New Asus Z97 Motherboards Coming In May

ASUS has previewed its new series of motherboards based on Intel's upcoming Z97/H97 Express chipsets and compatible with the "Devil's Canyon" CPUs.

Expected for official release in May 11, Asus' new series includes a total of 16 models -- 6 H97 series, 5 c series, 2 "TUF" gaming series and 3 "ROG" series.

The motherboards all use the 1150 pin socket designation and support DDR3 memory.

The standard Z97 series features a redesigned laypout and a new UEFI interface. As you can see in the pictures posted online by the Japanese pc.watch.impress web site, Asus has choses to use a circular gold-colored heasink for the chipset.

The basic models of thi series is the Z97-PRO, Z97I-PLUS and the flagship Z97-DELUXE.

Model	Chipset	Factor
Z97-DELUXE(NFC & WLC)	Intel Z97	ATX
Z97-DELUXE	Intel Z97	ATX
Z97-PRO	Intel Z97	ATX
Z97-K	Intel Z97	ATX
Z97M-PLUS	Intel Z97	microATX
Z97I-PLUS	Intel Z97	Mini-ITX
H97-PRO	Intel H97	ATX
H97-PLUS	Intel H97	ATX
H97M-PLUS	Intel H97	microATX
H97M-E	Intel H97	microATX
H97I-PLUS	Intel H97	Mini-ITX

They are equipped with a M.2 slots offering 10Gbps of bandwidth, Asus's "Crystal Sound 2" audio cuircuits, noise supression designs by separating the layers of the signal lines of the left and right channels and Japanese capacitors.

As the Deluxe is high up the scale of the board list, we see two USB 3.0 headers near the 24-pin ATX connector as well as an 802.11ac WiFi module on the rear IO.

The updated UEFI interface features an "Advanced" and an "EZ" mode of settigs. The "EZ Tuning Wizard" offers users step-by-step guidance for easy RAID configuration, and the "Fan Xpert 3" visualizes the fans placed on the various zones of the motherboard and allows for speed control.

Asus' ROG series includes the "MAXIMUS VII HERO," "MAXIMUS VII GENE" and the "MAXIMUS VII RANGER" series.

Model	Chipset	Factor
MAXIMUS VII HERO	Intel Z97	ATX
MAXIMUS VII RANGER	Intel Z97	ATX
MAXIMUS VII GENE	Intel Z97	microATX

They offer M.2 slota (10Gbps), automatic overclocking and XMP profile settings through keyboard shortcuts (when power is off), USB voltage stabilization, anti-static capabilities of the LAN ports (LANGuard) and enhanced audio settings for various gaming modes.

The TUF series includes the SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 and the GRYPHON Z97 models. Besides the familiar, "camouflage" color and the plastic covers on the heat sinks (Thermal Armor), they are equipped nine temperature sensors 12 and also revesrse the fans' spinning in orde to remove any dust on them.