ASUS Z97 Motherboard Launch Coverage

New Features of the ROG Series Z97 Motherboards

The ASUS ROG Z97 motherboards are probably the most anticipated boards of the ASUS Z97 range – and rightly so, they are stunning! The main new feature is the addition of the most cost-effective Ranger SKU which sits slightly below the Hero SKU and ASUS said the Ranger will be about $20-30 lower in price.

This new addition makes the ASUS ROG series more complete than it has ever been with six models planned. All of them are designed to target different markets but for ASUS the most important are the Hero and Ranger because these are going to be the most popular.

ASUS confirmed the existence of the Impact, Extreme and Formula models but these are not expected until Computex in June. At launch we will see the Gene, Hero and Ranger models.

One of the first features ASUS are marketing with Z97 is improved cooling and stability on their ROG boards versus rival solutions. ASUS use back plates with thermal pads underneath the heatsink VRM area to provide additional cooling and protection. It’s hardly a life changing feature but a little extra quality is always nice.

The ROG series has always been about the aesthetics and Z97 takes this to another level. ASUS have opted for a redesigned matte-black PCB, black nickel coatings and redesigned heatsinks. Overall I think it is fair to say the new design is a solid improvement over Z87.

The ASUS Z97 ROG presentation was organised under four key areas; Best Gaming interface, audio, networking and protection. In terms of the interface ASUS have developed a feature they are calling KeyBot. Essentially the KeyBot creates an hardware macro control that is external to your keyboard providing by using the dedicated USB port. This allows you to use your keyboard to do macros that you’d typically only find on expensive gaming keyboards.

An additional interface feature is the bolstering of the USB ports to ensure stable 5 volt power delivery. ASUS are calling this delivery mechanism TrueVolt USB and this feature covers all USB ports including those supplied via the headers.

Moving on to network and ASUS are again upping the quality of their motherboards. Their LANGuard technology essentially replaces the typical RJ45 port design that uses basic coils with surge protected solid components and ESD guards. ASUS claims this gives it a higher surge and ESD tolerance as well as less noise on your connection.

While a lot of vendors tend to favour using Killer NICs with packet prioritisation software ASUS have always been one step ahead of the game with their own software called GameFirst. With Z97 this is updated to version III with improved packet prioritisation and a new user interface.

No gaming motherboard would be complete without a sound implementation that can enhance your gaming. The ASUS Z97 ROG boards come with high quality audio components and a range of new features.

The SonicSenseAMP feature auto detects your headset impedance giving you the best audio experience possible.

ASUS have added a hardware level switch (with OS control too) that allows you to pick audio profiles based on the game you’ll be using.

The Sonic Studio addition allows you to upgrade your 2 channel headset to a virtual 7.1 surround sound. The theme of having a motherboard that can upgrade your gaming peripherals seems to be popular with the Z97 ROG series.

The controversial ASUS Sonic Radar technology always make a reappearance as it is upgraded to version II. ASUS did not clarify whether the stance on Sonic Radar set by anti-cheat systems like Punkbuster has changed with the second revision.

The final area is protection and ASUS has offered a range of tweaks to give you a better quality product. I won’t go through them all as they are self explanatory.

The ASUS Z97 ROG boards continue the ASUS trend of a rich software package and you get access to RAMDISK, Demon Tools Pro and Kaspersky Internet Security with these boards.