ASUS M5A97 PLUS Motherboard

The M5A97 PLUS Motherboard from ASUS is designed to fit in standard size ATX cases. The 12.0 x 8.5" M5A97 supports AMD AM3+ FX, Phenom II, Athlon II, and Sempron 100 series processors in the AMD 970/SB950 chipset. It also supports AM3+ 32nm CPUs with up to 8 cores and with power requirements up to 140W. This motherboard is compatible with Windows 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP operating systems.

The ATX form factor of the M5A97 has four DIMM slots and can support up to 32GB of non-ECC, unbuffered DDR3 RAM at the following speeds - 2133 (O.C.), 1866, 1600, 1333, and 1066 MHz. However, please be aware that the maximum base memory speed is 1866 MHz and anything higher is achieved through memory overclocking (O.C.).

The M5A97 has a total of 6 x SATA III 6 Gb/s connectors and 14 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports. To provide data redundancy, RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 modes are supported. For PCIe expansion, there is one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots, and three PCI slots. There is also multi-GPU support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFire X technology. The M5A97 also has built-in Realtek ALC887 8-channel HD audio and a Realtek 8111F Gigabit LAN controller. Additionally, there are 2 x PS/2 ports, 1 x COM port, and 3 x audio jacks. The M5A97 includes an I/O shield and two SATA III 6 Gb/s cables.

Key Features

Windows 8 Features

Fast Boot

• Instant OS Login - ASUS has released new hardware and software designs to shorten system boot-up time to around 2 seconds for a smoother user experience that helps to remove delays under Windows 8, as well as previous versions of Windows. Faster system boot and restart means Windows starts quicker and more efficiently with less waiting around

ASUS Boot Setting

• Multi-startup Options - Thanks to ASUS Windows 8 hardware optimisation, ASUS Boot Setting helps provide better flexibility in customising your PC's startup process. You can enter the BIOS directly with one click through a user-friendly interface and quickly select your preferred system boot up method: either get to the OS or opt for a regular boot up. Whatever your choice, settings are saved and persistent, with no need to choose every time you power on

ASUS Exclusive Features

UEFI BIOS

• ASUS UEFI BIOS offers a mouse-controlled graphical BIOS designed with selectable modes, providing a user-friendly interface that goes beyond traditional keyboard-only controls. It also natively supports fully-utilised hard drives larger than 2.2TB in 64-bit operating systems

ASUS Interface

• EZ Mode displays frequently-accessed info. Users can choose system performance settings and drag and drop boot priorities. An Advanced Mode for performance enthusiasts also includes detailed DRAM settings via a dedicated memory info page for complete insight

Enhanced System Control

• F12 BIOS snapshot hotkey for sharing UEFI setup info and troubleshooting
• F3 Shortcut for your most accessed info
• ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) Information for accessing memory info, detecting faulty DIMMs, and helping with difficult POST situations

AI Suite II

• One-stop Access to ASUS Features - With its user-friendly interface, ASUS AI Suite II consolidates all exclusive ASUS features into one simple-to-use package. It allows users to supervise overclocking, energy management, fan speed, voltage, and sensor readings. This all-in-one software offers diverse and easy to use functions, with no need to switch back and forth between different utilities

Fan Xpert+

• Customisable speeds with independent fan control - Hardware-level ASUS Fan Xpert+ allows users to independently adjust both CPU and case fan speeds with multiple dedicated controllers based on different ambient temperatures, climate conditions, and system loads. Built-in profiles offer flexible automatic and manual fan speed controls to achieve a quiet and cool computing environment

Components

• 100% High-quality Solid Capacitors - ASUS high-quality solid capacitors help 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°F and meet Japanese Industrial Standards to provide excellent durability and enhanced thermal capacity

Stainless Steel Back I/O - ASUS Motherboard 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 the anti-corrosion properties . That's why ASUS stainless steel back I/O panels have a usage life three times longer compared to ordinary panels

Transfer Technology

SATA III 6 Gb/s Support

• The AMD SB950 Southbridge natively supports the Serial ATA (SATA) storage interface. This motherboard delivers up to 6 Gb/s data transfer rates. Additionally, it provides enhanced scalability, faster data retrieval, and increased bandwidth

CPU Chipset and Features

AMD Socket AM3+ for AMD FX Series CPU up to 8-Core

• M5A97 LE R2.0 supports AMD AM3+/AM3 multi-core processors with L3 cache and delivers improved overclocking capabilities with lower power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR3 1866 MHz memory support and accelerates data transfer rates up to 4800 MT/s via HyperTransport 3.0 based system bus. This motherboard also supports AMD CPUs in the new 32nm manufacturing process

AMD 970 Chipset

• AMD 970 Chipset is designed to support up to 4800 MT/s HyperTransport 3.0 (HT 3.0) interface speed and PCI Express 2.0 x16 graphics. It is optimised with AMD's AM3+ and multi-core CPUs to provide excellent system performance and overclocking capabilities

RoHS

GreenASUS and ErP Ready

• The motherboard is European Union´s Energy-related Products (ErP) ready, as ErP requires products to meet certain energy efficiency requirements in regards to energy consumption

Other ASUS Features

Anti-Surge

• Help protect your device

ESD

• Help protect your computer with ESD guards

ASUS EPU

• Assists with energy efficiency

All Solid Capacitor

• Uses 100% All High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors

Specifications