Overclocking and Conclusion
Overclocking
To give a feel for the Overclocking performance potential of the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 board, we attempted to push it to known CPU-supported performance parameters with minimal tweaking. The Sabertooth board did not disappoint, managing a stable run for well over 4hrs with the CPU running at 4.67GHz, the CPU ring bus purring along at 4.0GHz, and memory at 1780MHz, all with the base clock set to 167MHz. System stability was tested running the AIDA64 stability test in conjunction with EVGA's OC Scanner X graphical benchmark running at 1280×1024 resolution and 8x MSAA in stress test mode.
Note that this is is meant only as a quick preview of the board's performance potential. With more time to tweak the settings to a greater extent, pushing to a higher base clock and ring bus speed may have been achievable, in addition to an overnight stability run without issue.
Performance
Performance-wise, the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 clawed its way to the top, performing on par or better than the other Intel Z97-based systems. Its overclocking performance and potential were also exemplary with the design work ASUS put into the CPU digital power circuitry very evident.
Pricing
As of May 21, the MSI Z97 Gaming 7 motherboard was available pre-order at Newegg.com for $249.99 with free shipping. The board was also available from Amazon.com for $249.99 with Prime shipping.
Conclusion
Before continuing with our final thoughts on the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 motherboard, we would like to take this opportunity to give our friends at ASUS a hearty “Thank You” for giving us the opportunity to review another example of their engineering prowess. As with board's from its other lines, ASUS used the Intel Z97 chipset launch as an opportunity to tweak and further perfect their Sabertooth board design, culminating in the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1. They kept to the TUF series' aesthetics and signature Thermal Armor, giving the board a militaristic look that appeals to a vast number of gamers world-wide. Their design tweaking did not stop with the armor airflow and back plate enhancements, but included refinement of the VRM digital circuitry. The included power chokes are alloy based and covered by a heat dissipating metal outer layer, aiding in optimal heat dispersal and cooler running under all conditions. ASUS also included their updated audio design with separated audio PCB and enhanced left and right channel amplifiers for crisp sound reproduction. For the most part, the board layout was well thought out with adequate space around all component for uninhibited use of those ports. They even included a dust dispersal protocol on system shutdown, forcing the Thermal Armor fans (when attached) to run in reverse to help disperse dust from the Thermal Armor air channels.
Unfortunately, we did have an issue with the Corsair H100i cooler fit to the CPU socket that we hadn't encountered before.
This issue stemmed from the placement of the capacitors directly above the CPU socket and their proximity to the socket. With our Corsair H100i all-in-one cooler that we have used for countless Intel Z77, Z87, and Z97 reviews, the CPU block came to rest on top of the lower edge of the capacitors as you can see from the thermal paste imprints highlighted in the motherboard shot. In a vertical orientation as recommended by Corsair (with the barbs facing either the top or bottom of the board), the base plate fits the socket without issue. So you must be careful when installing this type of cooler into your new motherboard!
Strengths
- Stock performance
- Overclocking performance
- Motherboard manual
- Board layout and design with exception of CPU socket area (see below)
- Board aesthetics
- Utility and enhanced function with redesigned Thermal Armor and Fortifier back plate
- UEFI BIOS design and usability
- Accessible PCI-Express x1 slot with all PCI-Express x16 slots populated
- SATA Express 10Gbps-capable port
- CMOS battery placement
- Five year warranty
Weaknesses
- Capacitor proximity along upper side of CPU socket
- Bandwidth sharing between tertiary PCI-Express 16 slot and PCI-Express x1 slot 3 and the ASMedia USB 3.0 rear panel port
ASUS used Newsun CMOS battery
ASUS used Newsun CMOS battery on this board instead of other better known brands. ASUS used maxell, KTS, Panasonic in the past. Seems like a cost saving switch to me.
Cmos battery? I lol’d
Cmos battery? I lol’d
I want ASUS Sabertooth Z97,
I want ASUS Sabertooth Z97, just becomes it looks neat! Or as Ryan puts it “These capacitors are neat looking” *droolz*
Nice review Morry! Thanks for pointing out that cooler issue! 🙂
Finally! Morry likes the
Finally! Morry likes the CMOS battery placement!
I think all mid to high end
I think all mid to high end boards will evolve into something like we see here with just the connections and sockets visible.
I just ordered one this past
I just ordered one this past Friday. Should be here June 6th. Hope it’s worth it.
I just got a Z97 Gryphon. I
I just got a Z97 Gryphon. I would love to see a review of it! Can’t wait to get a 4790K!!!
Thanks!
macmuchmore
Performance should be on par
Performance should be on par with the Sabertooth board since both TUF boards share the same components and design…
Awesome review! I guess
Awesome review! I guess you’re fan of Doctor Who, which is awesome too! Anyways, you just answered the exact questions on my mind.
I am planning a build with
I am planning a build with the Asus Sabertooth z97 Mark 1 with the Corsair H100i.
Can you explain further on the fitment issues you ran into?
Are you saying that instead of the Corsair logo being parallel to the ground, that it should be oriented 90 degrees to the left or right in order for it to fit?
i just put together a new
i just put together a new system with a sabertooth z97 and a h100i n had no problems at all, every thing went smooth.
Me too, just installed an
Me too, just installed an h100i on my z97 mark 1 without problems
After a lot of head fu***ing
After a lot of head fu***ing around. I i have finally decided on my gaming build, it consist of a corsair 750d case, sabertooth z97 (badass looking motherboard) Intel I7 4790k (devils canyon) and a evga 780ti sc.
The only thing I need to decide on now is what color cables and light I should use? I was. thinking blue or white! Can’t wait !
I completed a build with an
I completed a build with an ASUS z97 Mark 1, corsair H100i, ASUS R9 280X, and a i7-4790K.
I had an older Western Digital SSD 256 Gig. Second generation SATA that I used with it. The SSD drive was plugged into the first SATA port.
The SSD failed on me multiple times (was working fine in it’s former laptop).
Changed the SSD to a different port and used a different SATA cable. Seems to be fine now. I was curious if any other SATA issues have shown up. Could be motherboard, cable, or drive. It’s possible that I fixed it with the different cable but I wanted to ask around. I have read of issues with the Western Digital SATA drives so it’s my second suspect.
Robert Hart
I am having problem after
I am having problem after plugging wireless adapter ‘Asus PCE N-53’ in ‘PCI-Express x1’ of ‘asus Z97 mark1’ motherboard. I am using windows 8.1.
During whole installation of OS, I need to unplug the wireless card. I installed all drivers from DVD for this wireless card after OS install and then retried plugging in ‘Asus PCE N-53’ wireless card..Still same problem..
Window 8.1 is showing blue screen saying something that ‘problem deptected and collecting information and wil try to restart PC’.
Any idea, how I can fix this problem?
Thanks,
Krishna