CPU Cooler Fit and Included Accessories
CPU Cooler Fit
To test the amount of space surrounding the CPU socket, we mounted the Noctua NH-D14 cooler to the CPU socket. This behemoth CPU air cooler sports a dual fan construction and two huge vertical cooling towers.
When running the unit oriented to blow air towards the rear panel, there is more than enough room along the front, back, and left sides to accommodate the cooler and any installed peripherals. While it may look tight from the rear panel shots, there is more than enough space to use the primary PCI-Express x1 and x16 slots without issue.
From looking at the cooler mounting from the right side view, you can see that the cooler has more than sufficient clearance between the DIMM slots and VRM heat sinks.
The Noctua hold down mechanism is large enough to quickly determine exactly how much space you have around the CPU socket. While the wrap-around VRM cooler comes close on the left and right sides of the mounting brackets, there is enough room provided to accommodate the mount.
The Noctua backplate lays on top of the LGA1150 socket backplate giving it no direct contact with the board. Further, there are no components in close proximity to the Noctua backplate to be contacted or crushed.
Included Accessories
ASUS includes everything you need to get the board going, along with some added nice to have components and add-on boards.
The manual included with the Z97-Deluxe is well written and effectively documents all board setup and functionality. ASUS also included a user guide for the ThunderboltEX II add-on PCIe card. The included DVD comes with all the drivers, applications, and utilities you will need to get the board operational.
The rear panel shield is a flat black color with all port holes labeled in white lettering for easy identification. ASUS outlined the BIOS Flashback USB 3.0 port with a green board so that it stands out as well.
ASUS includes six 6 Gb/s rated SATA cables for use with the integrated SATA ports. The cables have integrated port locks with a mix of straight and angled connectors. Note that no SATA Express cables are included with the board.
For multi-GPU use, ASUS includes an ASUS-branded two-way NVIDIA SLI cable.
For use with the on-board front panel headers, ASUS included their Q-Connector header plugs. You simply plug the front panel plugs into the Q-Connector blocks, then plug the Q-Connector blocks into the appropriate board front panel headers. It makes the installation of the front panel plugs much easier.
For attaching to wireless and Bluetooth-based networks, ASUS includes their dual-plug antennae with gold-plated screw-in connectors. The antennae can be used in a flat or upright orientation with its surface optimized for broadcast and reception of 802.11ac type signals.
The included ThunderboltEX II PCIe add-on card can be used in any of the on-board PCI-Express x16 slots because of its PCIe x4 style port connector. The rear bracket contains two Thunderbolt 2 ports and two DisplayPort input video ports. The Thunderbolt 2 ports offer transfer rates of up to 20 Gb/s. The port at the top of the card connects to the motherboard Thunderbolt header using the included cables.
For use with the ThunderboltEX II PCIe card, ASUS includes a DiplayPort cable, a mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable, Thunderbolt cable, and five-pin port adapter for use with the Z97-Deluxe board.
The NFC Express 2 device can be used for secure login to your Windows 8 system using the included NFC key, to stream multi-media content from a remote device, and to remotely control your system desktop from a connected device. The module connects to your system via the USB 3.0 port at the back of the device. ASUS also integrated two USB 3.0 ports into the side of the device for connecting additional USB devices to the system.
The ASUS Wireless Charger device can be used to charge devices with a built-in wireless charging function. You simply place the device on top of device top logo. At the front of the device is a status LED for easy determination of charging status. The USB port at the back of the device is used to connect to the power adapter to power the charging session.
To support the NFC Express 2 and Wireless Charger devices, ASUS includes a USB 3.0 cable, a micro USB to USB 2.0 cable, a power adapter with integrated USB port, and an NFC tag.
can never equality spread out
can never equality spread out pcie
Short of using actual gold on
Short of using actual gold on those gaudy heatsinks, there’s nothing that could justify the sort of premium these flagship boards command.
Just for reference, at $400 MSRP, this layer-cake of traces with a bunch of connectors is more expensive than the most expensive CPU using its socket. And it performs as well as any $60 1150 board.
Bonkers.
Couldn’t have said it better
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
What’s sillier is that fancy named boards are going to be priced even higher than than. Bonkers indeed.
The price for the Deluxe (
The price for the Deluxe ( withoucthe Two Port Thunderbolt add in card, Wireless Charging box and NFC box is 289 )
Additionally if you check out the upcoming live stream I think you will see there is even more to the board to fully justify its value. Even more importantly you will see how the consistency of advance features and functions are present on more price aggressive boards like the PRO and -A.
I hope you tune in to get a better understand of the features and functionality.
Bad timing on the live
Bad timing on the live stream, unfortunately.
I still remember how glad I was when GPUs started coming out with two DVI outs, and I gladly payed for a Ti 4600 over the ‘good enough’ 4200 just for that, so I’m sure you’ll find some people who’re just waiting for this very board and its specific mix of features, whatever the price may be.
I on the other hand am just having a great time playing around with, and torturing an i7 4771 on the cheapest B85 board I could find (which will eventually go into a Haswell Pentium build), and the only reason this wouldn’t go into my personal system is the lack of front USB 3.0 connector.
What would you rather have for the same money – i7 + entry level board, or high-end board (be that $300 or $400) and whatever Pentium you could find for what little cash remains? 😉
Gentlemen in the forum, I’m
Gentlemen in the forum, I’m gonna build a new computer and I was looking at this motherboard.
Please shoot me your specific suggestions for a motherboard and entire system. I’m willing to spend around $1700 or so.
I would like to build a good gaming system.
Thanks for your help.
You can email me your suggestions at jonesytv@gmail.com
Thank you.
Mark
This board has lots of
This board has lots of features but why does a $400 board not have at least 4 PCI-E x16 slots capable of running full x16, x16, x16, x16 or at least x8 across. Freak, $400 mobo but I can’t run decet 3 way or 4 way GPUs?
And speaking honestly, the look is pretty ugly compared to previous offerings for Haswell mobo’s. Both Asus and Gigabyte produced much better looking mobo’s last gen. If this board was $250 or so, I’d understand the compromise/non-flagship look but for $400? Give me a break.
It is a limitation of the
It is a limitation of the number of PCI-E lanes supported by Haswell LGA 1150 processors. The mobo makers could use a PLX chip to support four x16 slots but they would still be effectively limited electrically.
As of what we’ve heard about
As of what we've heard about the ASUS offerings, only the Z97-WS board will have an in-built PLX chip for PCIe x16 slots at launch. There may be other board offerings in the future though.
Also, part of the price premium comes with the bundled in ThunderboltEX 2 PCIe card, WIFi, and the NFC modules included. Without those, the board MSRP drops to $289…
Yup, it absolutely does drop
Yup, it absolutely does drop to $289…
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132127
There is a Deluxe version with and without those pricey accessories.
Indeed,…..
However, Newegg
Indeed,…..
However, Newegg also has the Asus ThunderboltEX II expansion card (single Thunderbolt port not dual version) for $57.80 (open box) and $68 (new) respectively.
They also have the previous gen Asus NFC Express / USB module for $23.99 (after rebate / $43.99 before) and $35.19 respectively (open box).
Not sure how the last gen NFC Express / USB module differs from the new version but I think the newer version added wireless charging of devices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995015R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995027
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995027R
So anyway, my point is that you could just spend the ~$289.99 on the Asus Z97 Deluxe (non NFC / WLC / Thunderbolt II version) and just add these two features at a lower cost either at the time of purchase of the motherboard or at a later date.
Honestly I am more interested in Haswell-E though and I fully expect those motherboards will be in the $400 range,…..to start.
Indeed,…..
However, Newegg
Indeed,…..
However, Newegg also has the Asus ThunderboltEX II expansion card (single Thunderbolt port not dual version) for $57.80 (open box) and $68 (new) respectively.
They also have the previous gen Asus NFC Express / USB module for $23.99 (after rebate / $43.99 before) and $35.19 respectively (open box).
Not sure how the last gen NFC Express / USB module differs from the new version but I think the newer version added wireless charging of devices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995015R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995027
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995027R
So anyway, my point is that you could just spend the ~$289.99 on the Asus Z97 Deluxe (non NFC / WLC / Thunderbolt II version) and just add these two features at a lower cost either at the time of purchase of the motherboard or at a later date.
Honestly I am more interested in Haswell-E though and I fully expect those motherboards will be in the $400 range,…..to start.
That’s exactly why I’m
That’s exactly why I’m jumping to the Z97 chipset right now. The Haswell-E stuff will be very pricey along with DDR4. I’m coming from an old 1366 system, so jumping to the z97 from 1366 will a fantastic upgrade for me. Then, I can wait for Haswell-E prices to drop and stabilize.
I ain’t buying, unless it
I ain’t buying, unless it comes with a Bass-O-Matic an’ a big ice chest full-o big mouth!
So Z97 is compatible with
So Z97 is compatible with Haswell afterall? There was some talk about electrical incompatibility with 4th gen but it seems I can put my i5-4670K on that board afterall?
Yes, Z97 is compatible with
Yes, Z97 is compatible with existing Haswell parts…
Thank you! I’ve seen the
Thank you! I’ve seen the unveiled Z97 motherboards to have the mentions of supporting 4th generation CPU’s but I wasn’t sure at all a couple of days ago when they started appearing.
Why you not checked the
Why you not checked the boards pcb layer? It shows on the back of the board arround the corner
Please tell JJ, Michael
Please tell JJ, Michael Bivins says hello!
Want. Built Z87-Pro system 9
Want. Built Z87-Pro system 9 months ago, so no can get, but can’t blame a guy for coveting. Can’t help noticing also that to make this board sing, you need to start from scratch with 4-Channel DRAM, PCI-E 10GBps-worthy SSD, and all the other pricey stuff. Can’t see doing that anytime soon. Didn’r expect Asus to come up with anything this year that might make we wistful, but they did!
I bought the new
I bought the new ThunderboltEX II and the Asus Z-97 PRO (wifi-ac) motherboard. The ASUS site showed it was compatible with the new Z-97 series but never mentioned the 9-pin to 5 pin adapter was required. I contact Asus Customer Service and on how to obtain the 9-pin to 5-pin TB Header cable/adaptor. I was told to contact the retailer (Newegg) to go about getting the cable. It’s been 2 weeks now and still info no news on how to buy the adaptor. Anyone have this experience or knows where to buy this adaptor
The email I received from Tech Support: The part NO. of the cable is 14003-00380000. Please contact your retailer to order. To me it is just a ruse to get rid of me asking now for a week on how the get the cable. The newer ThunderboltEX II have the adaptor cable with their orders and the Asus Z-97 Deluxe has it bundles with it components the dual Thunderbolt EX II Dual card.
Doesn’t this motherboard come
Doesn’t this motherboard come with the Thunderbolt card and cables all in one package? I have the sabertooth z97 mark2 and it is missing the 5-pin to 9-pin cable adapter, “adaptor” needed.
That sucks…I have to
That sucks…I have to opposite problem…I have the cable but need the 5-pin to 9-pin adapter. you have the right number for the cable…do you have the part number for the 5-pin to 9-pin? Gave me the same run around to contact the vendor Amazon or Asus estore which knows nothing either.
Thanks
Well the only part number I
Well the only part number I have is 14003-00380000 for the 9pin-5pin TB_header converter for connecting the TB_header cable to the TB-header port on the MB.
I hope you have better luck in getting the cable. I asked ASUS but they don’t seem to give a shit once they have your money. I asked if I can return the whole card and components to get a new one and as usual they are closed mouth and never replied so I am sitting here with a $70.00 expansion card I can’t use or even return for a new one.
Got the following email from
Got the following email from Asus Technical Support:
My name is Carter and it is my pleasure to help you with your problem.
Unfortunately I am afraid to say that generally we don’t directly provide this adapter.
The part number of this adapter is the P/N : 14003-00380000, you would need to contact your retailer to see if you could order it.
If you continue to experience issues in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Hell. Newegg doesn’t carry the part and told me to contact ASUS. ? I have been trying almost 2 months get this problem resolved. I only need the TB_header converter
So I just picked up the Z97
So I just picked up the Z97 PRO b/c I needed Thunderbolt as well. First board was DOA so I had to get another and swap it out.. Ok I’m good there.
Thunderbolt card was hard as heck to find but I tracked one down and now lack the 5 pin to 9 pin adapter that you folks are talking about.
Wow.
As a quick follow-up, the
As a quick follow-up, the ASUS e-Store sent me to ASUS tech support to get the adapter.
The ASUS tech support guy told me like 5 times to “simply look in the box for the adapter”, which pissed me off.
Once we cleared that hurdle, the ASUS guy said:
“Call your retailer”
“Call Newegg”
“Try calling Amazon sir”
I hung up at that point.