ASUS Z97I-PLUS mini-ITX Motherboard Review

[PAGETITLE=Introduction, Specifications & Board Comparison][Top Ad] Of all the different types of motherboards out there, it's the mini-ITX ones that tend to pique my interest the most. I say this as someone who's never built a proper mini-ITX PC, or even has a need for one. I just find it intriguing to see what vendors can pull off with such a restrictive form-factor. In recent years, the mini-ITX form-factor has really exploded, and ASUS was right there at the beginning of it all. Each generation, these boards get better and better, and the Z97I-PLUS, which I'm looking at here, is a perfect example of just how far along we've come. This board might be small in stature, but it's huge in function. For the Intel Z97 chipset generation, ASUS offers two mainstream models, the H97I-PLUS, and Z97I-PLUS. The company also has an option available for gamers, called the Republic of Gamers Maximus VII Impact, although it hasn't been released to market as of the time of writing. ASUS' H97I-PLUS retails for about $110, while the Z97I-PLUS is priced at $160. The to-be released Maximus VII Impact should be priced at about $200 when it's released, if previous-generation pricing holds true for this one. ASUS designed its Z87 mainstream boards with a golden color scheme, and overall, it looked quite good. For Z97, it's dulled the colors a little bit, to give us more of a metallic or brassy look, which I actually tend to prefer. It's classy-looking, in a way. I'll cover the board design and layout on the following page, but to help you gain an immediate understanding of what this board offers, you can refer to this specs table: ASUS Z97I-PLUS Architecture Intel Z97 (LGA1150) Form-Factor ITX (6.7" x 6.7") Memory Up to 2x8GB DDR3-3200 Multi-GPU N/A Expansion 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 Storage 4x SATA 6Gbps (Intel) 1x M.2 Socket 3 Network 1x Intel I218V Gigabit Wireless Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Realtek ALC892 8-channel Optical S/PDIF out USB Back-panel: 4x USB 3.0 (Intel), 4x USB 2.0 (Intel) Internal: 2x USB 3.0 (Intel), 2x USB 2.0 (Intel) Back I/O 1x 1Gbps LAN, 4x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 1x Optical S/PDIF, 3x Audio Jacks, VGA, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, Wi-Fi connector, PS/2 Features DIGI+ Power Control, 5 Protection Features (Digital VRM, ESD guards, 5K capacitors, DRAM overcurrent, and stainless steel back I/O), EPU, Ai Suite III, USB 3.0 Boost, Q-Design, Wi-Fi GO!, EZ DIY, Ai Charger+, MemOK!, USB BIOS Flashback Like all other mini-ITX boards, the Z97I-PLUS includes just a single PCIe slot, which could be used for a discrete graphics card, or some other peripheral if you're planning to use Intel's IGP. When I installed this board into our test rig, I didn't immediately appreciate the fact that ASUS placed the SATA and 24-pin power ports in a convenient location on the right side of the board. It took another board that I'll soon be looking at to clue me into how complicated things can be when that simple design is not adhered to. Speaking of that "other board", that'd be MSI's Z97I Gaming AC. Unlike the Z97I-PLUS, and more like ASUS' RoG Impact, MSI's board is targeted at the gamer. Therefore, it's more expensive out-of-the-gate, but I'm including it in this comparison table to see if there are some notable advantages over ASUS' Z97I-PLUS. Countering that, I'm including the H97I-PLUS as well to see what that extra $50 will get you. ASUS H97I-PLUS ASUS Z97I-PLUS MSI Z97I Gaming AC Price ~$110 ~$160 ~$190 Expansion 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 1x mini-PCIe 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 Multi-GPU N/A N/A N/A SATA 4x 6Gbps (Intel) 1x M.2 Socket 3 4x 6Gbps (Intel) 1x M.2 Socket 3 4x 6Gbps (Intel) 2x eSATA 6Gbps USB External: 4x 3.0 (Intel) 4x 2.0 (Intel) Internal: 2x 3.0 (Intel) External: 4x 3.0 (Intel) 4x 2.0 (Intel) Internal: 2x 3.0 (Intel) 2x 2.0 (Intel) External: 4x 3.0 (Intel) 4x 2.0 (Intel) Internal: 2x 3.0 (Intel) 2x 2.0 (Intel) Thunderbolt None None None Network 1x Intel (I218V) 1x Intel (I218V) 802.11ac Wireless 1x Killer Ethernet (E2200) 802.11ac Wireless Bluetooth None 4.0 4.0 Audio Realtek ALC887 Realtek ALC892 Realtek ALC1150 Power 6 Power Phase Digital VRM 5K Solid Caps 3x 4-pin Fan Headers 6+2 Power Phase Digital VRM 5K Solid Caps 3x 4-pin Fan Headers 6 Power Phase 2x 4-pin Fan Headers Back Ports 4x USB 3.0 4x USB 2.0 1x LAN 1x Optical S/PDIF 1x HDMI 1x DisplayPort 1x VGA 1x DVI 3x Audio Jacks 1x PS/2 KB+Mouse 4x USB 3.0 4x USB 2.0 1x LAN 1x Bluetooth Transmittor 1x Optical S/PDIF 1x HDMI 1x DisplayPort 1x VGA 1x DVI 3x Audio Jacks Wi-Fi Connector 1x PS/2 KB+Mouse 4x USB 3.0 4x USB 2.0 1x LAN 1x Bluetooth Transmittor 1x Optical S/PDIF 2x HDMI 1x DisplayPort 6x Audio Jacks Wi-Fi Connector 1x PS/2 KB+Mouse CMOS Clear Button The biggest advantage of the Z97I-PLUS, over the H97I-PLUS, is that it includes wireless capabilities. That includes both 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. While it's not that uncommon on more "premium" options, it's nice to see ac wireless supported here. You might not have an ac router now, but this board will be ready in the event things change. A subtle difference between the boards is that the Z97 variant uses Realtek's ALC892 audio chipset in lieu of the ALC887. As far as I can tell, these chipsets are nearly identical, but DTS support is exclusive to the Z97I-PLUS. Past all that, the Z97I-PLUS includes an internal USB 2.0 header, and 2 power phases dedicated to DRAM. MSI's Z97I-PLUS doesn't change things up too much over ASUS' Z97I. It has a slightly-improved audio chipset, Killer NIC (which I don't care for at all - give me Intel, any day), and 2 HDMI ports rather than just one (but there's no VGA or DVI). Given their individual prices, I'd say these are all spec'd quite well. But, that's enough of the comparisons: We're here to talk about the Z97I-PLUS, and will do so more on the next page. [PAGEBREAK][PAGETITLE=A Hardware Tour of ASUS' Z97I-PLUS][Top Ad] With its mini-ITX form-factor, ASUS' Z97I-PLUS measures 6.7" x 6.7". It's no doubt obvious, but because mini-ITX boards are so small, they're best-suited for chassis that are specially-designed with them in mind. You don't want to be known as a person who installs a mini-ITX board in a full-tower chassis with a 140mm CPU cooler, do you? Me, either. That would kind of be like parking a row boat at a marina. To start the hardware tour, we'll refer to an ASUS-provided stock image, which I've verified matches up with the retail unit. As with all other motherboards, the first thing I looked into was the number of fan headers. All too often, 2 is deemed sufficient on ITX offerings, but ASUS was kind enough to give us 3 to work with. That should prove useful to those who want to put a huge CPU cooler with two fans on their modestly-sized motherboard, or those with larger chassis that support more than one fan. ASUS' Z97I-PLUS is the first ITX board I've used in a while, and installing it reminded me of a couple of things. For starters, it's important to plan the build process out in your head before you install the board into its chassis, because it's really inconvenient to backtrack and have to uninstall things. Let me explain what I mean: All three of the board's fan headers, for example, are located at the top-left. Because I was using a large CPU cooler, I had a difficult time plugging in its fans. Had I plugged them in before I installed the board, things would have been a lot simpler. The 2 SATA ports above the PCIe slot should also be noted; if you plan to occupy more than 2 ports, you'll want to plug in all of the SATA cables you'll need before installing the graphics card. Once the board, CPU cooler, and GPU are installed, the amount of space you have to work with is really minimal. Of course, that simply comes with the ITX territory. Other things to note is that this board doesn't have an onboard power button, which is a feature I've come to appreciate on any board. However, that's not really that common on ASUS' mainstream line, while it is on the RoG side of things (the ITX Impact does have one). There's also no LED BIOS readout here, but I am not sure anyone actually expected there to be. With ITX's incredible constraints, vendors like ASUS have to be extremely careful about what features to include, and which to omit. While there's no onboard power button present, there is a MemOK! button. The purpose of this is to boot the system when the RAM is causing compatibility issues, and while the button isn't at the edge of the motherboard, a screwdriver should be able to easily reach it. It's also worth noting that the CMOS battery stands up on this board; it's found to the left of the CPU socket in this image. If you happen to remove this battery, take note of the sides - you can install it backwards. I might have figured that out during testing. In the specs table on the previous page, it's noted that the H97I-PLUS includes a mini-PCIe slot while the Z97I-PLUS doesn't. However, this board actually does include one; it just happens to be preoccupied with its Wi-Fi duties. With that, let's get into some more photos. As mentioned before, the board's 3 fan headers are located to the top-left of the board, underneath its 8-pin power port. Ideally, I prefer to have that port horizontally placed, but given the size constraints here, and the fact that I had no problem plugging that cable in, that's hardly an issue here. At the bottom-right hand corner, we find the 4 SATA ports the board offers, as well as the USB 3.0 internal header. If a USB 2.0 internal header is needed, one can be found above the GPU, to the left of the ASUS heatsink. The Z97I-PLUS might be a small board, but it features a full-sized I/O panel. Thanks to that, there are 8 USB ports available (4x 2.0; 4x 3.0), four different video connectors, S/PDIF output and 3 speaker ports, the LAN port, and for good measure, a PS/2 KB/mouse port. On account of the fact that there's rarely anything of note on the back of a motherboard, I don't often include photos of them. However, this board...

ASUS Z97I-PLUS mini-ITX Motherboard Review

Page 1015 –

Rob Williams