ASUS today announced Z97-Pro Gamer, a high-performance ATX motherboard with 10Gibt/s M.2 and SATA Express connectivity, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, SupremeFX audio with Sonic Radar II and GameFirst ll and LANGuard networking technologies. The Intel Z97 chipset-based Z97-Pro Gamer also benefits from ASUS Gamer’s Guardian, a collection of componentschosen for safety, durability and performance to protect gamers’ backs, and is the latest addition to the ASUS Gamer motherboard series.

Intel’s networking technology has the advantage of communicating directly with Intel processors to offer high Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) throughput, lowering overall processing demands and improving efficiency.

LANGuard employs signal-coupling technology and surface-mounted capacitors to improve throughput, and includes both surge protection and electrostatically-guarded components to defend against lightning strikes and static-electricity discharges.

Z97-Pro Gamer also has the GameFirst II technology, a traffic-shaping technology that reduces lag by prioritizing game-related data. Tests by ASUS engineers show that latency is greatly reduced — ping times are up to eight times (8X) faster with GameFirst II enabled. GameFirst II’s EZ Mode allows everyone to take advantage of low-latency gaming, with no need for expert knowledge.

Players gaming with Z97-Pro Gamer-based systems enjoy SupremeFX technology for near-lossless audio with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 115dB.

The audio chipset is isolated from electromagnetic interference (EMI) by a protective shield. Exclusive 'red-line shielding' horizontally separates SupremeFX audio components from the rest of the motherboard. This combination effectively eliminates analog interference.

SupremeFX also has a built-in amplifier that drives headphones - all the way up to 300ohm impedance.

Z97-Pro Gamer also includes Sonic Radar II, an ASUS-exclusive technology that displays a stealthy overlay showing the precise direction and origin of in-game sounds. This enables players to hone their enemy-pinpointing skills, delivering a vital the edge in first-person-shooter (FPS) games

97-Pro Gamer has both SATA Express and M.2. on board. SATA Express provides data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s from two PCI Express 2.0 (PCIe 2.0) lanes, enabling Z97-Pro Gamer players to speed up their game storage with the next generation SSDs.

The new motherboard’s built-in M.2 socket also offers two native PCIe 2.0 lanes for data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s.

Z97-Pro Gamer also has the ASUS-exclusive Digi+ voltage-regulator module (VRM) and a stainless-steel back input/output (I/O) panel that’s chromium-plated and corrosion-resistant for increased durability.