ASUS Z97-A (Intel Z97) Motherboard Review

Introduction of the ASUS Z97-A

After having had a look at a few cheaper video card options as of late, it's time to head back over to the wonderful world of motherboards. With the new high-end X99 chipset coming out in roughly a month, we want to spend the next couple of weeks working our way through the Z97 motherboards that are floating around the office.

Of course, it's worth remembering that the X99 chipset won't replace the Z97 one but will instead accompany it to help cater to two levels of users. The X99 will aim at the power users who are wanting to get the absolute most out of their system. The Z97 chipset, on the other hand, is aimed at users who are looking for something with more value and in the middle of the pack.

Today, we're looking at another ASUS Intel Z97 motherboard. We've already looked at a few, and they've done an excellent job impressing us already. This one comes in at a bit of a cheaper price point that will indeed be attractive option for us. It's also the first ASUS board we've used that will be making use of our new Intel i7-4790K CPU.

We've already got a pretty good understanding of both ASUS and the Intel Z97 chipset, so there doesn't seem to be a huge need to go into too much detail. So, with that all said and done, let's get into the package and see just what ASUS is offering us today with its Z97-A motherboard.

Package - What comes inside the box

Taking a look at the front of the box, you can't see a ton of information being shown. You can clearly see the ASUS logo and the model of the board, and the 5-WAY Optimization is also pushed in the middle of the box. Across the bottom of the box, you can see some of the major features, including Intel Core support, the Z97 Chipset, SLI and CrossFire support, along with DTS, HDMI, and Windows 8.1 support.

Turning the box over, you can see we get a good look at the motherboard and some of the main highlights. On the right side of the box, you can see that ASUS goes into some of the major features, including the 5-Way Optimization that brings performance, efficiency, stable digital power, unbeatable fan control, and networking and tuning.

Other major features include Remote GO!, which gives you control of your PC anywhere, while across the bottom of the box, we can see features revolving around increasing gaming performance like the Turbo App, Crystal Sound 2, and Turbo LAN.

Going inside the box, we don't have a huge bundle, but we do have the normal pieces of paperwork alongside a driver CD. You can see our main I/O shield, three SATA cables, two EZ connectors, and an SLI bridge to round things off.

PRICING: You can find the ASUS Z97-A for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The ASUS Z97-A retails for $139.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The ASUS Z97-A retails for CDN$178.28 at Amazon Canada.