ASUS Z97-WS Motherboard

The Z97-WS Motherboard from Asus is designed to fit in standard size ATX cases. The 12 x 9.6" Z97-WS supports 4th and 5th generation Intel Core processors and delivers power and speed to Internet browsing, extreme gaming, and CAD software. Power is critical for performance so the Z97-WS uses the Digital 8 Phase Power Design to deliver stable power from your power supply to your CPU for maximum overclocking support. The motherboard also features 5-Way Optimisation, which includes better CPU performance, power saving and digital power control, fan control, and system cooling.

The ATX form factor of the Z97-WS comes with four DIMM slots that can each hold 4GB DDR3 RAM modules for dual channel memory. The Z97-WS also has four SATA III 6 Gb/s connectors that are backwards compatible with SATA II 3 Gb/s, two SATA Express connectors, and one M.2 Socket for internal hard drives and solid state drives. To provide data redundancy, RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 modes are supported. For PCIe expansion, there are four PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slots, one PCIe 2.0 x4 slot, and two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots.

The rear panel of the Z97-WS also offers a variety of ports. There are six USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA 6 Gb/s port, one 1/8" (3.5mm) audio out jack, and one Optical S/PDIF digital audio out port. For connecting a monitor, you can use either the DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, or HDMI port, and up to three monitors may be connected at once for simultaneous use. There are also two Gigabit Ethernet ports for Internet access when connected to a network switch, router, or modem.

Key Features

Intel Core i3, i5, i7, Pentium, Celeron & Xeon Processor Compatibility

• This motherboard supports Intel 4th, New 4th, and 5th Generation Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron/Xeon processors in the LGA1150 socket, 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 Z97 Express Chipset

• The Intel Z97 Express Chipset is a single-chipset design that provides improved performance by utilising serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. Additionally, the Z97 provides a maximum of 6 USB 3.0 ports, 6 SATA III 6 Gb/s ports, and 10 Gb/s M.2 support for fast data retrieval. Moreover, the Intel Z97 Express Chipset also supports iGPU functions, letting users enjoy Intel integrated graphics performance.

Intel Turbo Boost 2.0

• The Intel Z97 Chipset enables overclocking features of unlocked 4th and 5th generation Intel Core processors

Intel Smart Response Technology SSD Speed with HDD capacity

• Uses an installed fast SSD (min 18.6GB available capacity required) as a 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 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 hibernation 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.

Intel Rapid Storage Technology

• By adding additional hard drives, faster access is provided to digital photo, video, and data files. There is greater data protection against a hard disk drive failure with RAID 0, 5, and 10. Support for external SATA (eSATA) enables the full SATA interface speed outside the chassis. This feature is also available using PCI Express-based SSDs.

Intel Rapid Recover Technology

• Intel's data protection technology provides a recovery point that can be used to quickly recover a system should a hard drive fail or if there is data corruption. The clone can also be mounted as a read-only volume to allow a user to recover individual files.

Built for Graphics Professionals / Quad Strength Graphic Power

• The Z97-WS contains four PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots. It supports 4-Way NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD CrossFireX, making it suitable for graphics professionals who depend on graphics in areas such as design and modelling, medical research, plus processing-intensive simulation and rendering applications. In addition to graphics cards, Z97-WS' expandability offers room for RAID cards, PCI Express-based solid state storage drives, video capture cards, and other components.

Power Solutions

• The Z97-WS is engineered with Beat Thermal Chokes made of highly conductive and efficient gold-treated coatings. This allows for minimal-loss power delivery and integrated Dr.MOS MOSFET semiconductor that both saves space and reduces operating temperatures.

12K Hours Capacitors

• These Japanese-made capacitors are durable and able to endure up to 12,000 hours exposure to temperatures as high at 105°C. This is higher than the temperatures generated by everyday computing.

Q-Code Logger

• Q-code logger is your one-touch troubleshooter that lets users easily cheque system status at any time. Plug a flash drive into adjacent USB port, press the motherboard's dedicated Q-Code logger button and all ASUS Q-Code event logs for the current live session will be copied to the drive even with the system off.

Dr. Power

• Dr. Power monitors the health of your system's power supply. As the Z97-WS is meant for professional users who rely on non-stop operation, stable power delivery is critical. Real time power supply health detection helps prevent sudden system shutdown and provides hassle-free notifications should power delivery be insufficient. Additionally, LED messages on the board clearly indicate any relevant power issues in the event your system fails to boot.

5-Way Optimisation

• Based on how you use your system, 5-Way Optimisation optimises CPU performance, energy savings, digital power stability, fan operation, as well as networking and audio settings.

Fan Xpert 3

• Fan Xpert 3 puts 4-pin/3-pin CPU and case fan controls in one place. It scans each fan's characteristics and delivers custom settings for each fan based on the dedicated area temperatures detected by hardware thermal sensors. Make sure every fan achieves a balance of cooling performance and low noise. Fan Xpert 3 supports hardware-level PWM/DC combo mode for both the CPU and case fans. It can also reduce the CPU fan speed to below the default minimum, for extra-quiet and power saving operation during light loads.

UEFI BIOS

• Select your hardware and use scenarios to tune system performance or streamline your RAID configuration for fast data retrieval and backups. You may also adjust individual fans, improve DRAM performance, among other functions.

Memory Overclocking

• Overclock your system's memory up to 3300 MHz. T-Topology design provides memory overclocking capability under full loads by minimising the coupling noise and signal reflection effect. The memory channels are equidistant to the CPU, providing balanced control over multiple memory modules and overall memory compatibility.

SATA Express

• SATA Express provides up to 10 Gb/s data-transfer speeds from two PCIe 2.0 lanes and is backwards compatible with SATA II and SATA I.

M.2

• With two native PCI Express 2.0 slots, M.2 supports up to 10 Gb/s data transfer speeds. This provides faster transfer speeds than current SSDs, whose max bandwidth is around 550 MB/s. Its speed makes it a suitable choice for a system drive and allows your system to run faster.

Thunderbolt 2

• The Z97-WS supports the ASUS ThunderboltEXII series add-on card, allowing users to upgrade to Thunderbolt 2 technology. Thunderbolt 2 technology provides bi-direction transfer speeds at up to 20 Gb/s, This allows users to connect 4K/UHD displays and use large storage devices with high bandwidth.

Turbo LAN

• Turbo LAN with cFosSpeed traffic-shaping technology adds even lag-reducing support. It allows you to lower lag with no expert knowledge.

Gigabit Ethernet

• Gigabit Ethernet has advantage of communicating directly with CPUs and offering high TCP and UDP throughput. This reduces the processor's workload, so there's more power available.

4K/UDH

• Native support for 4K/UHD (ultra-high-definition) resolutions of up to 4096 x 2160 via HDMI or DisplayPort. That's four times the pixel count of 1080p (1920 x 1080), offering visual clarity, detail, and realism.

Support for up to Three Displays

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

Special Features

• ASUS TPU :

• Auto Tuning
• GPU Boost
• TPU switch

ASUS EPU:

• EPU
• EPU switch

ASUS Digital Power Design:

• Digital 8 Phase Power Design
• Digital 2 Phase DRAM Power Design
• CPU Power Utility
• DRAM Power Utility

ASUS Exclusive Features:

• AI Suite 3
• AI Charger
• USB Charger+
• Anti-Surge
• USB 3.0 Boost
• Disk Unlocker ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution:
• Fanless Design Heat-pipe solution

ASUS EZ DIY:

• ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
• ASUS EZ Flash 2
• ASUS USB BIOS Flashback
• ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode

Media Streamer Special Memory O.C. Design Turbo App

Specifications