ASUS Z97-A (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The ASUS Z97-A has an MSRP of £115 or $150. It is currently selling on Amazon and Newegg for $150 and it comes with a 3 year ASUS warranty.

Overview

It is quite honestly difficult to believe that the ASUS Z97-A is only the entry level motherboard for the ASUS Z97 range. I can quite honestly say that in every way the ASUS Z97-A delivered solid performance making it a smart choice for any Z97 user, and when I compare it to the ASUS Z87-A it is easy to see the significant leap in quality and performance that has occurred without a corresponding leap in price. Even if this board isn’t specifically targeted towards gamers, prosumers or enthusiasts it is able to do a bit of everything and appeal to everyone by offering a solid range of connectivity, a rich feature set and more importantly an attractive price point. In terms of performance numbers the ASUS Z97-A is as good as any Z97 or Z87 motherboard currently out – sure it is more limited in terms of connectivity but most people will find the Z97 chipset alone offers more than enough for their needs. Of course should you need more USB ports, more PCI Express lanes, more SATA ports, dual Gigabit LAN or better quality audio then some of the ASUS ROG and higher end models like the “Deluxe” variant may appeal to you. However, the Z97-A doesn’t skimp on anything you might need and for that reason I can see the ASUS Z97-A being an absolute favourite among system builders and budget conscious consumers.

In terms of finding negative aspects of this motherboard, well it’s a fairly difficult venture. Of note the only things that didn’t impress me were the brown PCB, sub-optimal USB 3.0 header placement and slightly high VRM heatsink temperatures. The bundle was also fairly sparse but I guess that’s one of the trade-offs that is made to bring this board in at a competitive price point. However, all of these things are really minor details and certainly do not detract from the overall picture which is that the ASUS Z97-A is just a brilliant motherboard for the money. I think it will be interesting to see how other motherboard vendors can respond at this very competitive price point.

Pros

• Abundant connectivity
• Intel NIC
• Solid audio
• Cost effective
• Sensible layout
• Impressive performance

Cons

• Brown PCB
• VRM heatsinks could be more substantial
• Sparse bundle

“The ASUS Z97-A motherboard sets an impressive standard for Intel’s new Z97 platform. ASUS have raised the bar higher than ever with an extensive range of software options, abundant connectivity, quality component selection and high performance. If you’re looking for a sensible, affordable and good all-round entry into the Z97 platform then the ASUS Z97-A has you covered.”

Thank you to ASUS for providing this review sample.