In case you have been looking at ASUS' Z97-A motherboard but did not like the new ASUS Champagne color scheme you might be glad to know that ASUS has done a very similar motherboard but with more classic Black color scheme, the ASUS Z97-AR.


We already heard about the ASUS Z97-AR back when ASUS announced its full Intel Z97 Express chipset lineup but we did not have a chance to check it out before it was officially posted on ASUS' website. As noted, the new Z97-AR motherboard is quite similar to already seen ASUS Z97-A but comes with a full black color scheme.

As noted, the ASUS Z97-AR is still based on Intel's Z97 Express chipset with support for Intel's socket 1150 CPUs, has four DIMM DDR3 memory slots with support for up to 32GB of DDR3-3200 memory in dual-channel mode, has two PCI-Express 3.0 slots ( dual x8 ), single PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x2 mode), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and two legacy PCI slots, has single SATA Express, single M.2 slot as well as four SATA 6Gbps ports.

The rest of the features include Intel Gigabit LAN, Realtek ALC892 7.1-channel audio with Crystal Sound 2, ASUS' One click 5-way optimization with Dual Intelligent Processors 5 feature, a total of six USB 3.0 and eight USB 2.0 ports, ASUS' 5X Protection with Digi+ VRM with 8-phase digital VRM, Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection, ESD Guards, High-quality 5K-Hour solid CAPs, ASUS TPU and EPU and much more.

The ASUS Z97-AR is pretty much the same as the Z97-A except it lacks DVI and VGA outputs and does not feature the new Champagne (Gold) color scheme which did not sit well with a lot users.

There is not much difference between the ASUS Z97-A and the Z97-AR in price either as both are currently listed in Europe with a price of around €125, depending on the region and retailer.









Source: ASUS.com.