With their TUF series motherboards ASUS, have rather interesting products in their portfolio. Next to their unique design, these boards feature good cooling with the thermal shield and apart from that there is a decent power design as well as an overall high quality. All of this even comes at an interesting price point which sounds like a compelling offer, doesn't it?
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The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 belongs to ASUS' TUF-series motherboards regarding which the manufacturer focuses on the boards durability. As always we're very curious what this thing is capable of, when it has to face our preview.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Specs and Delivery
| Chipset | Intel Z97 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3, DDR31866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory |
| Multi-GPU |
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| Slots |
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| Sound | Realtek ALC1150
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| Storage | Intel Z97 chipset
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| USB Ports | Intel Z97 chipset
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| Network |
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| Internal Connectors |
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| Extrenal Connectors |
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| Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (64 Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS) |
- User's manual
- Accessory Guide
- ASUS Q-Shield
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cables
- 1 x SLI bridge
- 1 x Q-connector (2 in 1)
- 2 x Accessory Fans (35/40mm)
- 1 x TUF 5 Year Warranty manual
- 1 x TUF Inside sticker
- 1 x Accessory Package:
- 3 x PCIe x16 slot dust covers
- 2 x DRAM slot dust covers
- 3 x PCIe x1 slot dust covers
- 2 x Short fan screws
- 4 x Long fan screws
- 3 x Thermistor cables
- 1 x back I/O dust frame
- 1 x back I/O dust grid
- 1 x connector dust cover collection (On board USB 3.0, DVI, HDMI, DP, LAN)
- 2 x On board USB 2.0 connector dust covers
- 8 x back I/O USB 2.0 connector dust covers
- 7 x On board SATA connector dust covers
- 1 x SATA Express conector dust cover
- 5 x Audio connector dust covers
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
| ASUS DIGI+ VRM | Since quite a few generations ASUS also provides its TUF series boards with digital power designs. Using the right software, in this case ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility, it's not only possible to adjust voltages whilest being in Windows, you can also control impedances. |
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| ASUS TPU | As soon as the TPU is activated this chips monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds using the according software. The difference to the EPU is, that TPU will provide as much performance as possible. Therefore it can increase clock speeds and voltages. |
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| TUF Thermal Armor | The TUF Thermal Armor is a construction for the entire motherboard, not just for selected critical areas. It safeguards the system against hot air generated by plugged in cards and components, keeping temperatures low. With its integrated shunt design, the Thermal Armor improves air circulation, directing it towards important components. It effectively conducts hot air away and out of the case through special airflow channels, contributing to enhanced system stability and extending component lifespan. |
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| TUF Thermal Radar | The TUF Thermal Radar monitors temperatures in critical areas of the motherboard in real time, automatically adjusting fan speeds to make sure the system maintains high stability without overheating. There are multiple sensors for various components on the motherboard, giving users the ability to monitor each one individually. The Thermal Radar calculates ideal fan speeds based on different parameters selected by users for each component, keeping everything cooler and longer lasting. | |
| ASUS FAN Xpert | FAN Xpert allows you to adjust both the CPU and chassis fan speeds according to different ambient temperatures and your PC's system loading. The various fan profiles offer flexible controls of fan speed to achieve a quiet and cool system environment. |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Layout
The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 comes in the typical military look, which ASUS provides their TUF series motherboards with. Therefore the manufacturer uses colors like olive-green, black and grey. Generally it is the goal to achieve a look that automatically suggests that this is a high quality and "tough" product. Like the predecessors this model also comes with cooling blocks made from ceramic. Altogether ASUS succeeded in creating a homogenous look but one really needs to like the color scheme and we think that not everybody will enjoy the military looks.
ASUS provided their latest TUF-series motherboard with a digital power design, whereas the CPU gets eight phases and the memory gets two phases. Looking at the capacitors themselves you'll find Black Metallic Chokes, which offer excellent life durability. Other than that ASUS makes use of phases, which can take care of higher amperage than what you got from the predecessor. Also on another note: ASUS uses the same capacitors on their ROG motherboards.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1. Officially supported are DDR3 1866(OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz. There is engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 1.3.
The current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. There are two separate cooling blocks covering the area, which are connected via a heatpipe. The southbridge got a cooling block too, which has not been integrated into the heatpipe loop of the VRM. The fact that the cooling blocks around the CPU socket aren't too big, makes it comfortable to install a big aircooler. We also noticed the very high manufacturing quality of the cooling blocks.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Connectors and I/O
Totally ASUS equipped the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 with eight SATA ports, where six of them have been angled by 90 degrees. This number of SATA ports should be sufficient for any office PC or gaming system. Other than six SATA 6Gbps ports that have been wired natively to the PCH there are also the two straight connectors, which have been connected to an ASMedia chip. Apart from that there is also one SATA Express port. Right next to the SATA ports there is a USB 3.0 header which has also been angled by 90 degrees. Unfortunately you won't find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons. ASUS also didn't equip the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 with a debug display which would have been useful if you should once have issues with one of the components in your system. Regarding the full size PCI Express slots, there is two slots space inbetween the first and the second one. This means, that graphics cards, even in SLI/CrossFire won't run into temperature issues.
Totally you'll find seven fan headers on the ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 which is more than enough, to provide a well equipped midrange or even a high-end-system with fresh air. Apart from that there are two additional, special fan headers to connect 35 millimeter assist fans to the board. These fans can be used to improve airflow underneath the thermal armor. Furthermore all the fans connected to the different fan headers can be controled via the software you use for the thermal radar.
Looking at I/O-panel ASUS equipped the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 with four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, four USB 2.0 port, two gigabit ethernet ports, an analogue audio panel, an optical out and an HDMI as well as a DisplayPort connector. Furthermore there also is a BIOS flash back button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| As expected the ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 is a well-built motherobard that comes with a complete feature armada. Like with all Sabertooth motherboards the Z97 model also received the thermal shield. Other than that there is a very decent power design next to other high quality components. These days the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 costs 164 Euro, which is quite an attractive price tag for this motherboard. We also want to underline, that there is a SATA Express connector, which is a nice addition to the feature list, but unfortunately there is no M.2 slot, which would have loved to find on this board. | -
Design - Connectors - SATA-Express |
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| Layout | + | - | |
| Generally the ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1's Layout is well thought. Once more very practical are the angled SATA connectors, of which there are six. Furthermore the placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots is well thought an therefore nothing needs to be criticized at this point. There are for example two slots between the first and the second PCI-Express x16 slot. Another thing that is good with this board is the fact, that there as plenty of space between the CPU socket and the heatsinks on the power design as well as between the CPU socket and the DIMM slots. With this board you also get beefed-up audio, meaning the audio circuitry has been cut from the rest of the motherboard to achieve cleaner signal processing with less unwanted noise. The Sabertooth boards in general offer quite a lot of flexibility regarding cooling thanks to thermal shield and thermal armor, which quite a few users out there like. In our opinion it's not really a necessary feature, since the onboard components don't overheat anyway. | - Angled SATA connectors - Space around the CPU socket | - No M.2 slot |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Layout |
| Page 2 - Specs and Delivery | Page 5 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch