Layout

When Intel released the Z87 chips ASUS decided to change the design of their classic series motherboards drastically. Instead of a combination of black and blue there was black and gold. In our opinion the combination of black and gold doesn't address the same broad audience as black and blue. Launching Z97 chipse, ASUS again changed the design and now the boards are mainly black with some spots in champagne color.
Regarding the layout ASUS has been able to squeeze an astonishing number of features onto a standard ATX motherboard. Obviously ASUS is compliant with Intels guidelines regarding clearance around the CPU socket. There even is some margin between the CPU socket and the DIMM slots. Apart from that the build quality of the board is excellent and in this regard there is nothing to complain about.



The ASUS Z97-Pro Wi-Fi ac features a fully digital 12+2 phase power design. The CPU can rely on twelve phases and the memory gets a stable current supply from two individual phases. Apart from that there are high-quality, Japanese solid state capacitors, which have been specified for a minimum life span of 5000 hours.



Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the Z97-Pro Wi-Fi ac. Officially supported are DDR3 3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz. There is enough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 1.3.



On the Z97-Pro Wi-Fi ac the PCH is being cooled by a passive cooling block. A closer look at the area where the VRM is, shows there are two additional, passive heatsinks. Design as well as build quality are excellent, which is typical for ASUS' Z97 series motherboards.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery	Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features	Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout	Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O	Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS	Page 19 - Bioshock: Infinite
Page 7 - Test setup	Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery	Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark	Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11	Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage	Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 7	Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1