Intel’s Haswell is just around the corner and we can all feel the wave coming. ASUS, deciding to hog some limelight before Computex Taipei (4 June 2013), has officially unveiled all of its consumer, gaming and enthusiast motherboard products based on the Z87 chipset.
Intel’s Haswell is the fourth-generation of Intel’s Core architecture and mixes in some new features, more power saving hardware and better integrated graphics. It requires a new socket (LGA 1150) and works with DDR3 RAM as usual. The new Z87 chipset offers a lot of new features and ports, including upgrading all SATA ports to SATA 6GB/s speeds, more USB 3.0 front-panel headers, and extra PCI-Express 3.0 adaptability, giving some lower-end boards the ability to run two PCI-Express slots in x8/x8 mode for more dual-graphics performance.
Z87-C
The Z87-C is the entry-level Z87 offering, including four power phases for the CPU (basically filters, for stable energy delivery), eight SATA 6GB/s ports, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot, one PCI-E 2.0 slot in x4 mode, two PCI-E x1 slots and three legacy PCI slots. Additionally there are fan headers for five PWN-controlled fans, support for up to 64GB of RAM and VGA, HDMI and DVI-D video ports.
Interestingly there is a header pin-out on the bottom of the board for a Thunderbolt port.
Z87-A
The Z87-A builds on that, but now has eight CPU phases, two PCI-E 3.0 slots capable of x8/x8 mode for Crossfire or SLI, ten SATA 6GB/s ports, 7:1 audio with optical out, a CMOS reset button on the I/O panel as well as some extra buttons on the board for memory testing, switching between BIOSes and a Thunderbolt port header pin-out.
Z87-Plus
Moving along, the Z87-Plus is the base offering for enthusiasts and overclockers and includes twelve SATA 6GB/s ports, PWM for up to six fans and the same PCI-Express layout as the Z87-A. Note how all the boards require an 8-pin PEG connector for power delivery to the CPU.
Z87-Pro
The Z87-Pro drops down to eight SATA ports, but now has twelve CPU power phases, three PCI-Express 3.0 slots capable of triple SLI or Crossfire in x8/x4/x4 mode and three PCI-E x1 slots. Wi-Fi connectivity is also built-in and VGA, DVI, HDMI and Displayport video outputs. On the board itself there is also a debug LED and buttons to power it on, reset the CMOS and perform memory checks.
The Z87 Deluxe
The Z87 Deluxe is only slightly more advanced than the Pro, putting up another two SATA ports, sixteen CPU power phases, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and built-in Wi-Fi.
Republic of Gamers
For the Republic of Gamers line, ASUS has changed the name from Rampage to Maximus. The boards retain their read and black colour scheme and it looks great.
Maximus VI Hero
The Maximus VI Hero is first up and has a similar layout to the Z87-Pro. It has three PCI-Express 3.0 slots capable of triple graphics lovin’ in x8/x4/x4 mode as well as buttons to handle some of the board’s features, a debug LED and eight SATA 6GB/s ports. Its also the first board to come with ASUS’ in-house-designed audio card, labelled SupremeFX.
Maximus VI Gene
No ROG line would be complete without a mATX board and that’s the job of the Maximus VI Gene. It has two PCI-E 3.0 slots for dual-graphics setups, eight SATA ports and the same SupremeFX on-board audio. There’s a strange addition labelled MPCIE Combo II – this is for the on-board Wi-Fi and built-in Bluetooth.
Maximus VI Extreme
Finally, the Maximus VI Extreme is ASUS’ top offering (for now). It has sixteen CPU power phases, ten SATA ports, on-board Wi-Fi and built-in Bluetooth, four PCI-E 3.0 slots all in x8 mode and extras power sockets for the CPU and a six-pin PEG connector to provide additional power to the board should you use all four PCI-E 3.0 lanes. Sadly, it loses the SupremeFX sound chip.
ASUS’ TUF
Lastly, ASUS’ TUF series also makes it in for the Haswell launch and is composed of two boards.
Z87 Sabertooth
The Z87 Sabertooth, has a layout similar to the Maximus VI Hero but also includes the TUF Armor layer to protect the board’s components. The Armor is not removable but does give you access to all six fan headers and ASUS kindly provides dust covers for most of the slots on the board.
Z87 Gryphon
New to the series is the Z87 Gryphon, an mATX variant that looks similar to the Maximus VI Gene, but offers less SATA ports, one extra PCI-E 2.0 slot, eight CPU power phases and an optional, separately purchased Armor kit to cover the board, complete with dust covers.
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