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ASUS Unveils Full Range of 9 Series Motherboards

Tags: ASUSTeK (TPE:2357), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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PRESS RELEASE

Latest Intel® Z97 and H97 chipset-based ASUS-branded, ROG, TUF and Workstation motherboards serve a wide range of computing needs 

Taipei, Taiwan (2nd May, 2014) - ASUS today announced a complete lineup of motherboards built around the Intel® 9 Series chipset that features the LGA 1150 socket and supports Intel® 4th, New 4th, and 5th Generation CoreTM processors (Haswell, Haswell Refresh, Haswell Refresh K-series/ Devil's Canyon). These new motherboard offerings from ASUS-branded, Republic of Gamers (ROG), The Ultimate Force (TUF) and WS (Workstation) Series feature exclusive technologies that maximize the potential of the Z97 and H97 chipsets to deliver better user experiences, performance, stability, and upgrade options.

"Since its founding in 1989, ASUS has prided itself on the outstanding quality of its motherboards. And today, 25 years later, our approach has seen us grow into the world's best-selling and most award-winning motherboard brand. Taking into account the feedback and needs of today's computing public, we're proud to introduce our comprehensive 9 Series Motherboard launch line-up across the ASUS-branded, ROG, TUF and WS Series motherboards. Whether for professional use, gaming, content creation, servers or simple, everyday computing, our motherboards cover every task," said Jackie Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Sales, ASUS Open Platform Business Group.

ASUS-branded motherboards - optimized performance for various computing scenarios

ASUS-branded Z97 and H97 motherboards feature a stunning new design with a unique and distinctive perfectly circular heat-sink on the next-generation Platform Controller Hub (PCH) chip, and boast comprehensive features for users looking to create a high-performance PC, a potent gaming rig or a multimedia entertainment center.

5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5 optimizes PC performance with a simple click. It improves on its 4-Way Optimization predecessor with the Turbo App, tailored networking and audio settings, together with upgraded fan control, robust overclocking, energy savings and digital power. ASUS-branded motherboards also feature Crystal Sound 2 and Turbo LAN, which together deliver flawless audio and reduce lag to improve the gaming experience.

In PC home entertainment centers, ASUS HomeCloud turns the hard drive into a private cloud. The built-in Wake on WAN feature lets users wake and control the PC remotely with a smart device. Users can also stream multimedia content from the PC to any device. The capacity to interact with smart devices wirelessly is further enhanced by the inclusion of the ASUS-exclusive NFC Express 2 and wireless charger.

Ultimate Gaming Performance from ROG

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) unveiled Maximus VII Gene mATX, Maximus VII Hero ATX, and the new Maximus VII Ranger ATX gaming motherboards. All three motherboards sport the distinctive ROG black and red color scheme, feature premium components, black nickel CPU socket covers and improved circuit layouts.

ROG has also improved on the RJ45 LAN port with LANGuard; it uses advanced signal-coupling technology and premium surface-mounted capacitors to improve throughput. LANGuard also features surge-protected and electrostatically-guarded components (ESD Guards) to give ROG Maximus VII series motherboards industry-leading figures of up to 1.3 times the surge protection and 1.9 times the static electricity tolerance of traditional boards. The latest ROG-exclusive GameFirst III network optimization utility prioritizes game packets, allocating more bandwidth for games to ensure a smoother online gaming experience.

The ROG Maximus VII Hero and Ranger come with SupremeFX 2014; while Maximus VII Gene features the SupremeFX Impact II discrete audio card. These solutions utilize cutting-edge isolation technologies to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI), premium ELNA® audio capacitors and 8-channel gold plated audio output ports, to provide precision-engineered audio that is on par with dedicated soundcards.

TUF server-grade reliability

Available in both ATX and mATX form factors, TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 and Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition motherboards feature TUF Fortifier, Thermal Armor, and Dust Defenders to ensure the ultimate in system durability and stability. The new onboard TUF ICe microchip delivers incredibly precise temperature monitoring and fan control whether adjusting settings manually or through the automatic one-click optimization feature found in Thermal Radar 2. TUF Fortifier uses a thermal pad attached to the motherboard, making the whole back plate a huge heat sink that directs heat away from key components such as VRMs and MOSFETs.  Thermal management is aided by Thermal Armor which optimizes airflow to aid in heat dissipation while Dust de-Fan technology blows dust up and away from the heat sink VRM.

All TUF Z97 motherboards, including the new Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 and Gryphon Z97 models, feature reliable TUF Components for military-grade durability. 

Total SATA Express solution plus high-speed M.2 support

ASUS is the only brand to provide a total SATA Express solution, from motherboards to Hyper Express, an exclusive SATA Express external enclosure compatible with all available chassis-equipped 3.5-inch drive bays. It can accept two high-speed M.2 modules, two mSATA modules or two 2.5-inch SATA hard drives, and allows them to operate at full speed. ASUS Z97 and H97 motherboards* have been tested and validated to meet SATA Express standards, including the Separate Reference Clock with Independent Spread Spectrum Clocking Architecture (SRIS), to ensure the very best SATA Express performance. M.2*, with its two native PCI Express 2.0 bandwidth and up to 10Gbit/s data transfer speeds, makes ASUS Z97 and H97 motherboards  ideal choices for operating system drives.

* See specifications for details

Critically-acclaimed reliability and performance

ASUS employs strict compatibility and validation standards, and ASUS 5X protection ensuring that the finest components, are used to for long-term reliability and durability; these include DIGI+ VRM, DRAM overcurrent protection, ESD Guards, high quality 5K-hr solid state capacitors and a corrosion-resistant stainless steel back I/O panel. Additionally, all motherboards are validated for compatibility with over 1000 devices, and undergo more than 7000 hours of rigorous endurance testing to assure quality and long-term reliability.

These motherboards feature the latest Intel® Gigabit Ethernet for faster, smoother gaming sessions. It reduces CPU overhead to allot more processing power for gaming and offers exceptionally high Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) throughput. The smooth mouse-controlled graphics-based BIOS has been improved and now includes EZ Tuning Wizard-OC and RAID. These tools intelligently tunes system performance and streamlines RAID configuration for faster data retrieval and back-ups.

SPECIFICATIONS 1

ASUS Z97 Series motherboards

 

 

Z97-DELUXE
(NFC&WLC )

Z97-DELUXE

Z97-PRO
(Wi-Fi ac)

Z97-PRO

Z97-A

Z97-AR

CPU

Intel® LGA1150 4th, New 4th & 5th Generation CoreTM i7/CoreTM i5/CoreTM i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors Ready

Chipset

Intel® Z97 Express Chipset

Power Phase Design

DIGI+ 16-Phase VRM, 
DIGI+ 2-Phase DRAM

DIGI+ 12-Phase VRM, 
DIGI+ 2-Phase DRAM

DIGI+ 8-Phase VRM

Memory

4xDDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, 3300(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

4xDDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, 3200(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

4xDDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, 3200(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

PCIex16 Slots

2*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
1*PCIe 2.0 x16(@x4)

2*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
1*PCIe 2.0 x16(@x4)

2*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
1*PCIe 2.0 x16(@x2)

Output Support

DP/mDP/HDMI

DP/HDMI/DVI/D-sub

DP/HDMI/DVI/D-sub

DP/HDMI

SATA Express

2

1

1

SATA 6Gb/s

10

8

6

M.2

1 x M.2(PCIe x2/SATA mode) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

1 x M.2 (PCIe x2) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

Wi-Fi

Dual Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz)

N/A

USB 3.0

10(4 at front)

8 (4 at front)

6 (2 at front)

Audio

Realtek® ALC1150 with Crystal Sound 2, DTS UltraPC II, DTS Connect

Realtek® ALC1150 with Crystal Sound 2, DTS UltraPC II, DTS Connect

Realtek® ALC1150 with Crystal Sound 2, DTS UltraPC II, DTS Connect

Networking (LAN)

2x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

Exclusive features

5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5, UEFI BIOS, ASUS HomeCloud, 5X Protection

Form Factor

ATX

ATX

ATX

 

ASUS Z97 and Workstation Series motherboards

 

 

Z97-C

Z97-K

Z97M-PLUS

Z97I-PLUS

Z97-WS

CPU

Intel® LGA1150 4th, New 4th & 5th Generation CoreTM i7/CoreTM i5/CoreTM i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors Ready

Chipset

Intel® Z97 Express Chipset

Memory

4xDDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, 3200(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

2 x DIMM, max. 16GB. DDR3 3200(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

4xDDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, 3300(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

Power Phase Design

DIGI+ 6-phase

VRM

DIGI+  4-phaseVRM

DIGI+  4-phase

VRM

DIGI+  6-phaseVRM

DIGI+ 8-phase

VRM

PCIex16 Slots

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16; 1*PCIe 2.0/x16(@x4)

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16; 1*PCIe 2.0/x16(@x4)

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16; 1*PCIe 2.0/x16(@x4)

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16

4*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16(dual x16, quad  x8)

Output Support

HDMI/DVI/D-sub

HDMI/DVI/D-sub

HDMI/DVI/D-sub

DP/HDMI/DVI/D-sub

DP/mDP/HDM

SATA Express

1

N/A

N/A

N/A

2

SATA 6Gb/s

6

6

6

4

8

M.2

1 x M.2(PCIe x2/SATA mode) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

Wi-Fi

N/A

N/A

N/A

Dual Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz)

N/A

USB 3.0

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

10(4 at front)

Audio

Realtek® ALC892 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC892 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC892 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC892 with audio features. DTS UltraPC II, DTS Connect

Realtek® ALC1150

Networking (LAN)

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

1x Realtek LAN, Turbo LAN

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

2x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

Exclusive features

5X Protection, UEFI BIOS, Fan Xpert 3, ASUS HomeCloud

5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5,

UEFI BIOS,

ASUS HomeCloud,
Quad-Strength Graphic Power

Form Factor

ATX

ATX

m-ATX

mini-ITX

ATX

               

 

ASUS H97 Series motherboards

 

 

H97-PRO

H97-PLUS

H97M-PLUS

H97M-E

H97I-PLUS

Socket

Intel® LGA1150 4th, New 4th & 5th Generation CoreTM i7/CoreTM i5/CoreTM i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors Ready

Chipset

Intel H97 Express Chipset

Power Phase Design

DIGI+

6-phase VRM

DIGI+

4-phase VRM

DIGI+

4-phase VRM

DIGI+

4-phase VRM

DIGI+

6-phase VRM

Memory

4 x DIMM, max. 32GB. DDR3 1600(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

2x DIMM, max. 16GB. DDR3 1600(O.C.) MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered

PCIex16 Slots

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16, 1*PCIe 2.0x16(@x4)

1*PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16

Output Support

HDMI/DVI/D-sub

DP/HDMI/DVI/D-sub

SATA Express

1

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

SATA 6Gb/s

6

6

6

4

4

M.2

1 x M.2(PCIe x2/SATA mode) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

USB 3.0

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

6 (2 at front)

Audio

Realtek® ALC892 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC887 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC887 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC887 with Crystal Sound 2

Realtek® ALC887 with audio features

Networking (LAN)

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Turbo LAN

1x Realtek LAN

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet

1x Realtek LAN

1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet

Features

5X Protection, UEFI BIOS, Fan Xpert 3, ASUS HomeCloud

5X Protection, UEFI BIOS, Fan Xpert 2+, ASUS HomeCloud

Form Factor

ATX

m-ATX

mini-ITX

                 

 

ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers motherboard) Series motherboards

 

 

Maximus VII Gene

Maximus VII Hero

Maximus VII Ranger

Socket

Intel® LGA1150 4th, New 4th & 5th Generation CoreTM i7/CoreTM i5/CoreTM i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors Ready

Chipset

Intel Z97 Express Chipset

Power Phase Design

Extreme Engine Digi+ III

 

Extreme Engine Digi+ III

Fully Digital VRM

Memory

DDR3 3300MHz (O.C.)

DDR3 3200MHz (O.C.)

DDR3 3200MHz (O.C.)

4 DIMM, up to 32GB, non-ECC, un-buffered memory[1]

Dual-channel memory architecture,

Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Expansion slots

2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16

1 x PCIe 2.0 x4

1 x mPCIe 2.0 x1

2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16

1 x PCIe 2.0/x16

3 x PCIe 2.0 x1

Multi-GPU support

Quad-GPU NVIDIA SLI/ AMD CrossFireXTM

Storage

8 x SATA 6Gbit/s

1 x M.2 (PCIe x2) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

8 x SATA 6Gbit/s

1 x M.2 (PCIe x2) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

6 x SATA 6Gbit/s

1 x M.2 (PCIe x2) socket 3 with M key, supports type 2260/2280

USB

6 x USB 3.0

7 x USB 2.0

6 x USB 3.0

7 x USB 2.0

6 x USB 3.0

7 x USB 2.0

Networking (LAN)

                   1 x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, ROG GameFirst III, LANGuard

Audio

SupremeFX Impact IIadd-in card, 8-Channel High-Definition audio codec, Sonic SoundStage, Sonic SenseAmp, Sonic Radar II, Sonic Studio, DTS Connect

SupremeFX 2014

8-Channel High-Definition audio codec, Sonic SoundStage, Sonic SenseAmp, Sonic Studio, Sonic Radar II, DTS Connect

Form Factor

mATX

ATX

ATX

           

 

ASUS TUF (The Ultimate Force) Series motherboards

 

Model

SABERTOOTH Z97

MARK 1

SABERTOOTH Z97

MARK 2

GRYPHON Z97

ARMOR EDITION

GRYPHON Z97

Socket

LGA1150 socket for 5th, new 4th and 4th-gen Intel® CoreTM i7/i5/i3, Pentium®/Celeron® processors

Chipset

Intel Z97 Express Chipset

Memory

Dual-channel DDR3 1866/1600/1333, max. 32GB

VGA Output

HDMI/DP

HDMI/DP/DVI

Power Phase Design

Digital 8+2 phase

PCIe x16 slots

2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slots
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (@max. x4)

PCIe x1 slots

3 x PCIe 2.0x1

1 x PCIe 2.0x1

Multi-GPU

Quad-GPU SLI & CFX

LAN

1x Intel Gigabit LAN

1x Realtek Gigabit LAN

1x Intel Gigabit LAN

Audio

Realtek 1150 8-channel HD

Realtek 892 8-channel HD

Storage

1x SATA Express(compatible with 2 x SATA 6Gb/s), 6 x SATA 6Gb/s

6x SATA 6Gbit/s

USB

8x USB 3.0 (4 front); 8 x USB 2.0

6 x USB 3.0 (2 front); 6 x USB 2.0

TUF Features

Thermal Armor with Flow Valve

TUF ICe

Dust de-Fan

TUF Fortifier

Dust Defenders

Thermal Radar 2

TUF Components

TUF ICe

Thermal Radar 2

TUF Components

Thermal Armor

TUF ICe

Dust de-Fan

TUF Fortifier

Dust Defenders

Thermal Radar 2

TUF Components

TUF ICe

Thermal Radar 2

TUF Components

Form factor

ATX

mATX

           

 

[1]   Specifications, content and product availability are all subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Actual performance may vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors.

Full specifications are available at www.asus.com

[1] Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. Please visit www.asus.com and reference the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors List) for details.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

ASUS 9 Series motherboards will be available from May 11th in the UK from eBuyer, Scan, Overclockers UK, Dabs, CCL, Novatech, Palicomp, Aria, Eclipse and Yoyotech. Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information. 

About ASUS

ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world's best-selling, most award-winning, motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today's digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets and smartphones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,256 awards in 2013 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PCTM. ASUS has more than 13,600 employees around the globe with a world-class R&D team of 4,500 engineers. Company revenue for 2013 was approximately US$14 billion.