ASUS H97-Pro Preview
Category : H97
Published by Hiwa Pouri on 04.06.14
With the H97-Pro ASUS has an H97 based motherboard in it's portfolio, that comes with a really interesting feature mix. For example there are not only SATA ports, there is also a SATA Express header and even an M.2 slot. So far this sounds like a good reason to be curious about this board.
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The H97-Pro is a new ASUS H97 motherboard, which comes with a reasonable price as well as an attractive feature set.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Specs and Delivery
| Chipset | Intel H97 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3, 1600 / 1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory |
| Multi-GPU |
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| Slots |
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| Sound | Realtek ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
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| Storage | Intel H97 chipset
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| Network |
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| Internal Connectors |
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| Extrenal Connectors |
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| Forfactor | ATX Form Factor (30.5cm x 21.8cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (64 Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS) |
- User's manual
- I/O Shield
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable
- 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1)
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
ASUS 5X Protection |
In this case the ASUS marketing department has been thinking about a new name for a set of features and come up with the "5X Protection" which is the word they associate with the following things. First of all there is a six phase Digi+ power design, which is built around an ASP1103 chip. Second, you get ASUS DRAM OCP, which provides short circuit protection. You also get the so called ESD guard that features additional protection regarding electrostatic discharge. Last but not least, we find capacitors, which have been rated for 5000 hours. Overall this sounds like a reasonable feature set for a well equiped H97 motherboard. |
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ASUS Fan Xpert 3 |
ASUS Fan Xpert 3 provides customizable settings for fans that have been attached directly to the onboard fan headers. With the Fan Auto Tuning feature, ASUS Fan Xpert 3 automatically detects and tweaks all fan speeds and in the end reduces unwanted noise. |  |
M.2 Support |
The new H97-Pro motherboard from ASUS features an M.2 slot, which has been wired directly to the H97 PCH via two PCI Express lanes, therefore offering x2 bandwidth. In other words up to 10 Gbps can be pushed over the bus through this slot, almost doubling performance of SATA-III. |  |
| EPU | The EPU automatically detects the current system load and moderates power usage. It offers a system-wide energy optimization and is able to reduce fan noise. |  |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Layout
With the release of Intels Z87 chipset ASUS's design team chose to bring quite some change to the design of their classic series motherboards. ASUS was brave enough to ditch their highly successful black/blue color scheme and replace it a color scheme kept in black, gold and yellow. Meanwhile ASUS again reworked the design of their classic series motherboards making them look more calm by removing yellow from the equation. They have also changed the tone of the gold color they are using to a more champagne-ish color.Regarding the layout ASUS did a good choice when it comes to features, since there is basically everything you would expect to get these days. 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.
The ASUS H97-Pro features a fully digital 6+2 phase power design. The CPU gets six phases and the memory gets a stable current supply from two individual phases. Apart from those, it also features high-quality, Japanese solid state capacitors, which have been specified 5000 hours.
In total, you will find four DIMM memory slots on the H97-Pro. Officially supported are the DDR3 1600 / 1333 MHz. There is enough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you will not encounter any compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) version 1.3.
On the H97-Pro, the PCH is being cooled by a passive cooling block. A closer look at the area where the VRM is, shows there is one additional, passive heatsink. Design, as well as the build quality is on a level you expect from ASUS' H97 series motherboards.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Connectors and I/O
In total, ASUS equipped the H97-Pro with four SATA ports, which can be found in the bottom right corner. Two of these connectors have been angled by 90° and two are straight. Apart from these, there is also a SATA Express connector as well as an M.2 slot. Therefore it should not be a problem whatsoever to equip the office PC with plenty of drives. We also like the diversity of storage connectors, which is definitely up-to-date these days.
Asus has included a total of four fan headers on the H97-Pro, which is more than enough to provide a well equipped office PC with fresh air. The fan headers are located around the CPU socket. ASUS decided to use 4-pin PWM headers in all four cases. Therefore it is possible to adjust rotation speed in the BIOS or in Windows.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel, ASUS equipped the H97-Pro with four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI output, DVI out, VGA out as well as an optical and an analogue audio outputs.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| Overall | + | - | |
| At a first glance the H97-Pro leaves quite a good impression. You get a reasonable feature mix including a decent power design, plenty of SATA connectors, as well as a SATA Express connector and an M.2 slot. It is these storage connectors that add a lot of versatility to this board. What also perfectly suitable for a such motherboard is the color scheme, which looks decent. | - Feature Mix | ||
| Layout | + | - | |
| Generally, the ASUS H97-Pro's Layout is well thought. Once more very practical are the angled SATA connectors, but unfortunately there are only two of these connectors while other two are straight. We want to underline that this board features great storage versatility, since there is SATA, SATA Express as well as an M.2 support. Furthermore the placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots is well thought an therefore nothing needs to be criticized at this point. There is, for example, one slot between the first and the second PCI-Express x16 slot. Should you decide to build an SLI/CrossFire setup, then the first card will still be able to get fresh air. Another thing that is good with this board is the fact, that there is plenty of space between the CPU socket and the heatsink for the VRM as well as between the CPU socket and the DIMM memory slots. | - Space around the CPU
socket
- SATA Express - WiFi - Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Angled SATA connectors |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |