• ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard

This post details the ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard. It consists of the press release, followed by an overview and specifications of the ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard.

ATX motherboard delivers pure gaming fun with M.2 and SATA Express connectivity, Intel Gigabit Ethernet networking and exclusive LANGuard, GameFirst II, SupremeFX audio and Sonic Radar II technologies

2014/10/29

ASUS today announcedZ97-Pro Gamer, a high-performance ATX motherboard with 10Gibt/s M.2 and SATA Express connectivity, Intel® Gigabit Ethernet, exclusive SupremeFX audio with Sonic Radar II and GameFirst ll and LANGuard networking technologies to deliver pure gaming fun.

The Intel Z97 chipset-based Z97-Pro Gamer also benefits from ASUS Gamer’s Guardian, a collection of components hand-chosen for exceptional safety, durability and performance to protect gamers’ backs, and is the latest addition to the popular ASUS Gamer motherboard series.

Faster, smoother and more reliable gaming networking

Z97-Pro Gamer is equipped with Intel Gigabit Ethernet and ASUS-exclusive LANGuard for faster, smoother and more reliable gaming sessions.

Intel’s networking technology has the advantage of communicating directly with Intel processors to offer exceptionally-high Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) throughput, lowering overall processing demands and improving efficiency — releasing more power for games and gameplay.

LANGuard employs advanced signal-coupling technology and premium surface-mounted capacitors to improve throughput, and includes both surge protection and electrostatically-guarded components to defend against lightning strikes and static-electricity discharges.

Z97-Pro Gamer also has ASUS-exclusive GameFirst II technology, an innovative traffic-shaping technology that reduces lag significantly by prioritizing game-related data. Tests by ASUS engineers show that latency is greatly reduced — ping times are up to eight times (8X) faster with GameFirst II enabled. GameFirst II’s EZ Mode allows everyone to take advantage of low-latency gaming, with no need for expert knowledge.

Best-in-class gaming audio

Players gaming with Z97-Pro Gamer-based systems enjoy SupremeFX technology for near-lossless audio with a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 115dB that enhances every sound detail.

The advanced audio chipset is isolated from electromagnetic interference (EMI) by a protective shield, preserving the integrity of the audio signals. Exclusive ‘red-line shielding’ horizontally separates SupremeFX audio components from the rest of the motherboard. This unique combination effectively eliminates analog interference to ensure flawless sound quality. Premium ELNA® audio capacitors are added to the mix to deliver a warmer, natural sound to complete the audio experience.

SupremeFX also has a built-in amplifier that drives high-quality headphones — all the way up to 300ohm impedance — for sound quality that’s as great as a dedicated sound card.

Z97-Pro Gamer also includes Sonic Radar II, an ASUS-exclusive technology that displays a stealthy overlay showing the precise direction and origin of in-game sounds. This enables players to hone their enemy-pinpointing skills, delivering a vital the edge in first-person-shooter (FPS) games.

Fastest gaming storage

Z97-Pro Gamer has the fastest consumer-storage connectivity, with both SATA Express and M.2. on board. SATA Express provides data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s from two PCI Express 2.0 (PCIe 2.0) lanes, enabling Z97-Pro Gamer players to speed up their game storage with the next generation of super-fast SSDs.

The new motherboard’s built-in M.2 socket also offers two native PCIe 2.0 lanes for data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s, giving Z97-Pro Gamer owners the freedom to choose their preferred method to speed up both their storage and gameplay.

Exceptional gaming durability

Z97-Pro Gamer is engineered with high-quality, highly-durable Gamer’s Guardian components for exceptional real-world protection for extended gaming sessions.

Gamer’s Guardian includes onboard resettable fuses that protect the connection ports and DRAM against overcurrent and short-circuit damage, while exceptionally high-quality, Japanese-made 10K black-metallic capacitors offer greater temperature endurance and improved lifespans.

Gamer’s Guardian ESD Guards on the USB ports, audio connectors and Ethernet (LAN) port ensure that Z97-Pro Gamer is actively protected against sudden electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Z97-Pro Gamer also has the ASUS-exclusive Digi+ voltage-regulator module (VRM) to enhance performance, increase efficiency and ensure reliability, and a stainless-steel back input/output (I/O) panel that’s chromium-plated and corrosion-resistant to last up to three times (3X) longer than traditional panels.

ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard Overview and Specifications

Most powerful ASUS Gamer-series ATX-board with SupremeFX, LANGuard, M.2 & SATA Express and highly-durable components.

• LGA1150 socket for the 4th, New 4th & 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i7/ Core™ i5 / Core™ i3, Pentium®, and Celeron® processors
• Dual DDR3 3200(O.C.)support
• SupremeFX - Flawless audio that makes you part of the game
• Intel Gigabit Ethernet, LANGuard & GameFirst II - Networking that just goes faster
• Sonic Radar ll - Scan and detect to dominate
• M.2 & SATA Express – Top-speed transfers for faster gaming
• Gamer's Guardian - for real-world protection

• CPU
  Intel® Socket 1150 for the 5^th/New 4^th/4^th Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors
  Supports Intel® 22 nm CPU
  Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
  * The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types.
  * Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list
• Chipset
  Intel® Z97
• Memory
  4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 3200(O.C.)/3100(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2500(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory *
  Dual Channel Memory Architecture
  Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
  * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
  * Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).
  * Due to Intel® chipset limitation, DDR3 1600 MHz and higher memory modules on XMP mode will run at the maximum transfer rate of DDR3 1600 Mhz.
• Graphic
  Integrated Graphics Processor- Intel® HD Graphics support
  Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI-D/RGB ports
  - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
  - Supports DVI-D with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
  - Supports RGB with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
  Maximum shared memory of 512 MB
  Supports Intel® InTru™ 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider™
  Supports up to 3 displays simultaneously
• Multi-GPU Support
  Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology
  Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology
• Expansion Slots
  2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (Single at x16, dual at x8/x8, )
  1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode, black)
  2 x PCIe x1
  2 x PCI
• Storage
  Intel® Z97 chipset :
  1 x SATA Express port, compatible with 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports
  1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*¹
  4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray
  Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
  Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology *²
• LAN
  Intel® I218V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s), featuring GAMEFIRST II
• Audio
  SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
  - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel MIC Jack-retasking
  - High quality 115 dB SNR stereo playback output
  - High-fidelity audio OP AMP(s)
  Audio Feature :
  - SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
  - ELNA premium audio capacitors
  - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
  - Sonic Radar II
• USB Ports
  Intel® Z97 chipset :
  6 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
  Intel® Z97 chipset :
  8 x USB 2.0/1.1 port(s) (2 at back panel, black, 6 at mid-board)
• Special Features
  ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5 :
  - 5-Way Optimization tuning key perfectly consolidates TPU, EPU, DIGI+ Power Control, Fan Xpert 3, and Turbo App
  Gamer's Guardian:
  - ESD Guards on LAN, Audio, KBMS and USB3.0/2.0 ports
  - DRAM Overcurrent Protection
  - 10K Black Metallic Capacitors
  - Stainless Steel Back I/O
  - DIGI+ VRM
  ASUS TPU :
  - Auto Tuning
  - TurboV
  - GPU Boost without switch
  ASUS EPU :
  - EPU
  ASUS Exclusive Features :
  - AI Suite 3
  - Ai Charger
  - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
  - USB 3.0 Boost
  - Disk Unlocker
  Interactive HomeCloud
  - Media Streamer
  ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution :
  - Stylish Fanless Design Heat-sink solution
  - ASUS Fan Xpert 3
  ASUS EZ DIY :
  - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
  - ASUS EZ Flash 2
  - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
  - Push Notice
  ASUS Q-Design :
  - ASUS Q-Shield
  - ASUS Q-Slot
  - ASUS Q-DIMM
• Operating System Support
  Windows® 8.1
  Windows® 8
  Windows® 7
• Back I/O Ports
  1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
  1 x DVI-D
  1 x D-Sub
  1 x HDMI
  1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
  4 x USB 3.0 (blue)
  2 x USB 2.0
  1 x Optical S/PDIF out
  6 x Audio jack(s)
• Internal I/O Ports
  1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin)
  3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 USB 2.0 port(s)
  1 x SATA Express connector: gray, compatible with 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports
  1 x M.2 Socket 3 for M Key, type 2260/2280 devices
  1 x TPM header
  1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
  4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
  1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (3 x 4 -pin)
  1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
  1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
  1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
  1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
  1 x System panel(s)
  1 x Thermal sensor connector(s)
  1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
• Accessories
  User's manual
  I/O Shield
  4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
  1 x SLI bridge(s)
• BIOS
  64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.8, ACPI 5.0, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2,
  CrashFree BIOS 3, F11 EZ Tuning Wizard, F6 Qfan Control, F3 My Favorites, Quick Note, Last Modified Log, F12 PrintScreen function, F3 Shortcut function, and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information
• Manageability
  WfM 2.0, DMI 2.7, WOL by PME, PXE
• Support Disc
  Drivers
  ASUS Utilities
  EZ Update
  Anti-virus software (OEM version)
• Form Factor
  ATX Form Factor
  12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )
• Note
  *1: M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 (in PCIE mode) & SATA6G_4 (in SATA mode), and supports M Key and type 2260/2280 storage devices.
  *2: These functions will work depending on the CPU installed.

Sources:
http://www.asus.com/News/BxI9fd9C9V0uRDDe
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97PRO_GAMER/

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