facebook rss twitter

Asus reveals TUF Sabertooth Z97Mark S Sabranco

by HEXUS Staff on 14 November 2014, 08:59

Tags: ASUSTeK (TPE:2357)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaclf5

Add to My Vault: x

Revealed back at Computex 2014, the Asus Sabertooth Z97 Sabranco turned some heads with its striking all-white design. Asus has since released another white-coloured motherboard, the X99-A, but the Sabranco was the first prospective white addition to the company’s motherboard stack.

The limited-edition motherboard has finally experienced its release, albeit under a different name; the Sabertooth Z97 Mark S. Asus claims the main driving force behind the motherboard coming to market is the overwhelming positive response it has received since revealing the motherboard in Taipei.

In terms of its core feature-set the new motherboard is identical, styling aside, to the Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1. This means there’s still dual LAN, eight SATA ports, a SATA Express port, high-quality Realtek ALC1150-based audio and the distinctive thermal armour. Performance enthusiasts will be pleased to know support for dual graphics card configurations and overclocking, powered by an 8+2 Digi VRM, is also included.

Like its black-and-military-brown counterpart the Z97 Mark S comes with a reinforced PCB on the underside to prevent PCB flex in the long term, which is part of the TUF philosophy. Special markings have also been added to the underside to specify the board’s limited-edition status. Asus claims the special white colour is produced using an “innovative printing technology…[that] retains its strikingly-white hue for its lifetime, without discoloring.”

The company has yet to reveal pricing of the new motherboard – one that is sure to prove popular among enthusiasts and custom system-builders alike. Currently, the standard Z97 Sabertooth Mark 1 has a street price of £175 ($240) so expect the Z97 Mark S to attract an additional premium of 10 to 20 per cent.



HEXUS Forums :: 10 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
I sorta feel like a bare board looks more impressive in white than with this huge plastic cover.

Albatron managed it, many years ago. http://www.au-ja.de/bilder/quellenhinweis.php?pic=/bilder/albatronpx845peproii-2.jpg
Sapphire did some white PCB motherboards too:

http://imagescdn.tweaktown.com/content/8/8/886_15.jpg

Agreed that both examples look better for the fact that you can see the pcb rather than just a cover.
damn.. wish I waited for this one!
Ditch the fan and I'll take one.
Not gone near a mobo with a fan on it in years since one died on my old Athlon XP system. God knows how long the fan was dead for before the board died.
I know there are plenty of monitoring solutions but I'd still prefer one without.
Currently using a regular Mark 1 without either of the two assistant fans installed, I've heard them before and they can be quite loud, which is understandable due to their sizes, namely 35 and 40mm. However, it should be said that their use is now a bit more intelligent than what it did on Z87 (it since there was a single 40mm on the Z87 version), namely configurable periodic dust removal through reversible flow and post power down fan spinning (also configurable) to aid cooling components faster.
Overall, it's a solid board throughout, for people who don't need the gamer features and want the same high quality components used on their premium boards, plus reliability validation.