, this board has no SLI support, and don't be fooled by the MOLEX connector for supplying additional power to the video subsystem, which is located next to the graphics slot. The second PCIe x16 slot is actually connected to the chipset controller, that is, it does not support PCI Express 3.0 and can only function in x4 mode. In other words, it is advisable to use it for drives or expansion cards, which can also be installed in two adjacent PCIe x1 slots. It should be noted that if at least one of these PCIe x1 slots is occupied, the PCIe x16 chipset slot will switch from logical x4 mode to x2 mode - this point should be borne in mind. In addition to PCIe slots, ASRock engineers have added PCI slots to their board. To implement them, we had to resort to the services of the PICe-PCI ASMedia ASM1083 bridge, since the Intel Z97 chipset itself does not have an integrated PCI controller.

Closing the question regarding the slots available on ASRock Z97 Pro4, we also note the presence of an M.2 connector on the board for installing solid-state drives. This connector is compatible with both PCI Express and SATA models. However, unlike the older ASRock Extreme6 and Extreme11 motherboards, where the M.2 slot is connected to PCI Express 3.0 processor lines, on the Pro4 it uses two PCI Express 2.0 chipset lanes.

The ASRock Z97 Pro4 uses exclusively the chipset's capabilities for the implementation of SATA 6 Gb / s ports. There are six of them on the board, as expected. All of them support RAID and Intel Rapid Storage and Smart Response technologies. There is also an up-and-coming SATA Express port that shares its resources with a pair of SATA ports and an M.2 slot.

The set of USB ports is also quite typical on ASRock Z97 Pro4, which is also completely formed due to the set of logic. In other words, the board can offer six USB 3.0 ports, four of which are easily found in the form of connectors on the rear panel, and eight USB 2.0 ports, half of which are routed there. A gigabit network connector is also placed on the rear panel, for the operation of which the usual Intel I218V controller, a PS / 2 port for a mouse or keyboard, as well as monitor and sound ports are responsible. With the activation of the internal processor integrated graphics, you can use the DVI-D, D-Sub and HDMI connectors, which can work both separately and simultaneously. The sound, for which the cheap eight-channel ALC892 codec is responsible, is output to five analog jacks and an optical S / P-DIF output.

ASRock Z97 Pro4 does not offer any special functions for enthusiasts - after all, first of all it is a "workhorse", and not a stand for experiments. Therefore, there are no buttons, POST controllers, indicator LEDs, or several BIOS chips on the board. The board's fan-connection capabilities are also not very impressive. In addition to the processor one, for which two connectors are offered to choose from - three-pin and four-pin, the board allows you to connect three more case fans. Moreover, there can be only one of them with PWM control, but this does not interfere with the interactive control of the rotation speed of all fans, which is configured through the UEFI shell.

The ASRock Z97 Pro4 package is typical for an inexpensive motherboard. In fact, it includes only the very minimum of the necessary accessories. Even the number of SATA cables included in the card box has been reduced to just two.

The UEFI of the motherboard in question is unified with other models, which means that the interface has a standard appearance for ASRock. It does not boggle the imagination with its convenient layout and does not have simplified starting modes, but offers an exhaustive set of settings in a hierarchical structure that has been formed over the years. The influences of the times in the UEFI shell are manifested only in the appearance of a multi-colored background and mouse support.

However, in the depths of UEFI, you can also find some innovations in functionality that increase the usability. So, the My Favorite settings page appeared, the content of which the user can create completely at will. Moreover, this page can even be made a start page.

UEFI also introduced the System Browser mode, which allows you to get a very clear idea of ​​the system configuration and the installed hardware.

The DRAM Tweaker function allows you not only to get comprehensive information about the settings "hardwired" into the memory modules, but also to apply selective parameters from the XMP, AMP and SPD profiles.

Updating UEFI versions is also conveniently done. ASRock is the only motherboard manufacturer that has managed to search, download and flash microcode over the Internet, right from the UEFI environment.

Although ASRock Z97 Pro4 does not belong to the Extreme series, that is, it is not aimed at overclocking experiments, it has a full set of settings necessary for overclocking the processor. In fact, the UEFI of this board has exactly the same list of options as the previously reviewed Z97 Extreme4. You can verify this by referring to our gallery of UEFI screenshots.

uefi asrock z97 pro4

Works with Z97 Pro4 and ASRock A-Tuning utility, which allows you to control frequencies and voltages right from the Windows environment. In addition, this utility provides functions for monitoring, obtaining system information and updating drivers, and some other service capabilities.

software asrock z97 pro4

All things considered, ASRock Z97 Pro4 seems to be a very good product in terms of the combination of features. This is a fairly simple, but balanced board, which nevertheless fully reveals the capabilities of the Intel Z97 chipset - with the exception, perhaps, of support for multi-GPU configurations. And although it does not belong to the Extreme series, overclocking is not at all alien to this board - for its implementation, UEFI has a full arsenal of possibilities. That being said, the Z97 Pro4 only slightly exceeds the $ 100 mark, making it an attractive mid-range platform. The favorable impression is overshadowed only by the not very convenient layout: other motherboards will be able to offer a noticeably greater level of comfort when assembling a computer.

⇡ ASUS Z97-A

The ASUS Z97-A motherboard is one of the most expensive in this review. Nevertheless, when creating it, ASUS did not resort to using a scattering of additional controllers, deciding to do with the very minimum, and also cut down the solutions demanded by enthusiasts, typical for more expensive models. In other words, the Z97-A embodies all the properties of the Intel Z97 chipset, but practically does not go beyond Intel's specifications. However, such words can be said about almost any motherboard from this review. The interesting thing about ASUS Z97-A lies in the fact that, following the path of cost reduction, the developers have not crossed the border beyond which high-end products become consumer goods.

In other words, ASUS Z97-A can be described as a model for budget enthusiasts. At a price of about $ 145, this board not only looks decent, but, having all the overclocking functions, makes it easy to overclock processors. The processor power circuit has a digital eight-phase design, high-quality electronic components are used, and the cooling system copes with its role with dignity. It should be noted that at first glance, two heatsinks on a MOSFET, pressed with spring-loaded plastic nails, do not inspire much confidence, but in fact, the heating of the power converter during operation turns out to be very insignificant.

At the same time, the developers have cleared space around the processor socket, which makes it possible to install arbitrarily massive cooling systems on the CPU. The PCIe x16 slot for the video card is additionally moved one position away from the LGA1150, and the heatsinks of the voltage converter are very low. Only the fact that the distance from the edge of the processor socket to the first DIMM slot is only 28 mm is worrying - this can cause mechanical problems when using large air coolers and memory modules with high radiators in the slots closest to the processor. most motherboards.

By the way, you should pay attention to the fact that the depth of ASUS Z97-A is 244 mm, standard for the ATX format. And this is good, because, firstly, it allows you to rigidly fix the motherboard in the case with all nine bolts, and secondly, it allows engineers to comfortably distribute connectors and switches over the board. Actually, this is why the Z97-A is distinguished by an extremely thoughtful design: all connectors are located on the bottom and right edges of the board, which is ideal for simple cable routing inside the case.

The board in question offers a wide range of expansion card slots, typical of flagship rather than inexpensive motherboards. However, it should be borne in mind that out of the three available PCIe x16 slots, only two are connected to the processor, and when installing two-component multi-GPU systems, they work according to the 8x + 8x formula. The third, extreme slot is powered by PCI Express lines from the chipset and operates in 2x mode. In addition to this, the board offers two PCIe x1 slots, as well as two PCI slots, which are operated via an optional ASMedia ASM1083 controller. It should be noted that the places for the PCI slots were not chosen very well. A dual-deck graphics card installed in any of the PCIe x16 graphics slots will block the adjacent PCI slot.

To connect storage media, the board has a full set of six regular SATA 6 Gb / s ports (with support for RAID 0, 1, 10, and 5), of which two can be combined into SATA Express. In addition, the board also has an M.2 slot, which, however, can accommodate only a few drives on the market that work via PCI Express 2.0 x2. Numerous SATA drives in M.2 format are not supported by the board. Also, keep in mind that installing an M.2 PCIe SSD will disable both PCIe x1 slots on the board.

As for the USB ports, all of them, like SATA, work through the chipset. Four USB 3.0 are brought out to the rear panel, two more can be connected via a needle connector. There are two USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel, but six more are available as onboard connectors.

It is curious that ASUS engineers have implemented a full set of various connectors on the Z97-A for connecting to the monitor's graphics core built into the processor. There are four different options: HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub and DisplayPort, with modern Haswell processor graphics capable of driving three displays simultaneously.

In addition, the rear panel of the board has a PS / 2 port for a mouse or keyboard, a gigabit network socket, for which the Intel I218V controller is responsible, as well as audio connectors: an optical S / P-DIF output and five analog jacks.

Until now, we have not had to say that ASUS has seriously saved on something in its Z97-A, but such things still exist. And that's an audio codec. The cheap eight-channel Realtek ALC892 is used instead of the ALC1150 typical of high-end and mid-priced motherboards. However, ASUS developers spent a lot of effort to achieve good sound from it, for which they applied the entire range of engineering solutions they have: shielding the analog part, spacing the channels across different layers of the board, using high-quality Japanese capacitors in the audio path and using a powerful operational amplifier.

Along with the codec, some of the features that make ASUS motherboards so convenient when using them in overclocking experiments were also sequestered. For example, the Z97-A lacks a POST controller, convenient Reset and Clear CMOS buttons, and the ability to restore firmware without installing a processor and memory on the board. Nevertheless, the ASUS Z97-A still retains the Power On button, diagnostic Q-LEDs, a button to overcome problems with memory settings MemOK !, as well as the EZ XMP switch, which allows you to activate the XMP profile.

The package bundle of ASUS Z97-A looks a bit richer than that of other motherboards of this price level. For example, ASUS did not skimp on the SLI bridge and Q-Connector pads, which make it easier to connect small wires to the board during assembly. However, the included I / O Shield is not a soft backing, but a standard tin plate that causes multiple installation problems.

As for the BIOS shell, in this case we are faced with a typical ASUS UEFI with its familiar pros and cons. Its undoubted advantage is the human-readable EZ Mode and the modernized graphical interface, but there are also disadvantages - poor configurability of the shell for individual user needs and work in a resolution of 1024 × 768.

EZ Mode offers the most basic settings and system information in a simplified interface. With its help, the user can get information about the processor and hardware, change the order of polling boot devices, enable XMP and access the fan settings. In addition, the EZ Tuning Wizard is also available from here, allowing you to enable overclocking or configure a RAID array. However, these possibilities are far from exhaustive, so we recommend using the "advanced" interface mode.

It contains all the typical settings of the classic BIOS, which are presented in a familiar hierarchical structure. Of course, the interface has become more modern, a mouse works in it and there are even animation effects, but in fact this is the good old BIOS Setup. The main structural innovation is the appearance of the My Favorites page, which the user can design independently by transferring frequently used options to it.

In addition, a very convenient Last Modified window has appeared in the BIOS, allowing you to see a list of the last settings changed.

One of the important advantages of the UEFI motherboard ASUS Z97-A is the ability to configure the fan speed. Any of the five fans that can be connected to the board allows flexible interactive control (up to stopping) depending on the temperature of a particular node. At the same time, both three- and four-pin connections are supported.

UEFI's capabilities for configuring the processor and memory, as well as overclocking look typical. We have no complaints about them: in the corresponding section of Ai Tweaker, a complete set of tools for changing frequencies, timings and voltages is presented. WITH complete list these options can be found in the following gallery.

uefi asus z97-a

It should be noted that ASUS is developing a rather interesting software package Ai Suite 3 for its motherboards, which provides voltage, fan speed and power adjustments from the Windows environment. However, it should be understood that this is just a software add-on over the BIOS, therefore the possibilities provided by this set of programs are narrower than those implemented in UEFI, although wrapped in a very attractive shell.

software asus z97-a

As a result, ASUS Z97-A seems to be a fairly convenient motherboard for enthusiasts, providing flexible system settings and room for overclocking experiments. However, the price for it is somewhat overpriced - motherboards of the same price category, offered by other manufacturers, usually have additional SATA and USB controllers, and are also equipped with high-quality codecs. The Z97-A has none of this. A well-tuned and convenient BIOS, as well as functional bundled software can be considered some kind of compensation, but on the whole Z97-A will be interesting primarily for fans of the ASUS brand who are ready to overpay a little for owning a motherboard from their favorite manufacturer.

⇡ ASUS Z97-C

The ASUS Z97-C motherboard is only slightly cheaper than the ASUS Z97-A, but it is already beyond the point where the high-quality products of the market leader are turning into ordinary budget motherboards. In other words, it would be wrong to talk about the Z97-C as the Z97-A's younger sister: we have before us a product of a completely different way of life and purpose. Obviously, while developing such a board, ASUS engineers were primarily concerned with reducing the cost, and not at all about the possibilities that could interest sophisticated users. Of course, the Z97-C cannot be called completely empty - it even found a place for a SATA Express port and an M.2 slot, but you shouldn't associate any special expectations with it.

The fact that this time we have to deal with a seriously cheaper motherboard can be seen at least by the fact that the size of the Z97-C is cut relative to the standard ATX format. The board is only 21.8 cm deep, which means that it will only be able to mount in the case by six rather than nine bolts, and its leading edge will be suspended, sagging when installing the memory and connecting the power cable.

However, ASUS engineers should be given their due: the reduced size has almost no effect on the convenience of the motherboard layout. All connectors, as they should be, are located on the edges of the board, and there is enough free space around the processor socket. The first PCIe x16 graphics slot, like on the Z97-A, is moved one position away from the LGA1150, and a small but impressive looking radiator is used to cool the processor power converter. However, the distance between the LGA1150 and the first DIMM slot has been reduced to 25 mm, which means that the proximity of a massive "two-section tower" cooler and memory with high heatsinks is almost impossible.

However, saving PCB is one of the least troubles of ASUS Z97-C. The biggest complaints are caused by the implementation of the processor's power supply circuit. Although it has a six-phase design, its power and stability in practice turns out to be insufficient for overclocking the older Haswell and Devil's Canyon processors. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the heatsink installed on the heating components of the power converter bypasses two phases, which are forced to work without any cooling. And this, as expected, leads to their excessive heating. For example, in our tests, the MOSFETs warmed up to 100 degrees or more. As a result, when overclocking the processor, we even encountered the VRM temperature protection triggering and the test system emergency shutdown, which was not observed on other boards.

In other words, the savings led to the fact that ASUS Z97-С lost the cooling required for the power supply converter and became a non-overclocker board. Surprisingly, at the same time, ASUS engineers did not skimp on the chipset heatsink. Despite the fact that it performs largely decorative functions, since the Intel Z97 chipset emits no more than 4-5 W, it has a massive and spectacular-looking branded round heat dissipator.

At first glance, ASUS Z97-C has a couple of PCIe x16 slots, but do not forget that we are talking about the most cheap motherboard, and it does not support SLI. Only the first gray slot is connected to the PCI Express 3.0 processor lanes, always operating in x16 mode. The second PCIe x16 slot is a chipset one, it operates in PCI Express 2.0 x4 or x2 mode, depending on whether a pair of additional PCIe x1 slots is enabled or disabled.

The usual PCI slots, which are not often found on motherboards with the Z97 chipset, but are present on the ASUS Z97-C, deserve a special mention. An additional ASMedia ASM 1083 controller is responsible for their work. True, one of these slots is located close to the graphics PCIe x16, so it will most likely be unavailable in systems with discrete graphics. However, the remaining two PCI slots are more than enough for any configuration.

In accordance with the general ideology of ASUS Z97-C, it is not surprising that there are no other additional controllers on this board. All SATA and USB ports are implemented by the chipset. Nevertheless, in addition to the standard six SATA 6 Gb / s ports (with RAID support), the board also has an M.2 slot, and a couple of the existing SATA connectors can be combined into a promising SATA Express port. It's funny that the M.2 slot on the Z97-C supports both PCI Express 2.0 x2 and SATA drives, while on the more expensive ASUS motherboards, the M.2 slots are compatible only with PCI Express SSDs. ASUS Z97-C has a different limitation - M.2 and SATA Express cannot work at the same time, but this is generally standard for more expensive motherboards.

USB ports are distributed on the board in one of the most common ways. There are four USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 on the rear panel. Two more USB 3.0 and six USB 2.0 can be connected to the pin headers on the board. Also on the rear panel of ASUS Z97-C you can find a gigabit network port working through the Intel I218V chip, and a PS / 2 port, into which you can plug a mouse or keyboard.

I must say that there is a lot of unused space left behind the board, and this is partly due to the fact that there are only three monitor outputs: DVI-D, D-Sub and HDMI. All three outputs can work simultaneously, and HDMI allows you to connect, including screens with 4K-resolution (with a refresh rate of 24 Hz).

The audio path of the board in question is based on the inexpensive eight-channel codec ALC892. Despite the fact that in this case we are talking about a board with a simplified design, the entire sound circuit is placed on it separately, the channels are routed to different layers of the printed circuit board, a high-quality amplifier chip and special Japanese capacitors are used. To connect audio devices, six analog audio jacks are brought out to the rear panel of the board. The digital S / P-DIF-out is implemented as a pin connector.

Starting the story about ASUS Z97-C, we immediately made a reservation that this motherboard is unlikely to fulfill all the wishes of tech-savvy users. And this is completely natural. The fact is that there are no tools on it that increase the convenience of experimentation. Even the XMP switch, diagnostic LEDs, and pins for the DirectKey are still missing. In addition, the Z97-C allows you to connect only three fans, in addition to the processor.

The scope of delivery is also scarce. There are no pleasant trifles with the board, and the number of bundled SATA cables has been reduced to two pieces.

The not too optimistic impression of the design of the Z97-C is corrected by its UEFI. The fact is that the BIOS for each generation of ASUS motherboards is unified. This means that in terms of configuration options, the Z97-C is very similar to other boards, including much more expensive ones.

So, the user is greeted by the simplified EZ Mode, which provides information about the platform configuration in a convenient graphical form, and also allows you to change the basic settings. In particular, you can change the order of polling boot devices, select a system performance and power saving profile, enable XMP for memory modules, and manage Intel Rapid Storage Technology. In addition, from the start screen, you can go directly to adjusting the fan speed, which is performed through the convenient graphical interface Q-Fan Control, or to the EZ Tuning wizard, in which you can overclock the system or create a RAID array with a few mouse clicks.

UEFI also has Advanced Mode. In essence, it is similar to the good old text BIOS Setup, but it works in graphic mode, supports a mouse and looks more attractive in general, although it is displayed in a modest resolution of 1024 × 768 by today's standards. Through Advanced Mode, all the usual settings for system configuration, including overclocking. A list of the main options can be found in our gallery.

uefi asus z97-c

Another innovation in ASUS UEFI boards based on the Intel Z97 chipset is the My Favorites page, which can be used to combine all frequently used settings in one place. The only inconvenience is that it is impossible to make this page the start page.

A couple of other UEFI features of the motherboard in question deserve special mention, which, however, can be found on any other modern ASUS motherboard. So, the shell keeps a log of settings changes, which allows you to familiarize yourself with the list of parameters that were last changed at any time. In addition, it is possible to write and save short notes in the BIOS.

It should be reminded that ASUS is developing a rather interesting software package Ai Suite 3 for its boards, which provides voltage, fan and power adjustments from the Windows environment. This set of programs also works with ASUS Z97-C, though not without roughness, misinterpreting some parameters of system monitoring. You can easily get an idea of ​​its main features from the screenshots collected in the next gallery.

software asus z97-c

On the whole, ASUS Z97-C makes a somewhat contradictory impression. On the one hand, the software support and UEFI of this board are made at the highest level typical for all ASUS boards. But on the other hand, the hardware design of the board shows clear savings, which resulted in the lack of support for multi-GPU configurations, a decrease in the PCB area and the elimination of the entire complex of additional functions demanded by enthusiasts. And what is most offensive, ASUS developers have greatly reduced the processor power converter and its cooling system, artificially limiting the board's overclocking capabilities. This means that the Z97-C, which is actually only slightly cheaper than the ASUS Z97-A, is very much inferior to it in consumer properties that are interesting to enthusiasts.

⇡ ASUS Z97-K

The assortment of ASUS ATX motherboards based on the Intel Z97 chipset is extremely wide, so it is not surprising that there are several different inexpensive offers in it at once. Along with the Z97-C and Z97-A, ASUS provided us with another motherboard for tests, the Z97-K, which is a little lower in the hierarchy of the model range - they ask for something about $ 110 for it. In other words, it can also be considered a direct alternative to ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI products discussed in this material. But it will be especially interesting to see how the Z97-K differs from the more expensive Z97-C, in which, as it seemed to us, everything that is possible is cut down.

With such introductory inputs, the Z97-K should have become an extremely primitive platform based on the older Intel chipset for the LGA1150, but ASUS showed ingenuity and created a very original, but quite popular product. The differences between the Z97-K and the competing variants are immediately striking: on the one hand, you can see the savings on the PCB and the processor power circuit, but on the other hand, the board boasts PCI slots and a proprietary Crystal Sound 2 sound path with improved quality. Is this compromise successful? Let's analyze.

The board's depth is cut by 2.6 cm relative to the normal ATX format.This step is often used in the production of inexpensive ATX-boards, and because of this the board cannot be completely fixed in the case - its leading edge sags, like in two other boards of this width we reviewed. On the Z97-K, DIMM slots, a 24-pin power outlet and SATA ports rotated perpendicular to the plane of the board are brought to this edge, so there is a certain danger of damaging the motherboard when assembling the system. However, this drawback is not too critical. If you carefully approach the cables and memory modules without using too much effort, nothing bad will happen.

But the simplification of the processor power converter is much more frustrating. Even on the more expensive Z97-C, which uses a six-phase power supply circuit, the CPU power regulator caused us very serious complaints. And on the Z97-K it is assembled according to an even simpler four-phase scheme, and although it uses ferrite core chokes and solid-state capacitors, when overclocking the processor, the power of such a power scheme may not be enough. What, in fact, we found in practice. Despite the fact that all MOSFETs have a small 22 mm high aluminum heatsink with plastic clips, they easily overheat when overclocking the processor. In our tests, we observed not only a rise in the temperature of the CPU power supply circuit above 100 degrees, but even emergency shutdowns of the board. In other words, the Z97-K is a motherboard that, by its design, does not imply the operation of processors in abnormal mode. And this is a very offensive flaw for many thrifty enthusiasts.

If we approach ASUS Z97-K as a platform that puts an end to any overclocking experiments, then, perhaps, claims about the lack of sufficient space around the processor socket for installing massive coolers will be inappropriate. Therefore, we will not dwell on them, but just note that the distance between the LGA1150 and the DIMM slots has been reduced on this motherboard to an uncomfortable 25 mm. At the same time, the first PCIe x16 slot is still moved away from the processor socket by one position.

More unpleasant is the fact that for connecting fans on the board in question, there are only three four-pin connectors (processor and two case). In many cases, this amount may be clearly insufficient even in the most ordinary computers that are not designed for overclocking. Fortunately, ASUS engineers at least did not turn off the proprietary advanced features for controlling rotation speeds depending on temperature on the Z97-K.

The set of slots for expansion cards on the ASUS Z97-K is almost the same as on the ASUS Z97-C. Naturally, such a cheap board cannot support multi-GPU configurations, so there is only one PCIe 3.0 x16 graphics slot on it - it has a gray color. The second PCIe x16 slot on the board is logically connected to the chipset - only four lines of the 2.0 standard are installed on it. Moreover, by default, it generally operates in PCIe x2 mode, since its resources are shared with the adjacent PCIe x1 slots. In addition to modern PCIe slots, ASUS engineers decided to add two legacy PCI slots, for the operation of which an additional ASMedia ASM 1083 bridge is responsible. Surprisingly, but the ability to install PCI cards on inexpensive motherboards is considered important only by ASUS, many other manufacturers consider this functionality bypass.

For connecting disk drives, ASUS Z97-K offers an almost typical set of features. There is no SATA Express port, but the M.2 slot is preserved, and it allows the installation of both SATA and PCI Express 2.0 x2 SSD models. The board also has the usual set of six SATA 6 Gb / s ports, which is reduced to four ports in the case of using the M.2 slot. Like all other boards based on the chipset, the Z97-K allows you to create RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, and 10.

The motherboard in question is not surprising in terms of USB ports. There are six USB 3.0 ports: four on the rear panel and two on the board itself in the form of a needle connector. There are eight USB 2.0 ports, of which two ports are brought to the rear panel.

To implement the gigabit network, ASUS did not use the usual Intel controller on its inexpensive motherboard, but installed the Realtek 8111GR chip. Also on the Z97-K there is another chip from the same manufacturer - the eight-channel Realtek ALC887 codec. I must say that this is an entry-level solution, but nevertheless, the sound scheme still uses shielding and routing of channels in different layers of PCB, high-quality capacitors and a powerful amplifier. True, only three analog connectors are displayed on the rear panel of the Z97-K, and therefore direct connection of 7.1 audio systems is impossible. A digital S / P-DIF-output is provided, but it is represented on the board by a pin-connector.

The vacant space on the rear panel of the board is filled with two PS / 2 ports - for a mouse and a keyboard. Graphics connectors are also displayed nearby: DVI-D, D-Sub and HDMI, which are activated in the case of using the graphics core built into the processor. All three connectors can connect monitors separately or simultaneously, and the HDMI port even supports 4K-resolution screens.

Naturally, there are no proprietary features on ASUS Z97-K. All the functionality of the board almost completely corresponds to the specifications of the Intel Z97 chipset and does not include any solutions demanded by the enthusiast audience. The set of accessories supplied with the board is also minimal.

If, getting acquainted with the Z97-K, we every now and then complained about various cuts in functions, its UEFI gives the opposite impression. The UEFI shell does not differ from what we saw on more expensive motherboards either in appearance or in its content. This is certainly good news for potential buyers of this motherboard, but keep in mind that some of the Z97-K's functions in practice will not work as efficiently as on more expensive motherboards.

The UEFI interface is divided into two modes - simplified EZ Mode and advanced Advanced Mode. The simplified mode is a colorful screen that collects the most basic system information and focuses on settings that may interest an inexperienced user. In particular, from it it is possible to change the order of polling boot devices, select a speed profile and power saving of the system, enable XMP for memory modules and manage Intel Rapid Storage technology, which allows using a small SSD to cache calls to a capacious HDD. In addition, from the simplified mode, you can go to adjusting the fan speed, which is performed using the convenient graphical interface Q-Fan Control, or to the EZ Tuning wizard, in which you can either automatically overclock the system or create a RAID array with a few mouse clicks.

Advanced mode follows the familiar hierarchical structure of older BIOSes and offers a full set of settings for system management. The main focus here is the AI ​​Tweaker section, which contains settings for configuring the processor with memory and their overclocking. Our gallery gives an idea of ​​the contents of this section.

uefi asus z97-k

Also, the UEFI of the Z97-K motherboard has all the proprietary Asus capabilities. These include the My Favorites page with user-selected settings, a log of the last parameter changes and the Q-fan Control graphical shell, which allows you to adjust the fan speed depending on the processor and system temperatures. It should be noted that, in addition to clarity, Q-fan Control is good because it works with any fans. However, when using a three-pin connection, the possibility of reducing the rotation speed will be somewhat limited.

Along with the development of UEFI capabilities, ASUS is developing for its boards a rather interesting software package Ai Suite 3, which provides voltage, fan and power adjustments from the Windows environment. This set of programs works with ASUS Z97-K, albeit with some cuts. You can easily get an idea of ​​its main features from the screenshots collected in the next gallery.

software asus z97-k

We are accustomed to the fact that ASUS products are distinguished by wide capabilities, flawless performance and excellent quality. Unfortunately, this reputation with ASUS Z97-K is not fully confirmed. Everything is fine with the software component - both UEFI and the bundled programs make an especially favorable impression. However, the hardware design of this board let us down, to put it mildly. ASUS engineers were overly carried away by the reduction in price and excessively cut the holy of holies - the processor power stabilizer. As a result, the Z97-K - a motherboard based on the Intel Z97 overclocking chipset - turned out to be a neo-overclocking product. In other words, it would be logical if the considered motherboard was based on the cheaper H97 chipset, and then there would be no complaints about it. But the Z97-K claims a higher rank and, unfortunately, clearly falls short of it.

⇡ Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H

Gigabyte is the second largest motherboard manufacturer after ASUS, and it is not surprising that the line of full-size LGA1150 motherboards based on Intel Z97 from this company is also very large. However, Gigabyte sent us only one product for tests - GA-Z97X-UD3H. The choice of this particular model is quite understandable. On the one hand, this is a really inexpensive motherboard with a price of about $ 130, but on the other hand, it belongs to the Ultra Durable series, which means a certain level of quality and equipment. In other words, Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H may well pretend to become one of the best options in terms of price-performance ratio in this review. But before drawing any conclusions, let's get to know her better.

It should be said right away that, unlike motherboards of similar prices from other manufacturers, GA-Z97X-UD3H has no obvious overclocking focus. In the sense that the developers did not add LED indicators, POST controllers, buttons and similar tools to this motherboard, which are interesting when the motherboard is used outside the case. However, all this does not mean at all that the GA-Z97X-UD3H cannot be overclocked. On the contrary, the board is assembled using high-quality electronic components, uses a rigid textolite with protection against moisture and with increased thickness conductive layers, has a special protection of ports from static electricity discharges, has a processor socket with reinforced gold plating, and is also equipped with two BIOS chips. All this, if not directly, then indirectly affects the effectiveness of the board in achieving abnormal conditions.

Moreover, the processor power converter is made on the GA-Z97X-UD3H according to a full-fledged eight-phase circuit. True, its cooling system cannot boast of solidity, since it consists of two independent aluminum radiators 22 mm high, which are attached to the board with spring-loaded plastic nails. The more preferable screw fastening is applied only to the heatsink on the chipset. However, the VRM does not exhibit a tendency to overheat during its operation.

Much attention has been paid to ensuring that massive cooling systems can be installed on the processor. Gigabyte's engineers have pushed both the first PCIe x16 graphics slot and DIMM slots away from the LGA1150. As a result, even double-tower coolers for 140 mm fans will fit the GA-Z97X-UD3H without any problems. And this is especially surprising when you consider that the depth of this board is 19 mm less than the standard ATX size.

Like the ASUS Z97-A and ASRock Z97 Extreme4, the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H can offer support for multi-GPU configurations based on SLI or CrossfireX technologies. The board has three PCIe x16 slots at once, but only the first two are connected to the processor controller. They can work according to the formula x16 / x0 or x8 / x8. The third slot is serviced by the chipset and logically has only four PCI Express 2.0 lanes. It should be noted that, in addition to this slot, the chipset also serves three PCIe x1 slots, which share PCI Express lanes with it. Therefore, it is impossible to simultaneously use x1 and x4 expansion cards on the PCIe card in question. In addition to PCI Express slots, the GA-Z97X-UD3H also has one regular PCI slot. It is implemented by means of the ITE IT8892E bridge.

It must be said that the main idea inherent in the design of Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H should certainly find a response from zealous enthusiasts. The motherboard developers did not save on the power supply scheme and SLI support, but at the same time they did not stuff their product with additional controllers, relying solely on the capabilities of the chipset, which in most cases are more than enough for modern systems. So, it is thanks to the potential in Intel Z97 that the GA-Z97X-UD3H boasts an M.2 slot compatible with both SATA and PCI Express drives, as well as a promising SATA Express port. True, either one or the other will work, but not SATA Express and M.2 at the same time. If these connectors remain free, then the GA-Z97X-UD3H is able to offer the user six familiar SATA 6 Gb / s ports with support for RAID arrays (otherwise, only four SATA 6 Gb / s ports).

As for the USB ports, all of them, like SATA, also work through the chipset. Four USB 3.0 connectors are routed to the rear panel, two more can be connected via a needle connector. There are also four USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel, and two more pairs of such ports are available as connectors on the board. It is worth noting that almost all the connectors on the board are conveniently distributed along its edges, and access to them is not hampered by anything. Problems can arise only with SATA ports, which, after assembling the system, risk being under the graphics card.

The back panel of the board is filled quite densely. In addition to eight USB ports of different types, there are two PS / 2 ports for a mouse and keyboard, a gigabit network socket based on the Intel I217V controller, three monitor outputs (D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI), as well as an optical S / P-DIF-out and five analog audio jacks.

It should be noted that Gigabyte, unlike ASUS, did not skimp on the audio subsystem. On the board in question, it is based on the popular and high-quality eight-channel Realtek ALC1150 audio codec, which is often installed on much more expensive motherboards. In this case, all elements of the sound path on the GA-Z97X-UD3H are collected in a separate zone, and the left and right channels are separated into separate layers of the printed circuit board. There is also a powerful operational amplifier in the circuit that can cope with headphones with high internal impedance.

The GA-Z97X-UD3H package is standard, but in addition to the required minimum, it includes a flexible SLI bridge. In addition, I would like to separately praise Gigabyte for the I / O Shield plug for the rear panel of the case, which is not an ordinary tin with tongues and holes, but has a soft backing, which greatly facilitates the assembly of the system.

There are five four-pin connectors on the board for connecting fans. Two of them are intended for connecting fans of a processor cooler, three are assigned to case fans. Rotation speed control is provided, but, firstly, it works only through PWM, and secondly, its flexible configuration is possible only from the Windows environment using a specialized utility, and not through the BIOS.

Gigabyte is perhaps the one with the most impressive success in UEFI redesign of any motherboard manufacturer. When you first enter the shell on the motherboard in question, we are greeted by a simple and understandable Startup Guide start window. Here you can immediately change the system date, adjust the order of polling boot drives and change the SATA mode.

In principle, for many users this set of settings is quite enough, but for fine-tuning the system in UEFI, two other modes are provided - Smart Tweak Mode and Classic Mode. In the first case, the user is offered a convenient graphical shell that gives access to all the main parameters of the processor and memory, as well as hardware monitoring tools. It should be emphasized that Smart Tweak Mode not only looks modern, but also fully supports Full HD-resolution, using the screen space for various information panels. The basic settings that are provided in this mode can be found in our gallery.

uefi gigabyte ga-z97x-ud3h

It should be added that for convenience, the start page of this mode can not only be arbitrarily selected from the available options, but also completely configured independently.

The second mode, Classic Mode, offers all of the same settings in an older, semi-textual framework. It has almost the same settings as Smart Tweak Mode, and even more. For example, controllers built into the chipset can be controlled only in classic mode.

Gigabyte, like other manufacturers, equips its motherboard with a set of software, including the most interesting utility for enthusiasts EasyTune, which allows you to control the parameters of the processor and memory subsystem (that is, overclocking) from the operating environment. Windows systems... Compared to UEFI, the functionality of this utility is somewhat limited, but perhaps some of the users will like it.

software gigabyte ga-z97x-ud3h

Summing up our acquaintance with the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H, we should admit that it made a favorable impression on us primarily due to the thoughtful combination of characteristics. On the one hand, this is an inexpensive platform that uses exclusively the capabilities of the chipset, but on the other hand, the developers did not skimp on supporting multi-GPU configurations, a set of Ultra Durable technologies and a high-quality processor power converter. In addition, the user-friendly and rich overclocking UEFI shell deserves special praise. As a result, the output from Gigabyte is a solid platform that can satisfy not only the average user, but also enthusiasts.

⇡ MSI Z97 Guard-Pro

Speaking of inexpensive motherboards based on Intel Z97 ATX format, we could not ignore the MSI Z97 Guard-Pro, which long time was the cheapest solution in this segment. Today this motherboard can be purchased for about $ 110, and it has worthy rivals from other manufacturers. Nevertheless, the Z97 Guard-Pro has retained its individuality - it can be called one of the most memorable boards in this review. The reason is in its special appearance. MSI not only managed to come up with a piercingly contrasting black and blue color scheme, but also made a board with a very simple design, freeing it as much as possible from additional controllers and heap of connectors.

To simplify and reduce the cost, the Z97 Guard-Pro lost SLI support and therefore has only one full PCIe x16 3.0 slot. The second PCIe x16 slot on the board is connected to four PCI Express 2.0 lanes coming from the chipset. Featuring a Z97 hub at the heart of the board, the board has six SATA 6Gb / s ports with RAID 0/1/5/10 support and an M.2 slot that is compatible with both SATA and PCI Express. x2 2.0 drives. All six USB 3.0 ports are also available - four can be found on the rear panel and the remaining two are pinned out. In other words, Z97 Guard-Pro offers a typical set of high-speed ports sufficient for most users.

More noticeable manifestations of savings can be seen in what additional chips the developers from MSI decided to equip their motherboard with. There is no PCI support, since an additional bridge would have to be added for it, and sound and network work through the Realtek ALC892 codec and the Realtek RTL8111G gigabit controller - these are purely budget solutions.

At the same time, MSI did not exclude its inexpensive board from the number of products manufactured under the Military Class 4 brand, which means that the entire element base of the Z97 Guard-Pro undergoes intensive testing for reliability, the ports are protected from electrostatic discharges, and the printed circuit board is a special coating is not afraid of moisture.

The location of the processor socket on the Z97 Guard-Pro was also quite successful. It is 28mm away from the memory slots, and the power converter heatsink behind it is only 28mm high. This allows you to easily install massive cooling systems on the processor, which can potentially conflict only with high memory modules inserted into the DIMM slot closest to the processor. Moved one position away from the processor and PCIe x16 graphics slot.

The processor power supply circuit is six-phase. Although the heatsink installed on it seems to be sufficient for dissipating heat, especially since it uses a solid screw mount, in fact it is absolutely lacking, since it covers only part of the MOSFET. As a result, the components of the power circuit remaining outside are very hot, and during overclocking we recorded temperatures close to 100 degrees. There are certain doubts that the board will be able to operate without problems for a long time in this mode.

To connect fans, the board has four four-pin connectors, including a processor one. Either connector allows interactive speed-dependent temperature control, but this feature requires PWM fans. With a 3-pin connection, the speed is not adjustable.

24-pin power connector, needle connectors for four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, SATA ports, serial and (suddenly) parallel connectors, as well as other connector strips are located on the edges of the board, which is very convenient when assembling a system in a case ... Surprisingly, MSI's designers have managed to achieve a successful design using a cut-down PCB. The only frustration is the fact that when placed in the case, the front edge of the Z97 Guard-Pro will remain unsecured.

Fun moment: MSI mentions the Z97 Guard-Pro as a perfect board for mining cryptocurrencies when listing the strengths of its product. Translated from marketing to human, this means that four PCIe x1 slots on it can work simultaneously with a PCIe x4 chipset slot, allowing you to install a total of six graphics cards in the board. Although, of course, in modern realities, such configurations are no longer relevant.

The rear panel of the MSI Z97 Guard-Pro has a standard set of four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an RJ-45 connector for a gigabit network, a PS / 2 port for connecting a mouse or keyboard, six analog audio jacks and D-Sub / monitor outputs. DVI-D / DisplayPort. Please note that neither HDMI monitors and TVs, nor audio devices with a digital interface can be connected to the board.

This is where the description of MSI Z97 Guard-Pro's capabilities can be completed - this is a really very simple motherboard. There are no additional controllers and "chips" for enthusiasts on it, and there is no high-quality sound path. The motherboard is positioned as the most simple but reliable solution. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the package bundle of this board also does not contain any additions beyond the required minimum. However, unexpectedly MSI did not skimp on four SATA cables.

Despite the fact that the board itself is a minimalist solution for LGA1150 processors, its UEFI is not only very rich in settings, but also has a distinctive interface. Upon entering, the shell is greeted with a colorful start screen, which contains basic system information, and there are also options for setting the order of polling boot devices, auto overclocking and enabling XMP profiles. I must say that this screen could have accommodated a much larger amount of useful information, if not for the giant Guard-Pro logo located in its center. However, the user can choose any other as the start page, thereby adding meaning to the UEFI structure.

MSI has drastically changed the look and feel of the BIOS. The information panel is permanently fixed at the top, the main menu of sections is located on the left side of the screen, and on the right is displayed contextual help or information about current voltages. The basic hierarchical structure of the entire UEFI shell menu has also been significantly redone. All settings related to the basic configuration of the processor and memory are placed in a special section Overclocking. Moreover, there are two options for filling this section - simplified and advanced. They differ in the completeness of the list of parameters that are offered for modification to the user. In the maximum version, there are no complaints about the list of overclocking capabilities - you can refer to our gallery for details.

uefi msi z97 ​​guard-pro

However, note that among the options provided there is no function to counteract the voltage drop when the current on the processor rises - CPU Load Line Calibration. Fortunately, it is not very relevant for Haswell processors.

Two completely atypical UEFI pages, implemented by the MSI engineering team, deserve special mention. This is the Hardware monitor, where, in addition to obtaining information about temperatures and voltages in the graphic mode, the rotation speed of all fans is configured.

In addition, attention is drawn to the Boards Explorer page, which gives an idea of ​​the configuration of the assembled system and the used and free slots on the board.

MSI also has a set of bundled software, the central place in which is the Command Center utility. Being an add-on over UEFI, this utility provides easy access to hardware monitoring and configuration of the processor and memory.

software msi z97 ​​guard-pro

It is curious that the Command Center even has a function for creating a RAM disk.

It seems that the MSI Z97 Guard-Pro motherboard can be a great workhorse. It is simple, but based on quality components, well thought out design and very flexible settings. There is only one thing that upsets it: the developers took a somewhat light-headed attitude towards the design of the processor's power supply subsystem, which raises some doubts that this motherboard is capable of serious overclocking. As a result, if you are thinking about the possibility of operating the processor in modes far from the nominal, it is better to prefer some other board. Fortunately, there are more enthusiast-friendly options in the same price range.

⇡ Description of test systems and testing methods

The main goal of our practical testing of inexpensive motherboards is to show the admissibility of their use as part of sufficiently powerful computers, including those that use overclocking. Therefore, the tests were carried out with a Core i5-4690K processor belonging to the Devil's Canyon series. This processor has a higher thermal package of 88 W than the usual Haswell, and therefore it imposes increased requirements on the power supply system of the boards. The tests were carried out both when the CPU was operating in the nominal mode and when it was overclocked. It is known that the sample of the processor we use can function without problems (including when checking the stability with the LinX 0.6.5 utility) at a frequency of 4.5 GHz with an increase in the supply voltage to 1.35 V. We also tested the ability of the boards to provide this overclocking mode in the scope of this testing.

As a result, the list of hardware components involved in testing looked like this:

• processor: Intel Core i5-4690K (Haswell Refresh, 4 cores, 3.5-3.9 GHz, 6 MB L3);
• processor cooler: Noctua NH-U14S;
• motherboards:
  • ASRock Z97 Extreme4 (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 1.50);
  • ASRock Z97 Pro4 (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 1.80);
  • ASUS Z97-A (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 2012);
  • ASUS Z97-C (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 2306);
  • ASUS Z97-K (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 2401);
  • Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS F8e);
  • MSI Z97 Guard-Pro (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS 1.7);
• memory: 2 × 8 GB DDR3-2400 SDRAM, 10-12-12-31 (G.Skill F3-2400C10D-16GTX);
• video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (4 GB / 256-bit GDDR5, 1127-1216 / 7012 MHz);
• disk subsystem: Crucial M550 512 GB (CT512M550SSD1);
• PSU: Seasonic Platinum SS-760XP2 (80 Plus Platinum, 760 W).

Testing was carried out on Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional x64 with Update using the following set of drivers:

• Intel Chipset Driver 10.0.17;
• Intel Management Engine Driver 10.0.0.1204;
• Intel Rapid Storage Technology 13.2.4.1000;
• NVIDIA GeForce 347.25 Driver.

Description of the tools used to measure performance:

Benchmarks:

• Futuremark 3DMark Professional Edition 1.4.828 - testing in Sky Driver, Cloud Gate and Fire Strike scenes.

Applications:

• Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 - performance testing for graphics processing. This measures the average execution time of a test script that is a creatively reworked Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed ​​Test that includes typical processing of four 24-megapixel images captured by a digital camera.
• Maxon Cinebench R15 - Measuring the performance of photorealistic 3D rendering in the CINEMA 4D animation package. The scene used in the benchmark contains about 2 thousand objects and consists of 300 thousand polygons.
• WinRAR 5.1 - testing the speed of archiving. The time taken by the archiver to compress a directory with various files with a total volume of 1.7 GB is measured. The maximum compression ratio is used.
• x264 r2525 - testing the speed of video transcoding to H.264 / AVC format. To evaluate performance, the original [email protected] AVC video file with a bit rate of about 30 Mbps.
• x265 1.4 + 397 8bpp - testing the speed of video transcoding into the promising H.265 / HEVC format. To evaluate the performance, the same video file is used as in the x264 transcoding speed test.

Games:

• Battlefield 4. Settings for 1280 × 800 resolution: Graphics Quality = Custom, Texture Quality = Ultra, Texture Filtering = Ultra, Lighting Quality = Ultra, Effects Quality = Ultra, Post Process Quality = Ultra, Mesh Quality = Ultra, Terrain Quality = Ultra , Terrain Decoration = Ultra, Antialiasing Deferred = Off, Antialiasing Post = High, Ambient Occlusion = HBAO. Settings for 1920 × 1080 resolution: Graphics Quality = Ultra.
• Civilization: Beyond Earth. Settings for 1280 × 800 resolution: DirectX11, Ultra Quality, Anti-aliasing = Off, Multithreaded rendering = On. Settings for 1920 × 1080 resolution: DirectX11, Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA, Multithreaded rendering = On.
• Metro: Last Light Redux. Settings for 1280 × 800 resolution: DirectX 11, High Quality, Texture Filtering = AF 16X, Motion Blur = Normal, SSAA = Off, Tessellation = High, Advanced PhysX = Off. Settings for 1920 × 1080 resolution: DirectX 11, Very High Quality, Texture Filtering = AF 16X, Motion Blur = Normal, SSAA = On, Tessellation = High, Advanced PhysX = Off. Scene 1 is used for testing.
• Thief. Settings for 1280 × 800 resolution: Texture Quality = Very High, Shadow Quality = Very High, Depth-of-field Quality = High, Texture Filtering Quality = 8x Anisotropic, SSAA = Off, Screenspace Reflections = On, Parallax Occlusion Mapping = On, FXAA = Off, Contact Hardening Shadows = On, Tessellation = On, Image-based Reflection = On. Settings for 1920 × 1080 resolution: Texture Quality = Very High, Shadow Quality = Very High, Depth-of-field Quality = High, Texture Filtering Quality = 8x Anisotropic, SSAA = High, Screenspace Reflections = On, Parallax Occlusion Mapping = On, FXAA = On, Contact Hardening Shadows = On, Tessellation = On, Image-based Reflection = On.

⇡ Performance in nominal mode

Testing the performance of motherboards in nominal mode is interesting because it allows you to find out how well they work with the default settings. Accordingly, in this part of the tests, we did not perform any fine configuration of the UEFI parameters, but simply loaded the profile of universal optimized settings created by the board manufacturer. This approach simulates the behavior of a significant part of users who do not pay close attention to the selection of optimal parameters, but trust the system configuration option laid down by the board developers.

It should be noted that in this situation most motherboards set timings for the memory subsystem taken from SPD, not from XMP. The processor is usually configured to work in its normal mode, but with the Turbo Boost technology enabled. This means that the results shown in the diagrams below were obtained with the Core i5-4690K running at 3.7 GHz with auto-overclocking at low load to 3.9 GHz and with the memory operating in DDR3-1333 mode with 9-9-9 delays. -24-1T.

There is, however, one unpleasant exception - the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H motherboard, which has a somewhat peculiar idea of ​​what the normal operating mode of the Core i5-4690K processor looks like. On this board, without any user intervention, the processor frequency is rigidly fixed at 3.9 GHz, and Turbo Boost is disabled. In other words, even with the default settings, the processor on the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H operates slightly overclocked, which naturally affects the test results.

⇡ Power consumption and temperature conditions in nominal mode

The performance of systems of the same type using different motherboards, but the same sets of other components, varies slightly. Energy consumption is another matter. Power circuits on different boards have different designs, manufacturers use different approaches to cooling them, and as a result, when measuring temperatures and power consumption between different boards, noticeable differences come to light. Moreover, these differences are in fact not a secondary argument when choosing a platform. An uneconomical board with high heating of the processor power converter will not only be more expensive to operate, it will also be potentially less reliable. High temperatures do not have the best effect on electronic components, and if constantly overheated, they can fail prematurely.

To get a complete picture of the power consumption and heat dissipation of all tested motherboards based on the Intel Z97 chipset, we conducted a special study. The following graphs show the total system consumption (without monitor) measured at the outlet from the outlet where the test system's power supply is connected, and is the sum of the power consumption of all components involved. The total indicator automatically includes the efficiency of the power supply itself, however, since the PSU model we are using, Seasonic Platinum SS-760XP2, is certified 80 Plus Platinum, its effect should be minimal. During the measurements, the load on the test platforms was created by the 64-bit version of the LinX 0.6.5 utility with support for AVX2 instructions.

The best results in idle state are shown by those boards that, with default settings, correctly activate processor power-saving technologies, and in addition, have an efficient processor voltage conversion circuit design at low loads. These motherboards can be safely attributed to 3-5 W lower than those of competing products.

Under high load, the most important factor is the good efficiency of the power supply circuit. And the general picture does not change here - ASUS motherboards are again at the top of the diagram. However, this does not happen at all due to their high-quality power converter, but because of the defect they have. The fact is that when the processor is heavily loaded, ASUS motherboards drop its frequency to the nominal value of 3.5 GHz, while other motherboards do not disable Turbo Boost under similar conditions, and the processor runs at 3.7 GHz. It should be noted that such anomalous behavior of ASUS products manifests itself only under a truly exorbitant computational load, which so far can only be recreated by programs - stability tests that actively use AVX2 instructions. In real applications, as can be judged from the diagrams above, such negative phenomena have not yet manifested themselves. Nevertheless, this defect in the default settings profile of ASUS motherboards should be borne in mind: in order for the frequency not to decrease, user intervention in the BIOS settings is required.

You should also pay attention to the high consumption of Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H. This is also a side effect of the company's engineers rushing about with default settings, as a result of which the processor frequency is somewhat overestimated. Operating at 3.9 GHz instead of the expected 3.7 GHz, the Core i5-4690K on this board naturally consumes more. Therefore, the "nominal" mode on the Gigabyte board is characterized by increased power consumption.

Let's now evaluate the temperature regime of the boards observed at the maximum load on the test systems. The temperature measurements were carried out on an open bench, but the heating units of the motherboards were blown only by air flows from the processor cooler.

The boards with the highest quality cooling for the processor power converter stand out from the rest of the products. The above diagram clearly indicates that eight-phase power converters equipped with high-quality heat sinks have a much greater margin of safety than stripped-down power supply circuits with four or six phases. Six-phase converters suffer especially strong heating, where the cooling system does not completely cover all heating elements.

However, do not forget that for now we are only talking about motherboards operating in nominal mode, and therefore temperatures and power consumption values ​​look quite decent anyway. The real "battle" test for motherboards should be their operation when overclocking the processor. We will proceed to the description of such experiments.

⇡ Overclocking

All motherboards are required to work well with processors in nominal mode by definition, so it is almost impossible to identify any flaws in their design during routine testing. Overclocking the processor is another matter. In this case, the load on the platforms increases noticeably, which makes it possible to clearly see the weak points in the design of certain products. Since the Intel Z97 chipset is overclocking in nature, all motherboards participating in this testing support overclocking. Accordingly, the BIOS of any of the motherboards under consideration has a full set of tools for changing the base frequency and multipliers of the processor, its Uncore part, and memory. All boards, of course, have options that allow you to control the voltage on individual platform nodes, including memory and CPU cores.

In other words, at first glance, there are no fundamental differences in the overclocking capabilities offered by different boards. To illustrate all this, we have summarized the description of the main BIOS settings of different motherboards that can be used when overclocking a processor in a single table.

	ASRock Z97 Extreme4	ASRock Z97 Pro4	ASUS Z97-A	ASUS Z97-С	ASUS Z97-K	Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H	MSI Z97 Guard-Pro
Overclocking the processor
BCLK frequency	90-300 MHz	90-300 MHz	80-300 MHz	80-300 MHz	80-300 MHz	80-266 MHz	90-300 MHz
CPU frequency multiplier	8-120x	8-120x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x
CPU Core Voltage	0.8-2.0V	0.8-2.0V	0.001-1.92V	0.001-1.92V	0.001-1.92V	0.5-1.8V	0.8-2.1V
CPU Input Voltage	1.2-2.3V	1.2-2.3V	0.8-2.7V	0.8-2.7V	0.8-2.7V	1.0-2.4V	1.2-3.04V
CPU Load-line Calibration	5 levels	1st level	9 levels	5 levels	5 levels	4 levels	No
Cache frequency multiplier	8-120x	8-120x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x	8-80x
Cache voltage	0.8-2.0V	0.8-2.0V	0.001-1.92V	0.001-1.92V	0.001-1.92V	0.8-1.8V	0.8-2.1V
Adjusting the voltage of the CPU System Agent	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.4V	± 0.0-0.99V
Voltage Adjustment CPU Analog I / O	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.4V	± 0.0-0.99V
CPU Digital I / O Voltage Adjustment	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-1.0V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.999V	± 0.0-0.4V	± 0.0-0.99V
Memory overclocking
DDR3 SDRAM frequency	800-4000 MHz	800-4000 MHz	800-3400 MHz	800-3400 MHz	800-3400 MHz	800-2933 MHz	800 - 3200 MHz
Memory voltage	1.165-1.8V	1.165-1.8V	1.2-1.92V	1.185-1.8V	1.185-1.8V	1.16-2.1V	0.24-2.77V

As you can see, any of the seven boards participating in our testing has ample tools for ordinary, non-extreme overclocking. However, in practice, it turns out that motherboards behave very differently when overclocked. Moreover, some of them turned out to be completely incapable of maximizing the frequency of our test Devil's Canyon, potentially achievable with conventional air cooling.

It was known in advance that the sample of the Core i5-4690K processor used in the tests can operate stably at 4.5 GHz when the voltage is increased to 1.35 V. The G.Skill F3-2400C10D-16GTX memory modules used are initially positioned as DDR3-2400 SDRAM with timings of 10-12-12-31-1T, capable of operating in this state at a voltage of 1.65 V. The essence of testing the overclocking functions of the boards was to try to reproduce these modes on each motherboard. And, unfortunately, it turned out that completely problem-free overclocking is possible only on two of the seven platforms that participated in the tests - the ASRock Z97 Pro4 and ASUS Z97-A. The rest of the motherboards turned out to be more capricious and either required additional tinkering in the settings, or were unable to ensure the functioning of the processor and memory at the target frequencies at all.

• ASRock Z97 Extreme4... The board coped with overclocking the Core i5-4690K to 4.5 GHz and clocking the memory at a frequency of DDR4-2400, but after applying the overclocking settings, the system showed signs of short-term (for a fraction of a second) freezes - lags, which were especially noticeable in games. As it turned out, to overcome this problem, you must additionally disable the processor power-saving modes Package C-State.
• ASRock Z97 Pro4... This board was able to please us with simple and flawless overclocking of the processor and memory. To achieve the target modes, it was only necessary to increase the processor multiplier and the multiplier for the memory frequency, as well as increase the voltages on the CPU and DIMM slots.
• ASUS Z97-A... Another motherboard, on which we cannot make any claims to the overclocking procedure.
• ASUS Z97-С... Unfortunately, this board was unable to overclock the processor to 4.5 GHz. Increasing the CPU supply voltage to 1.35 V overloaded the processor power converter, which overheated and caused an emergency shutdown of the system. As a result, we had to limit ourselves to increasing the voltage on the CPU to 1.3 V - in this state the board no longer showed any overheating symptoms. However, the maximum processor frequency achievable in this case was reduced to 4.4 GHz. There were no problems with memory operation in DDR3-2400 mode.
• ASUS Z97-K... Another inexpensive ASUS motherboard - and the same problems. Due to the weakness of the power converter of the Core i5-4690K processor to 4.5 GHz, it was not possible to overclock. The maximum frequency, which was achieved, as in the ASUS Z97-C, was 4.4 GHz. The memory in DDR4-2400 mode worked stably.
• Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H... On this board, we were able to overclock our test Core i5-4690K to 4.5 GHz. However, achieving stability in this state required additional tuning. As it turned out, just increasing the processor voltage to 1.35 V on the GA-Z97X-UD3H is not enough, and, in addition, the CPU I / O Voltage needs to be raised. In our case, a 0.05-volt increase was enough. The motherboard coped with memory clocking at DDR3-2400 without any problems.
• MSI Z97 Guard-Pro... There were no problems with overclocking the processor to 4.5 GHz on this motherboard. Everything worked right away and without any additional tweaks. But switching the memory to DDR3-2400 mode on this board led to instability, which could not be corrected with any additional settings. As a result, the DDR3 SDRAM frequency had to be rolled back to 2133 MHz.
Power consumption and temperatures in nominal mode



Even when platforms are overclocked, idle consumption remains low. This is partly due to the fact that for this test, we manually configured the operation of all processor energy-saving technologies, which can function effectively even when the processor multiplier is forcibly increased. The most economical motherboards are ASUS Z97-A and ASUS Z97-C. It is curious that these are far from the simplest participants in today's testing.



With the full load on the processor, the best power consumption is expected to be allocated to those motherboards on which overclocking for one reason or another had to be limited. If we talk about those motherboards that made it possible to achieve the maximum frequency of the processor and memory, then the best power consumption is characteristic of ASRock Z97 Extreme4 and other motherboards with an eight-phase or more complex CPU power converter. However, it should be noted that, in general, the spread in the consumption of various inexpensive motherboards turned out to be extremely small.

Let's now take a look at the maximum temperatures of the board power converters that were noted during stability testing.



The diagram is more than indicative. The highest temperature of the power converter is observed on those motherboards where the developers saved on the radiator and did not cover the entire set of heating elements with it. Naturally, without cooling, MOSFETs are capable of reaching exorbitant temperatures, which they do under significant load.

The ASUS Z97-K board also got into the group of outsiders. She has a radiator that covers the entire VRM unit, but it is not made efficient enough to work with an overclocked Core i5-4690K four-phase scheme.

Low heating of the processor power circuit is observed on ASRock Z97 Extreme4 and ASUS Z97-A. On these boards, it has an advanced 12- and 8-phase design, respectively, and is covered by heatsinks with a fairly substantial surface area. And as we can see, this is a really necessary measure, not a marketing technique.

⇡ Conclusions

Based on the results of the testing, we can now reasonably say that many inexpensive full-size motherboards based on the Intel Z97 chipset are really capable of acting as full-fledged platforms for modern computers. In other words, saving on a motherboard is not only acceptable, but even with budget constraints, it makes quite obvious practical sense. True, testing also showed that individual manufacturers, carried away by promoting more expensive boards from specialized series, began to treat their simple rootless products somewhat dismissively. Therefore, among inexpensive motherboards based on Z97, we found both successful and obviously unsuitable for use by advanced users, which made a far from the best impression on us.

The good news is that it turns out to be very easy to single out attractive platforms that have a convenient design, have sufficiently developed functionality and are able to effectively overclock processors. The main thing in an inexpensive motherboard is that the development team does not try to save money on the processor power converter, otherwise the Intel Z97 system logic itself provides sufficient characteristics. Therefore, it is not difficult to formulate a general principle for choosing a cheap but high-quality motherboard for LGA1150 processors: you should prefer those models whose VRM is assembled at least in a six-channel (even better - in an eight-channel) scheme, and the radiator covers all the power elements.

Speaking specifically about the boards that took part in this testing, we would like to mention the following products.

• ASUS Z97-A is a great motherboard from the market leader. It is a stable and functional platform with almost no major flaws. It has good performance, supports SLI and CrossfireX, and even inherited some ASUS proprietary technologies for enthusiasts from its older brothers. There is only one thing that pleases me in it - the cost of this board will not suit all buyers interested in saving the budget.



• ASRock Z97 Extreme4 is a suitable option for those consumers who want the most of the features at the lowest possible price. Although this board is one of the relatively inexpensive offerings, it not only has SLI and CrossfireX support and has a large set of "chips" for overclockers, but also has additional SATA and USB controllers that expand its specifications. True, this board also has some flaws - problems with energy-saving technologies and slightly worse performance than competitors.



• Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H is a good alternative for ASUS Z97-A with a similar feature set, beautiful and functional BIOS and high quality audio codec. Gigabyte's offer looks very attractive due to the proprietary Ultra Durable technology suite. However, we still cannot put it in first place because of this manufacturer's love for tricks and forced overclocking of the processor even when choosing the default settings.



Summing up, it is worth noting one more fact. Somehow, by itself, it turned out that the list of our recommended boards included only offers no less than $ 130. It is very likely that a symbolic border passes through this amount, and you can go below it only if the assembly of a high-performance system and the subsequent overclocking of the processor are not included in your plans.

The ASUS Z97-A motherboard is one of the most expensive in this review. Nevertheless, when creating it, ASUS did not resort to using a scattering of additional controllers, deciding to do with the very minimum, and also cut down the solutions demanded by enthusiasts, typical for more expensive models. In other words, the Z97-A embodies all the properties of the Intel Z97 chipset, but practically does not go beyond Intel's specifications. However, such words can be said about almost any motherboard from this review. The interesting thing about ASUS Z97-A lies in the fact that, following the path of cost reduction, the developers have not crossed the border beyond which high-end products become consumer goods.

In other words, ASUS Z97-A can be described as a model for budget enthusiasts. At a price of about $ 145, this board not only looks decent, but, having all the overclocking functions, makes it easy to overclock processors. The processor power circuit has a digital eight-phase design, high-quality electronic components are used, and the cooling system copes with its role with dignity. It should be noted that at first glance, two heatsinks on a MOSFET, pressed with spring-loaded plastic nails, do not inspire much confidence, but in fact, the heating of the power converter during operation turns out to be very insignificant.

At the same time, the developers have cleared space around the processor socket, which makes it possible to install arbitrarily massive cooling systems on the CPU. The PCIe x16 slot for the video card is additionally moved one position away from the LGA1150, and the heatsinks of the voltage converter are very low. Only the fact that the distance from the edge of the processor socket to the first DIMM slot is only 28 mm is worrying - this can cause mechanical problems when using large air coolers and memory modules with high radiators in the slots closest to the processor. most motherboards.

By the way, you should pay attention to the fact that the depth of ASUS Z97-A is 244 mm, standard for the ATX format. And this is good, because, firstly, it allows you to rigidly fix the motherboard in the case with all nine bolts, and secondly, it allows engineers to comfortably distribute connectors and switches over the board. Actually, this is why the Z97-A is distinguished by an extremely thoughtful design: all connectors are located on the bottom and right edges of the board, which is ideal for simple cable routing inside the case.

The board in question offers a wide range of expansion card slots, typical of flagship rather than inexpensive motherboards. However, it should be borne in mind that out of the three available PCIe x16 slots, only two are connected to the processor, and when installing two-component multi-GPU systems, they work according to the 8x + 8x formula. The third, extreme slot is powered by PCI Express lines from the chipset and operates in 2x mode. In addition to this, the board offers two PCIe x1 slots, as well as two PCI slots, which are operated via an optional ASMedia ASM1083 controller. It should be noted that the places for the PCI slots were not chosen very well. A dual-deck graphics card installed in any of the PCIe x16 graphics slots will block the adjacent PCI slot.

To connect storage media, the board has a full set of six regular SATA 6 Gb / s ports (with support for RAID 0, 1, 10, and 5), of which two can be combined into SATA Express. In addition, the board also has an M.2 slot, which, however, can accommodate only a few drives on the market that work via PCI Express 2.0 x2. Numerous SATA drives in M.2 format are not supported by the board. Also, keep in mind that installing an M.2 PCIe SSD will disable both PCIe x1 slots on the board.

As for the USB ports, all of them, like SATA, work through the chipset. Four USB 3.0 are brought out to the rear panel, two more can be connected via a needle connector. There are two USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel, but six more are available as onboard connectors.

It is curious that ASUS engineers have implemented a full set of various connectors on the Z97-A for connecting to the monitor's graphics core built into the processor. There are four different options: HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub and DisplayPort, with modern Haswell processor graphics capable of driving three displays simultaneously.

In addition, the rear panel of the board has a PS / 2 port for a mouse or keyboard, a gigabit network socket, for which the Intel I218V controller is responsible, as well as audio connectors: an optical S / P-DIF output and five analog jacks.

Until now, we have not had to say that ASUS has seriously saved on something in its Z97-A, but such things still exist. And that's an audio codec. The cheap eight-channel Realtek ALC892 is used instead of the ALC1150 typical of high-end and mid-priced motherboards. However, ASUS developers spent a lot of effort to achieve good sound from it, for which they applied the entire range of engineering solutions they have: shielding the analog part, spacing the channels across different layers of the board, using high-quality Japanese capacitors in the audio path and using a powerful operational amplifier.

Along with the codec, some of the features that make ASUS motherboards so convenient when using them in overclocking experiments were also sequestered. For example, the Z97-A lacks a POST controller, convenient Reset and Clear CMOS buttons, and the ability to restore firmware without installing a processor and memory on the board. Nevertheless, the ASUS Z97-A still retains the Power On button, diagnostic Q-LEDs, a button to overcome problems with memory settings MemOK !, as well as the EZ XMP switch, which allows you to activate the XMP profile.

The package bundle of ASUS Z97-A looks a bit richer than that of other motherboards of this price level. For example, ASUS did not skimp on the SLI bridge and Q-Connector pads, which make it easier to connect small wires to the board during assembly. However, the included I / O Shield is not a soft backing, but a standard tin plate that causes multiple installation problems.

As for the BIOS shell, in this case we are faced with a typical ASUS UEFI with its familiar pros and cons. Its undoubted advantage is the human-readable EZ Mode and the modernized graphical interface, but there are also disadvantages - poor configurability of the shell for individual user needs and work in a resolution of 1024 × 768.

EZ Mode offers the most basic settings and system information in a simplified interface. With its help, the user can get information about the processor and hardware, change the order of polling boot devices, enable XMP and access the fan settings. In addition, the EZ Tuning Wizard is also available from here, allowing you to enable overclocking or configure a RAID array. However, these possibilities are far from exhaustive, so we recommend using the "advanced" interface mode.

It contains all the typical settings of the classic BIOS, which are presented in a familiar hierarchical structure. Of course, the interface has become more modern, a mouse works in it and there are even animation effects, but in fact this is the good old BIOS Setup. The main structural innovation is the appearance of the My Favorites page, which the user can design independently by transferring frequently used options to it.

In addition, a very convenient Last Modified window has appeared in the BIOS, allowing you to see a list of the last settings changed.

One of the important advantages of the UEFI motherboard ASUS Z97-A is the ability to configure the fan speed. Any of the five fans that can be connected to the board allows flexible interactive control (up to stopping) depending on the temperature of a particular node. At the same time, both three- and four-pin connections are supported.

Foreword

In the first half of May, Intel made a major update to the LGA1150 platform. You could learn about the new processors from the review “ Meet Haswell Refresh". These are all the same Haswell processors, but their frequency has increased by 100 MHz and, accordingly, the performance has also slightly increased and the numbers have increased. Haswell Refresh processors have nothing fundamentally new, but their price has not changed compared to their predecessors, so they were met without much enthusiasm, but at the same time there were no disappointments. Not bad, nothing more.

In addition to the processors, the line of logic sets has undergone a partial update. Most of the chipsets of the eighth series, such as Intel H81, B85, Q85 and Q87, remained unchanged, and for the two older Intel Z87 and H87 analogs appeared - Z97 and H97. If you remember what it looked like and compare with the scheme of the new Z97 chipset, you can find a minimum of differences, the most noticeable of which is support for future fifth-generation Core processors.

Looking at the diagrams, one would assume that the new motherboards will be almost indistinguishable from the old ones. Motherboards based on Intel Z97 and H97 logic are already on sale and, indeed, some models exactly repeat the old ones, but many are completely new. Support for fifth-generation processors is not bad, but they are still far from them, at the moment it turned out to be more important to expand the capabilities of new sets of logic in the field of working with drives, which was not reflected in the diagrams. The boards received support for interfaces that use the PCI Express bus to speed up data exchange - M.2 and SATA Express. Previously, this was also possible, but manufacturers had to implement support themselves. For example, some ASUSTeK "ROG" motherboards were equipped with an M.2 connector. Now it's easier to use newer, faster drives.

To get acquainted with the new look of the LGA1150 platform, we chose the Asus Z97-A motherboard, since this is a mid-range model, not too simple, but at the same time not overloaded with numerous additional functions and controllers. Later, we will definitely look at the flagship boards and, most likely, we will study the starting models, but for a start it is better to avoid extremes. In addition, ASUSTeK is the largest motherboard manufacturer that values ​​its reputation and does not allow itself to put on sale "raw", unfinished products with known flaws. There are real reasons to believe that the board will look good, have a sufficient set of features, and at the same time work exactly as expected. Let's find out if this is so.

Packaging and equipment

The new set of logic is not a reason to change the well-proven principles of packaging and design of motherboard boxes. On the front side we see the name of the Asus Z97-A model and logos, on the back side we find the image of the board, a short list of technical characteristics and information about some of the features.

Inside the board is packed in an antistatic bag, and below, separated by a structured sheet of cardboard, are the components:

three Serial ATA cables with metal latches, a pair with two straight, one with one straight and the second L-shaped connector, cables are specially designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb / s devices (they differ in white inserts on the connectors);
flexible bridge for combining two video cards in SLI mode;
back panel cover (I / O Shield);
set of adapters "Asus Q-Connector", which 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;
user guide;
illustrated quick assembly instructions;
a cheat sheet with information on electrical safety and general rules work;
Brochure detailing the characteristic features of Z97 series motherboards;
DVD with software and drivers;
"Powered by ASUS" sticker on the system unit.

The package bundle is not surprising, apart from an odd number of SATA cables. I don't even remember if this has ever happened before, usually the number of cables is always a multiple of two, they are even packed in pairs.

Design and capabilities

Having seen the Asus Z97-A motherboard for the first time, I would never say that this is just a mid-range model. The board looks very serious and impressive. Eight-phase digital power system "DIGI + VRM" provides support for modern and future LGA1150 processors, its heating elements are covered with a pair of radiators. Only the chipset heatsink uses a strong screw fastening, and two additional ones are fastened using spring-loaded plastic pins, but their heating is negligible even during overclocking. Four slots for DDR3 modules can hold up to 32 GB of RAM and promise the ability to increase its frequency to 3200 MHz.

On right side the board brought out four SATA 6 Gb / s ports and a new SATA connector Express, and you most likely do not have such drives yet, but for now you can use two more SATA 6 Gb / s ports included in its design, so the total number of SATA ports is still six.

Just below the processor socket is an M.2 connector with the ability to use drives 22 in width and 60 or 80 mm in length. It is initially disabled because it shares free lanes with two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots for expansion cards. I naively thought that owners of the Asus Z97-A should wait for the spread of SATA Express drives, but they can already use commercially available SSDs with an M.2 connector, but everything is not as simple and as good as it seemed. You could get a small digression into the history of the issue from the article “ Plextor M6e PCI Express SSD Review". The bottom line is that the specification assumes four PCI Express lanes and a SATA port in M.2. However, Intel chipsets do not have enough free PCI-E lanes, so SATA Express and M.2 connectors received only two out of four lanes. Not very good, but it didn't stop there. Asus Z97-A is not a flagship solution and does not use additional controllers. Four SATA connectors are removed as separate ports, two more are included in the SATA Express connector, and the M.2 SATA interface does not get at all. If you look at the specifications of the board, you will see that the M.2 connector only supports drives operating on the PCI Express bus (PCIE mode). As a result, it is possible to install such a rare drive as the Plextor M6e in the M.2 form factor on the board, but the board is not compatible with the majority of conventional M.2 drives operating via SATA already on the market. Very sad.

Two PCI Express 3.0 / 2.0 x16 slots are able to share the PCI-E processor lines, they provide joint operation of video cards in NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX modes. In the latter case, a third PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot based on PCI-E chipset lines can be added to the bundle, but it is limited not only by the second version of the protocol, but also by the x2 speed. In addition to those listed for expansion cards, the board has two PCI Express 2.0 x1 and two PCI slots.

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

video outputs D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort;
two USB 2.0 ports, and six more can be brought out using three internal connectors on the board;
universal PS / 2 connector for connecting a keyboard or mouse;
four USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors) appeared due to the capabilities of the Intel Z97 chipset, and two additional USB 3.0 ports can be brought out using one internal connector;
LAN connector (the network adapter is built on the Intel WGI218V gigabit controller);
optical S / PDIF, as well as five analog audio connectors, the operation of which is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC892 codec.

The schematic representation 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. There is a power button and a "MemOK!" Button that allows the board to start successfully even if there are problems with the RAM. The familiar "TPU" (TurboV Processing Unit) switches for system overclocking and the "EPU" (Energy Processing Unit) switches for economical operation have been supplemented with the new "EZ XMP" switch, which allows using the memory modules' overclocking profile. Special attention was paid to the sound quality on the board. Crystal Sound 2 technology includes a built-in amplifier and dedicated capacitors, shielding and separate layers for left and right channels. By the way, it's a pity that the "USB BIOS Flashback" technology is not supported by the Asus Z97-A board; after the appearance of the fifth generation Core processors, it may come in handy.

It is worth noting the complex of technologies "Q-Design", which simplifies the assembly and operation of systems based on ASUSTeK motherboards. To determine the source of problems at startup, the "Q-LED" LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) that light up during initialization are used. “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 include 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 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 to provide 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.

For convenience, all the main technical characteristics of the Asus Z97-A motherboard have been compiled into a single table:

BIOS Features

If you were familiar with the UEFI BIOS capabilities of ASUSTeK motherboards, its new look will surely surprise you.

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, using "EZ System Tuning" to select the operating mode of the system and set the order of polling boot devices. Previously, it was necessary to speak disparagingly about the "EZ Mode" mode, but now the language does not turn to call it useless. Its capabilities are still not enough for complete, for correct adjustment, but such a task was not even posed. For these purposes, the extended mode "Advanced Mode" is used, and the starting one now quite copes with its task of initial, preliminary configuration of the system.

There is more animation on the screen, a graph of the processor temperature changes is drawn, the icons of the running fans rotate ... By the way, the operating mode of the fans is easy to configure by choosing from the standard set: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo". You can leave the full rotation speed, or select the appropriate parameters in manual mode, simply by moving the points on the graph. This Q-Fan Tuning wizard is subsequently invoked by pressing the F6 key.

Are you a beginner user? Are you confused or even frightened by incomprehensible abbreviations and terms? Use the EZ Tuning Wizard, which guides you through several steps to get an overclocked system as a result.

Using the same wizard, you can configure the operation of multiple drives in a RAID array.

Are you an experienced user and are you just annoyed with unnecessary tips and tricks? Then we immediately switch from the “EZ Mode” to the “Advanced Mode” using the “F7” key, later the “Advanced Mode” mode can be made the starting one in the settings. In this case, the first before our eyes will appear the familiar section "Main", however, it is familiar only by the name and the list of features, but it looks completely different. Using this section as an example, it is very convenient to evaluate the pros and cons of the new BIOS design. For comparison, you can use a similar BIOS page of any already known board from ASUSTeK. For example, I propose to remember what this section looked like for a model with a similar name Asus Z87-A. We will not evaluate new fonts and colors. I was satisfied with the old ones, the new ones are no less cute, but these aspects are too individual and subjective, the main thing is the structural changes of the page.

In the lower right corner there used to be a column of active "hot" keys, now it has changed, turned into a line and moved up. The new menu 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 any 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.

When any of the BIOS parameters were highlighted, contextual information about its purpose, interval and step of change was previously displayed in the column on the right, but now monitoring information is constantly displayed: frequencies, temperatures, voltages, and the reference information has moved down. At the bottom it is no worse than on the right, but in addition to this, a new line with "hot" keys was added at the top, and at the bottom there was an option "Last Modified" for which there was no separate "hot" key and the link "F7" to return to the simplified mode " EZ Mode ". As a result, our field of view has increased in width, but it was quite enough before, but it has noticeably decreased in the vertical direction - this is the most significant drawback of the new BIOS design.

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 previous 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 the options of the section are initially shown. More than once I had to deal with a situation when users could not find the necessary BIOS parameters and now we see just a classic example of such a case. I am absolutely sure that many simply will not be able to find the "Security" subsection. The situation is no better in large sections. Due to the narrowed field of view, it is easy to accidentally scroll or scroll, and as a result, skip a required parameter or even an entire group.

As before, the “Main” section is not the first in the list, in front of it there is a “My Favorites” page, which is designed to collect in one place all the parameters you use most often. Initially, the section 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 removed in previous BIOS versions, however, the "My Favorites" section is still as if left out, it cannot be selected as the starting point, like any other section, so this is still a drawback. ...

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 "Ai Overclock Tuner" parameter to "X.M.P." to automatically change the parameters of the memory subsystem, or to "Manual", 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's 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 ​​for the rest.

A separate subsection contains the options that have appeared thanks to the digital power supply 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 turned on or off, but also the degree of counteraction can be measured.

ASUSTeK boards have an advantage in the form of numerous options of 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 ​​are 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 subtract the required value in the "Offset" mode, or you can use the adaptive (interpolation) option. 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 that 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 the basic information about the processor and manage some processor technologies, for example, 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 the first three 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 ​​manually, rather than 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 ​​of 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 motherboards. 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 regulate the rotational speed of three-pin processor fans, but now this function has finally returned to motherboards from ASUSTeK. 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 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 monitored, 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, and you need to change the starting mode "EZ Mode" to "Advanced Mode". At the same time, during setup, you can disable the "Fast Boot" parameter 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", which allows you to disable the beautiful 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 keep the current firmware version before upgrading has been 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 chosen unsuccessfully, because memory latencies change in a completely different subsection, it is 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 ​​of the parameters, save the changes made or discard them, however, 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 the system is rebooted or turned off. You can always look at 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. Looking at the list, you can easily check the correctness of the specified values ​​before 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 ​​recorded 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 is no longer useless. The number of parameters available for changing has increased, configuration wizards have been added, which, using several sequential 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.

We will not evaluate new fonts and colors. I was satisfied with the old ones, the new ones are no less nice, but these aspects are too individual and subjective, the main thing is the structural changes in the BIOS pages, which I consider 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 mode "EZ Mode". As a result, our field of view has increased in width, but it was quite enough before, but it has noticeably decreased in the vertical direction - this is the most 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 narrowed 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.

Rival selection and test system configuration

All experiments were carried out on a test system that includes the following set of components:

Motherboard - Asus Z97-A rev. 1.03 (LGA1150, Intel Z97, BIOS version 1008);
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 - Enhance EPS-1280GA, 800W;
Case - an open test bench based on the Antec Skeleton case.

As operating system used 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 graphics card.

For comparison, it was originally planned to take the ASRock Z87 Extreme4 motherboard. This model is about the same mid-range as the Asus Z97-A, and in general, ASRock motherboards have not appeared in our reviews for a long time. Moreover, this the board has already been verified earlier, but left not the best impression, so I wanted to flash a new BIOS and see if anything has changed since then. I am very pleased with the extremely convenient BIOS update system "ASRock Internet Flash", it is a pity that other manufacturers for some reason did not want or could not implement a similar one. However, it turned out that when you select the economy mode of operation and enable all energy-saving technologies, it is impossible to boot the operating system. In another series of experiments, this drawback did not appear, but it was found that the board still does not allow overclocking in the most rational way - without changing the voltage on the processor. In general, it was decided to abandon the use of the ASRock Z87 Extreme4 model. If we liked ASRock motherboards based on Intel Z77 Express logic and became a real discovery, then subsequent models are no longer impressive, until there was a reason to change this opinion.

The next candidate for comparison is Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC. Of course, there is no question of any resemblance to the Asus Z97-A, the boards are completely different, both in price and positioning. However, the Gigabyte board tested for a long time, then I did not know yet that its not the most impressive results are explained not by the complexity of the model and not by its individual characteristics. In the summer of 2013, all LGA1150 motherboards from Gigabyte noticeably changed their consumer qualities, they became less economical due to the partial inoperability of energy-saving technologies. The company tries not to advertise this problem, it has not been corrected for a very long time, but in the review of the model Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH I happily announced that the bug had been fixed. So I wanted to see how Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC works with normal, non-defective firmware, but, unfortunately, I have bad news for owners of LGA1150 motherboards from Gigabyte. Nothing has changed, I was mistaken, and now it is even clear how and why it happened. I was confused by the complexity of the update, for which it was impossible to use the “Q-Flash” utility built into the BIOS, it had to be manually flashed using the new version of the efiflash.exe utility, however, as it turned out, the complication had nothing to do with fixing the problem.

To notice the increased wastefulness of LGA1150 motherboards from Gigabyte, just compare with the consumption of some motherboard from another manufacturer. However, it was impossible to make such a comparison directly, because the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH model is equipped with an additional PCI Express bus hub, which noticeably increases its power consumption. Another way is to compare the consumption when using the early, spring BIOS version, which is free from errors, and the latest, most recent. Here are just the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH board for some reason delayed its release, its starting BIOS version is dated November 2013, that is, it is deliberately defective. I used the third comparison option. A side problem when using defective firmware is the increase in power consumption of the boards with the enabled graphics core integrated into the LGA1150 processors. If we turn on the integrated graphics on a Gigabyte board with an early working BIOS version or on a motherboard from another manufacturer, the consumption will not change, because we are using a discrete video card, and the integrated graphics core is at rest and idle. If the firmware is with an error, then the power consumption will increase significantly. I measured the consumption with the default settings, then turned off the integrated graphics, got the same numbers and decided with satisfaction that the problem was fixed. My mistake was that earlier on all Gigabyte boards the graphics integrated into the processors were enabled, but the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH model has it disabled by default. I even noted this fact in the review, but did not connect one with the other. As a result, I measured the consumption of the system with the value of "Auto" for the parameter "Intel Processor Graphics", then changed it to "Disabled", but in both cases the integrated graphics was disabled, so the consumption turned out to be the same.

Even this mistake of mine would have been easy to notice, because for comparison there was an Asus Maximus VI Extreme board, and later the MSI Z87 XPOWER model appeared. Both these motherboards are also equipped with the same PLX PEX 8747 hub, so their consumption is quite comparable to each other, but not to the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH. They already know how to turn off a hub when it is not in use, and on a Gigabyte board it always works and constantly consumes energy. I explained the increased power consumption of the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD7 TH model by its inability to turn off the hub. Indeed, this is the main drawback, but the additional wastefulness of the board is due to the previous drawback of not only this model, but all the others - the incomplete performance of energy-saving technologies. I apologize to the readers for this mistake, it was caused by my carelessness and an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances. Unfortunately, the common problem of all Gigabyte LGA1150 motherboards has not been fixed yet, they all continue to waste energy, increase your electricity bills, cause unnecessary harm to the environment, so no model from Gigabyte can compare with the Asus Z97-A does not fit.

As a result, the Asus Z87-PLUS model was chosen as a reference for comparison with the Asus Z97-A motherboard. A mid-tier board, did not take part in our tests earlier. Of course, this is not a standard at all, this board is also manufactured by ASUSTeK, and therefore it has all the characteristic drawbacks of Asus boards, for example, resetting the processor frequency under high loads. Comparing the two related models, we will not see the difference, but in this case it is not so important and not even necessary. We need to compare two different chipsets, the new Intel Z97 and the old Z87, and for this two similar models are the best fit. As for the various features of the operation of boards from different manufacturers and the difference between them, we will see all this in the next reviews.

Nuances of work in nominal mode

The assembly of the test system based on the Asus Z97-A motherboard passed without problems, the firmware was successfully updated to the most current version at the time of checking. Next, a traditional series of not very serious, but very numerous and annoying shortcomings of Asus motherboards awaited us, since absolutely no differences in the behavior of the Asus Z97-A model from the previous ASUSTeK motherboards on the Intel Z87 logic were found. At startup, they show a boot image, which prompts that you can enter the BIOS by pressing the "Del" or "F2" keys. However, these are standard features that do not require reminders, and the rest of the keys, individual for different manufacturers, are traditionally forgotten. For example, Asus boards use the F8 key to bring up a menu that allows you to select a startup device for an extraordinary boot. There is information about this in the manual, but the hint would be most appropriate and very useful when starting the board, but for some reason it is still not there.

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 one. 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 very difficult to do this and it will not work out on the first try. Asus Z97-A 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” parameter 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.

The question is, why are such difficulties necessary if you can simply turn on the "EPU Power Saving Mode" parameter in order to instantly put the system into an economical mode of operation? I answer. In general, I would be very careful about using any proprietary technologies for increasing efficiency, since they change the nominal operating conditions of the processor in an unknown way. How are the savings achieved? The processor is supplied with an underestimated voltage, it can raise the frequency less often or increase it to lower values, but at the same time it drops more often, which will affect performance. Under load, the difference will be noticeable, for example, instead of 118 W after turning on the EPU, the system consumed about 110 W in the test using the LinX utility. However, at rest, the consumption did not change at all and remained at a relatively high value of 42 W. The saving method I propose preserves the normal operating mode of the processor and does not reduce its performance. We don’t change anything, we don’t remove or add anything, we only fully enable all the energy-saving technologies already in the processor, which function only partially with nominal settings. No shenanigans, but as a result, at rest, the system's power consumption is reduced from 42 watts to 38 watts. If you are not worried about a possible drop in performance, and the priority is to reduce peak power consumption and heat dissipation, then turn on the proprietary power-saving modes after you have ensured the maximum nominal efficiency of the processor.

Initially, the incomplete performance of energy-saving processor technologies is found on any LGA1150 motherboards from all manufacturers, but apart from that, ASUSTeK's motherboards have one more drawback. Under high load, they will reset the processor multiplier to the nominal, although in the nominal mode the frequency should be higher than the rated one thanks to Intel Turbo Boost technology. To avoid frequency drop, it is necessary to increase the allowable limits of processor consumption in the BIOS. For Asus boards, these options are located in the Internal CPU Power Management subsection of the Ai Tweaker section.

Interestingly, when overclocking the processor, it is not necessary to set these numbers on your own, the board will automatically raise them to the required level so that the processor does not reset the multiplier below the specified one. It is all the more strange that the board is not able to ensure the processor's performance at the nominal frequencies. However, this drawback will manifest itself only at very high loads; in ordinary applications or games, the drop in speed is almost imperceptible.

Overclocking abilities

If, when working with nominal settings, there were no differences in the behavior of the Asus Z97-A compared to the previous motherboards from ASUSTeK based on Intel Z87 logic, they were revealed during overclocking. First of all, I was very interested in how the new EZ Tuning Wizard would work in overclocking mode. Let me remind you that in addition to this, the wizard is able to help in organizing a RAID array. You don't even notice this second possibility right away, I think it would be worth sharing them.

So, at first, the master recorded that the processor and memory are working in nominal mode.

Then he asked how we are going to use the computer for everyday work or as a game and for processing media files? Of course for gaming and video encoding!

Then it was asked to choose the type of processor cooling system. The user can buy a ready-made computer and not know the detailed details, I liked that for such cases there is also an answer option, but I was aware that the Noctua NH-D14 tower cooling system is used in the test system.

By the way. The Noctua NH-D14 cooler is equipped with two three-pin fans, but none of the previously tested Socket FM2 + boards based on AMD A88X logic, including the ASUSTeK board, could control processor fans with a three-pin connection, they always rotated at maximum speed. And now it was so pleasant and comfortable to work with the Asus Z97-A motherboard, which is able to automatically adjust the rotational speed of both processor fans depending on the load and temperature.

There are no more questions left for the EZ Tuning Wizard. He promised to significantly increase the performance of the processor and memory, but warned, and twice, that in case of instability, you should load the nominal settings.

Uncertainty of the master in his own abilities was quite understandable when the system rebooted and the results of his work became visible.

He raised the base clock a little, raised the processor factor to x44 and increased the memory clock, prudently reducing the latencies. So far, everything is fine, but the voltage on the processor under load will increase to 1.25 V, and this is not just a lot, but a lot. In this mode, the processor is capable of performing only relatively light and short-term calculations; as soon as the load increases and its duration increases, it immediately had to face overheating, and in order to avoid this, the processor began to skip clock cycles and decrease performance. No, we do not need such a pseudo-overclocking, we still need to work on the algorithms of the “EZ Tuning Wizard” in the overclocking mode, while it is not recommended to use it.

Like other models from 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. When the "Ratio Only" value is selected, overclocking is performed by increasing the processor multiplier.

Of course, the result obtained is lower than after the work of the “EZ Tuning Wizard”, but this is not an ideal, but quite workable mode for any, even very high and long-term loads. One more important nuance- if earlier motherboards from ASUSTeK during automatic overclocking using the “OC Tuner” option were limited to changing the processor parameters, now overclocking has become complex, at the same time the “X.M.P.” profile was applied to memory modules, which is very correct.

When BCLK First is selected, OC Tuner increases the base frequency in addition to changing the multiplier.

The resulting processor frequency has become higher, but the memory frequency has decreased, and the processor voltage has increased. It is difficult to say which of the two variants of the OC Tuner function is more and which is less successful. In fact, any automatic overclocking method is not ideal on any motherboard, so we generally don't recommend using it. With a painstaking selection of the most optimal values ​​of the parameters affecting overclocking, we always get a much better result. Either the final values ​​will be higher, or comparable, but with lower power consumption and heat dissipation.

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 the 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, and 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 amount of calculations will decrease. Only such acceleration will have a minimal effect on environmental pollution, 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 ensure 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, it is possible to identify problems more easily and quickly, to detect errors and deficiencies.

Previously, we always increased the voltage in the "Offset" mode, plus a similar adaptive or interpolation mode became available for LGA1150 processors, but for Haswell processors, both options turned out to be 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 we overclock the processor to 4.5 GHz during testing motherboards while fixing the voltage on the cores at 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, in addition, it has almost no effect on the power consumption of the system at rest.

By the way, earlier we published an 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 the 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 increasing core voltage anyway.

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 ​​of the parameters, which are not optimal, but do not change anything else. So we first measure the speed of 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-A are highlighted in color for clarity.

In the Cinebench 15 photorealistic 3D rendering speed test, we run the CPU 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 test, which is a creatively reworked Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed ​​Test that includes typical processing of four 24-megapixel images captured by a digital camera.

The popular archiver WinRAR 5.10 Beta 4 is used to measure the time spent on packaging the Adobe Photoshop CC distribution kit, and the results are averaged.

Computer game Metro: Last Light is very beautiful, but it depends heavily on the performance of the video card. We had to use the Medium Quality setting 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 their maximum, selecting the "Ultra High Quality" mode, and additionally enabled all available image enhancement features. The in-game test is run five times and the results are averaged.

The new version of 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.

In the diagrams, the Asus Z97-A and Asus Z87-PLUS motherboards are periodically swapped, but the difference in speed is very small, the system performance is almost the same. Now let's see what results the systems will show when overclocking the processor and increasing the memory frequency.

Again, the difference is not visible, so the new Intel Z97 chipset has no performance advantages over its predecessor, however, it is in no way inferior to it.

Energy consumption measurements

Energy 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 are waiting for the complete cessation of post-start activity and the absence of calls to the drive. The results in the diagrams are sorted according to the growth of consumption, and the indicators of the Asus Z97-A board are highlighted in color for clarity.

This time the differences between the boards are obvious, the Asus Z87-PLUS model consumes more. However, this does not mean anything yet, everything may change, since both boards operate with sub-optimal default settings. Let's try to include all processor power-saving technologies to see the real relationship between the two related models.

The power consumption of the systems has noticeably decreased, but their arrangement has remained the same, the Asus Z97-A model is noticeably more economical. It is difficult to say what exactly explains this difference. According to the specifications, the consumption of the Intel Z97 and Z87 chipsets is the same and amounts to 4.1 watts. Both boards have eight-phase power converters, the Asus Z87-PLUS model is equipped with an additional SATA controller, but it alone cannot provide such differences. Apparently, the difference in consumption is due to several reasons.

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 drop even below 30 watts. 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 give us the opportunity 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 benchmark, 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. That is why we put a load on the processor when measuring energy consumption using the LinX utility.

Under load, the power consumption of the boards is compared and amounts to 118 W, but it should be noted that this figure does not reflect the typical consumption of LGA1150 boards at all. ASUSTeK models drop the processor frequency under high load, which is why they consume less, but also work slower. In fact, the normal power consumption of systems should exceed 130 watts. Later, during tests of motherboards from other manufacturers, we will have to see just such numbers. However, if you manually increase the permissible limits of processor power consumption in the BIOS of Asus motherboards, then their behavior will return to general indicators - power consumption will increase in accordance with the corresponding increase in performance.

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 when working in the nominal mode. Compared to the "Eco" settings, the boards' consumption increased by 1 W, the difference between them has not changed, but when overclocked with increasing voltages, both boards consume even less than in the first diagram with non-optimal default settings. Do not leave the standard settings, be sure to turn on processor energy-saving technologies, and the processor itself can not even be overclocked, if desired.

It should be added again that for a total assessment of the level of energy consumed by the system, it is imperative 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. ...

As in the nominal mode, during overclocking the difference between the two boards is noticeable only at rest, while under load the power consumption of the systems is comparable.

Afterword

In general, I liked the Asus Z97-A motherboard, it even looks better than the previous models from ASUSTeK. The gilding on the radiators is not so bright, it has become less, the board looks solid. Appearance is not the main thing, but this model did not cause problems in operation either. She has good set possibilities, it quietly worked in the nominal mode and confidently overclocked the processor and memory. It is a pity, of course, that it has a truncated and incompatible M.2 connector with most drives on sale, but this is not a critical, although an absolute drawback. In addition to the appearance, the BIOS has changed significantly, but the impressions from it are already ambiguous. On the one hand, I liked the increased functionality of the "EZ Mode" startup mode, which now quite successfully copes with the task of initial, preliminary system configuration. In addition, we were very pleased with the advanced capabilities of the board for regulating and controlling the fan speed. I like the new look of the BIOS, but I think the changes in the layout of its pages are negative. Our field of view has increased in width, but it was quite enough before, but it has noticeably decreased vertically - this is the most 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 narrowed 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 "EZ Tuning Wizard" was useless for overclocking, but the old "OC Tuner" function got better as it started overclocking memory simultaneously with the processor. However, manual overclocking is always better than any automatic overclocking.

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. All the shortcomings characteristic of ASUSTeK motherboards are also in place: there are no prompts on the start screen, incorrect information about the processor frequency when it is turned off, the default boot acceleration that prevents entering the BIOS, resetting the processor frequency under high loads. I'm not nitpicking, basically nothing significant, you can fix a lot yourself, but I like Asus motherboards, and these small, but numerous drawbacks have not been corrected for years, and therefore annoying much more than I would like.

If we talk about comparing motherboards based on Intel Z97 and Z87 logic, then no one has significant advantages. They have the same capabilities, equal performance and similar power consumption under load. It will be necessary to see if the new models have really become more economical alone or if we came across a board based on the Z87, which consumes a little more than it should. Yes, many new models have got M.2 and SATA Express connectors, with such a drive, you can feel the speed increase, but you shouldn't expect something supernatural either. Support for future processors by the new chipset looks significant, but they are still far from their appearance, during this time a lot of new motherboards will appear and new chipsets will be released for them. It is too early to rush, there are no reasonable grounds to change a good LGA1150-board for a new one. It's another matter if the task of updating the platform is right now, in which case new models must be included in consideration and a motherboard based on Intel Z97 should be taken, all other things being equal.

Today "Haswell Refresh" processors are on everyone's lips, and 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 leader in the Desktop family will be the Z97-DELUXE motherboard. The main differences from other models lie in the number of interfaces, which has 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 home systems in mini-ITX format, 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 and one PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. 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 get support for all TUF special features.

ASUS GRYPHON Z97 ARMOR EDITION

Same PCB but with Armor and TUF Fortifier back.

Except for the TUF Armor and TUF Fortifier, 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 lineup lies in 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 ports of the drives; now there are two SATA Express interfaces on the board 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 a micro-ATX model from the ROG family. The ASUS motherboard has the unremarkable name "Maximus VII Gene."

The board has three expansion slots: two PCIe 3.0 x16 and one PCIe 2.0 x4. So it will be possible to install two video cards. A total of eight SATA 6G ports are available on the board. 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. 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. The latest model also sacrificed 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, a new version of the Hero motherboard will be released this year. But compared to the changes are few.

With the exception of two additional SATA ports, there are some comfort and design enhancements that don't 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.