ASUS H87M-PLUS Micro-ATX Motherboard

The H87M-PLUS Micro-ATX Motherboard from ASUS ties all your PC components together in building a mini tower or desktop PC. This 9.6 x 8.6 inch motherboard supports 4th generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3, Pentium, and Celeron processors in the LGA1150 socket. These CPUs combine dual or quad-core processing power with integrated Intel graphics that offers 4K video via HDMI. For additional graphics power, this motherboard supports CrossFireX technology by offering two PCI Express x16 slots. ASUS also features 5X protection that provides stability and reliability for your PC by including a voltage regulator module, 5K solid-state capacitors, ESD guards, and more. Other features offered are Q-slots and Q-DIMM, which allows easier installation of PCI Express cards and RAM chips.

This motherboard allows you to add up to 32GB of RAM across 4 memory slots for running multiple applications at the same time. For connecting to optical and storage drives, six SATA III connectors are available and allow for data transfers up to 6 Gb/s. Four USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports are located on the back I/O for connecting to other peripherals. These USB 3.0 ports also support USB Attached SCSI Protocol in Windows 8 and 8.1 that boost transmission speeds up to 170%. It also comes with two PCI slots for adding additional hardware such as FireWire, parallel, and serial ports. For audio and networking needs, the motherboard is built with the Realtek Audio ALC887 and the Realtek 8111G Gigabit LAN controller. Included with the H87M-PLUS motherboard are a support disk, SATA cables, and an I/O shield.

Key Features

5X Protection

DIGI+ VRM

• Voltage regulator modules are among the most essential motherboard components. The VRM intelligently delivers APU power based on actual needs at any given time. ASUS has created a digital power design featuring faster sensing and response, to deliver precise APU power on demand. This reduces energy waste and improves system stability thanks to more consistent delivery.

Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection

• Onboard resettable fuses prevent overcurrent and short-circuit damage. This extends beyond I/O ports to DRAM, to safeguard system and device lifespan.

ESD Guards

• ASUS ESD Guards offer an active protective circuit design that ensures electrostatic discharges are properly grounded, providing greater component longevity.

5K-Hour Solid-State Capacitors

• These solid-state capacitors assure a 5,000-hour lifespan, equivalent to 2.5 times longer than traditional capacitors. All capacitors pass testing under temperatures as high as 105 degrees centigrade and meet Japanese industrial standards to provide greater durability and enhanced thermal capacity.

Stainless Steel Back I/O

• Back I/O panels are made from strong and corrosion-resistant stainless steel, which is bonded with a thin layer of chromium oxide to enhance anti-corrosive properties. Passing 72-hour spray salt endurance tests, ASUS stainless steel back I/O panels have a usage life three times longer compared to ordinary panels.

UEFI BIOS

BIOS

• UEFI BIOS from ASUS provides a mouse-controlled graphical BIOS. It features more intuitive functions to quickly take you to your favourite BIOS pages and frequently accessed settings through custom shortcuts. You can even write quick notes in-BIOS for future reference, view an activity log of setting changes and modifications, and rename SATA ports.

EZ Mode

• Fast Clock Adjustment: Change the time and date in EZ Mode using the mouse.
• EZ XMP Settings: Quickly apply XMP settings in UEFI BIOS EZ Mode, achieving better DRAM performance.
• EZ Fan Setting: Detailed fan controls are offered in EZ Mode, so you can switch fan profiles for quick cooling and noise-level supervision.
• SATA Information: Each SATA port has details displayed, so you can easily recognise devices.

My Favourites

• F4 or right click to add settings to My Favourites under Advanced Mode, which cuts time spent on searching and further speeds up system tuning.

Shortcut

• Customise your own shortcut log by pressing F4 or right clicking to create shortcuts to frequently-used settings. Instantly access them by simply hitting the F3 hotkey.

Quick Note

• Create and save notes within the BIOS to help remember important settings and save time on trial and error.

Last Modified

• This function creates a tuning log to track your BIOS setting history, which can be saved onto a USB drive.

SATA Port Renaming

• Rename the SATA ports for easy identification, including by usage scenario. You will spend less time finding the right devices when you want to change its settings.

Fan Xpert 2

Fan Auto Tuning Mode

• With a single click, the automatic speed detection scans the fans parameters and creates custom settings to provide the best cooling for your components. Fan Xpert 2 provides individual data and control for each fan connected to your motherboard as well as built-in fan profiles to deliver cooling that is as automated or as customisable as you need it to be.

RPM Fixed Mode

• RPM Fixed Mode is for users who wish to reduce noise levels to near 0 dB with highly specific fan speed control. It reacts to system loads for greater response.

Informative Fan Controls

• Delivers complete information that allows you to take advanced control over each fan.

Performance Optimisation

USB 3.0 Boost (UASP Support)

• ASUS USB 3.0 Boost technology supports USB Attached SCSI Protocol in Windows 8. With USB 3.0 Boost technology, a USB device's transmission speed is increased up to 170%, adding to already fast USB 3.0 performance. ASUS software automatically accelerates data rates for compatible USB 3.0 peripherals without any user interaction.
• Complete USB 3.0 Solution: Performance boost under Turbo Mode or UASP Mode for most USB devices.
• Simple Plug and Boost: Auto detection design ensures best performance.

GPU Boost

• The user-friendly interface facilitates flexible frequency adjustments to accelerate the integrated GPU. It easily delivers stable system-wide upgrades for every use.

Network iControl

• One click to prioritise network traffic for applications you're currently using or set up favourite profiles to run at specific times. Avoid network congestion, speed up downloading, and make sure online gaming runs optimised, all through an intuitive user interface.

PCI Express 3.0

• PCI Express 3.0 uses improved encoding that provides twice the performance of PCI Express 2.0. Total bandwidth for an x16 link reaches 32 GB/s, delivering fast data speeds combined with the convenience and seamless transition offered by complete backward compatibility.

USB 3.0 Integration

• Plug-n-play connectivity at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

SATA III Ports

• ASUS provides SATA III 6.0 Gb/s ports with enhanced scalability, faster data retrieval, and double the bandwidth of SATA II 3Gb/s.

EZ DIY

MemOK!

• This troubleshooting feature saves you time and annoyance by automatically loading failsafe settings to enable basic functionality with a simple push of a button on the motherboard.

Q-DIMM

• Plugging in memory is easy with one-sided clips that are right at the edge of the board and always accessible. Just push down on the clip and push or pull RAM modules in or out

Q-Slot

• Press the Q-Slot clip lightly, and the graphics card pops out. The large winged clip is easily reachable, so you don't have to struggle with installing or removing the biggest graphics card.

Additional Features

Probe II Sense

• Displays real-time system information through a live tile on the Windows 8 start screen and allows you to make quick adjustments. Probe II Sense is a free app available from the Windows Store.

AI Suite 3

• ASUS AI Suite 3 offers a clearer and more attractive interface with support for larger monitors. It consolidates all ASUS features into one simple-to-use package, allowing you to supervise overclocking, energy consumption, fan speeds, voltages and more. This all-in-one app offers diverse and easy-to-use functionality, with no need to switch back and forth between different utilities.

EPU

• Tap into the real-time PC power saving chip through the AI Suite 3 utility. Get system-wide energy optimisation by automatically detecting current PC loadings and intelligently moderates power consumption. You can manually switch it to Away Mode, so you can download and stream content or backup data when away from your PC, which minimises power draw to save money, creating a more efficient PC.

BIOS Maintenance

• CrashFree BIOS 3: Allows users to restore corrupted BIOS data from a USB flash drive or support CD containing a BIOS file. This utility saves you the cost and hassle of buying a replacement BIOS chip.

EZ Flash 2: Update your BIOS using an USB flash drive.

4K HDMI Support

• This motherboard offers native 4K support with a GPU that can provide 4K resolutions via an HDMI port.

Connect up to 3 Displays

• Connect up to three independent monitors at once using video outputs such as HDMI, DVI, or VGA. Choose your outputs and set displays to either mirror mode or collage mode.

AMD CrossFireX Support

• Features the Intel H87 platform to optimise PCI Express allocation in multi-GPU CrossFireX, giving you gaming enjoyment.

CPU and Chipset Features

Intel LGA1150 4th Generation Processor Ready

• This motherboard supports Intel 4th generation Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron processors in the LGA1150 package, with iGPU, memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support onboard graphics output with dedicated chipsets, 2-channel 4 DIMM DDR3 memory and 16 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes. Intel 4th generation processors are also energy efficient.

Intel H87 Express Chipset

• The Intel H87 Express provides improved performance by utilising serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. It natively supports up to six USB 3.0 ports for up to ten times faster transfer rates than USB 2.0. Moreover, the Intel Express chipset also supports iGPU functionality, letting users enjoy the latest Intel integrated graphics performance.

Intel Smart Response Technology

• Requires at least 18.6GB on an installed SSD as cache for frequently-accessed data. Key benefits include reduced load and wait times, and lower power consumption through the elimination of unnecessary hard drive spin. This technology combines SSD performance with hard drive capacity, operating up to 6X faster than a hard drive-only system.

Intel Smart Connect Technology

• Your computer can receive web updates with fresh content for selected applications, even when the system is in sleep mode. This means less time waiting for applications to update and sync with the cloud, leading to a more efficient computing experience.

Intel Rapid Start Technology

• Allows your computer to quickly resume from a low-power hibernate state in seconds. Saving your system memory to the designated SSD, it provides your computer a faster wake-up response time, while still keeping energy use low.

GreenASUS

• Motherboards are EU Energy-related Products ready, which requires products meet high efficiency standards with regards to energy consumption. This is in line with the ASUS vision of creating environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient products through design and innovation that reduce the carbon footprint of products and thus mitigate ecological impact.

Bundled Software

• Drivers ASUS utilities EZ update

Specifications