Maximizing The LGA 1150 Mainstream?
As enthusiasts, when we pay more, we want to get more. That's not too much to ask, right? That principle certainly applies to the high-end motherboards in today’s round-up. For example, we find a second Ethernet controller on four of the five solutions. They all sport add-on storage controllers. And all but one also include expanded USB 3.0 capabilities beyond the Z97’s paltry six ports.
Three of today’s contenders even spread PCIe 3.0 connectivity across three slots for improved triple-card CrossFire performance (even if none of the board's in our story are quite pricey enough to include the extra bridge logic needed to make them three-way SLI-compatible).
Well, that’s something at least.
We also expect the best possible overclocking performance in this price range, so we’ll test that out using Intel’s new “Devil’s Canyon” Core i7-4790K. Which board can take home the prize?
| Z97 Mainstream Motherboard Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | ASRock Z97 Extreme6 | Asus Z97-Pro(Wi-Fi ac) | Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H | MSI Z97 MPower | Supermicro C7Z97-OCE |
| PCB Revision | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.01A |
| Chipset | Intel Z97 Express | Intel Z97 Express | Intel Z97 Express | Intel Z97 Express | Intel Z97 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | 12 Phases | 10 Phases | 12 Phases | 12 Phases | Six Phases |
| BIOS | P1.33 (06/12/2014) | 1204 (06/17/2014) | F8 (06/17/2014) | V1.3 (06/18/2014) | 1.0b (06/27/2014) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 99.94 (-0.06%) | 99.98 (-0.02%) | 99.98 (-0.02%) | 100.01 (+0.01%) | 99.84 (-0.16%) |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | None | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Network | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | 1 | None | None | 1 | None |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Video Out | DVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMI | HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, DVI-I | VGA, DVI-D, HDMI | HDMI, DisplayPort | VGA, DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI |
| Other Devices | eSATA | Wi-Fi antenna connectors | None | None | None |
| Internal Interfaces | |||||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 2 (x16/x0, x8/x8, x8/x4/M.2) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 3 (x16/x0/x0, x8/x8/x0, x8/x4/x4) | 3 (x16/x0/x0, x8/x8/x0, x8/x4/x4) | 3 (x16/x0/x0, x8/x8/x0, x8/x4/x4) |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | 1 (2-pathways) | 1 (4-lanes, shared below) | None | 1 (4-lanes, shared below) | Row 19 - Cell 5 |
| PCIe 2.0 x1 | 2 (sharing 1x mini PCIe) | 4 (2 shared w/slot above) | 2 | 3 (All shared w/x4 above) | 3 (x4-length open-ended) |
| USB 3.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports, shared PCIe) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 10 (Shares M.2, SATA-E) | 8 (Shares M.2/SATA-E) | 8 (Shares M.2/SATA-E) | 8 (Shares M.2) | 6 |
| SATA Express | 1 (Uses 2x SATA) | 1 (Uses 2x SATA) | 1 (Uses 2x SATA) | 1x M.2 Adapter | None |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 4 | None | 1 | None | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | None | Output Only | Output Only | None | Output Only |
| Internal Buttons | Power, Reset | MemOK, Power, BIOS_FLBK | Power, Reset, CLR_CMOS | Power, Reset, OC-Genie, BCLK+, BCLK-, Go2Bios | OC mode (5), CLR_CMOS, BIOS Restore, Power |
| Internal Switch | BIOS IC Selector | EPU, TPU, EZ XMP | Dual BIOS Mode, BIOS IC selector | OC-Mode, Slow-Mode, BIOS Selector | BIOS Recovery |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Numeric | Numeric | Numeric | Numeric |
| Other Devices | M.2 (Shares SATA-E), Ultra M.2 (Uses 4x PCIe 3.0), USB Port, Serial COM port | M.2 (Shares SATA-E), TB_Header | M.2 (Shares SATA-E), 2x PCI, Serial COM port | M.2 (Sub 2x SATA) | Serial COM port |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||||
| Chipset SATA | 6x SATA 6Gb/s (Includes M.2) | 6x SATA 6Gb/s (Includes M.2/SATA-E) | 6x SATA 6Gb/s (Includes M.2, SATA-E) | 6x SATA 6Gb/s (Includes M.2) | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x M.2 |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | 2x ASM1061 PCIe 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA (Shared) | ASM1061 PCIe 2x SATA 6Gb/s | 88SE9172 PCIe 2x SATA 6Gb/s | ASM1061 PCIe 2x SATA 6Gb/s | ASM1061 PCIe 2x SATA 6Gb/s |
| USB 3.0 | ASM1042AE PCIe ASM1074 hub | ASM1042AE PCIe | uPD720210 PCIe | ASM1074 Hub | Z97 Integrated Only |
| Networking | |||||
| Primary LAN | WGI218V PHY | WGI218V PHY | Killer E2201 PCIe | WGI218V PHY | WGI217V PHY |
| Secondary LAN | RTL8111GR PCIe | None | WGI217V PHY | None | WGI210AT PCIe |
| Wi-Fi | None | BCM4352 PCIe BT-combo 802.11ac 2-band 867 Mb/s | None | None | None |
| Bluetooth | None | BCM4352 combo, above | None | None | None |
| Audio | |||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | ALC1150 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | DTS Connect | DTS Connect | None | None | None |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years |
