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Review: ASUS Z97-A LGA 1150 Motherboard
Posted on: 2014-05-13 16:49:31 By MAC @ Hardware Canucks The Z97-A actually resides near the bottom of ASUS' extensive Z97 motherboard lineup but it also competes within some of the most popular alternatives around. This is due to its price of $150 filling the gap in one of the market's most desired price points; one which feeds the needs of budget-minded gamers while also offering something to price conscious overclockers. Now despite being at the lower-end of the spectrum, ASUS have really shot for the moon with this $150 model. It's usual for motherboard manufacturers to exclude key features from lesser priced models, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this new Z97-A. Its got a solid DIGI+ 8-phase CPU power design, a high-speed M.2 slot and SATA Express port, a bunch of SATA and USB connectivity, CrossFire and SLI capabilities, a high-quality Intel GbE NIC, DisplayPort/DVI/HDMI/VGA video outputs, and all the new BIOS and software advancements found on the higher-priced models. Frankly, the only place were the specs are less than ideal is in the use of the older Realtek ALC892 8-channel HD audio CODEC, which is a generation behind the very latest ALC1150 part used on all the other pricey motherboards. So on the surface this model looks extremely promising giving its reasonable price tag, but will it hold up during up our testing? Keep reading to find out. Read The Review Here |