Conclusion
Performance
The ASUS Z87-PRO is fierce competitor at stock speeds, easily managing performance that rivals its more expensive brethren. Couple that performance with its 12+2 digital power phase system and you have a force to be reckoned with.
Pricing
As of June 15, the Z87-Pro motherboard was available at Newegg.com for $209.99 with free shipping. The board was also available from other retailers such as Amazon.com for $209.99 with Prime shipping and TigerDirect.com for $209.00.
Conclusion
Before continuing with our final thoughts on this board, we would like to take this opportunity to give our friends at ASUS a hearty “Thank You” for giving us the opportunity and pleasure of reviewing the Z87-Pro motherboard. After seeing several other of the ASUS Intel Z87-based solutions recently, I went into the review with high hopes for the board – and I was not disappointed. While the board may not have all the frills of its ROG or TUF brethren, the Z87-Pro is more than able to hold its own against them. It black and gold coloration follows that of the mainstream board line, giving it some added bling. The board design and layout was top-notch, as we've come to expect from an ASUS board. The positioning of the primary PCI-Express x1 slot was an added bonus, since this slot remains easily accessible even when using the board in multi-video card mode. ASUS also included their enhanced Wi-Fi antenna with the board, promising better reception and faster throughput speeds.
There were only a few minor issues with the board, one with the placement of the CMOS battery and the other with the BIOS. The CMOS battery remains easily accessible unless you use the board in multi-video card mode. With a card in the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot, the battery is block requiring the removal of the video card to access it. With the BIOS, I ran into a slight issue with BIOS access after a warm-boot. On rare occasions, the DEL and F2 keys are ignored after a warm boot, blocking access to the BIOS. There are two work-arounds for this though – use the DirectKey button for BIOS access, or shut down the system and power cycle the PSU. Either way, the BIOS becomes accessible after the next cold-boot. This issue is likely to be addressed in an upcoming BIOS release and was a minor nuisance at best.
Strengths
- Stock performance
- Board layout and design
- Included ASUS utilities
- UEFI BIOS design and usability
- Motherboard manual information
- Accessible PCI-Express x1 in multi-video card mode
- Inclusion of enhanced Wi-Fi antenna
Weaknesses
- CMOS battery blocked in multi-video card mode
- BIOS warm-boot access issues
no thunderbolt port!!!
no thunderbolt port!!!
The next step-up from this
The next step-up from this board I believe is the z87-extreme is $50 more with thunderbolt but runs through more power phases. Excellent board I use it in my gaming system.