Last year we reviewed the corresponding ASUS mainstream model in the Intel 8 Series and, whilst impressive from a feature/performance standpoint, we were less than enthused by the styling of the Z87-A. We’re really pleased to note however that this new mainstream Z97-A has had a significant facelift, with styling and aesthetics that are much more consistent and appealing to the eye, gaining our approval in the process.

Throughout the testing we found the Z97-A to be a solid performer regardless of the environment and we were surprised to see this motherboard handle our best overclock milestone with ease. This just goes to show, sometimes you don’t have to spend all the money in the world to achieve great results.



Z97-A is versatile in its feature-set and even has multiple storage options from SATA, SATA Express and M.2. Having connectivity for these upcoming solutions 'future proofs' the motherboard and we’re glad that ASUS decided to integrate the two latter options.

ASUS has revised the BIOS experience for the new Intel 9 Series and thanks to their efforts we're presented with a much more streamlined interface. Our video tour of the BIOS demonstrates just how fluid this experience is and we actually regard this UEFI version as one of the best out of the various Intel partners.

Priced at £112 / $149 the Z97-A represents solid value for money in what is sure to be a very crowded mainstream Z97 motherboard market, and will unlock a cost effective route to LGA 1150 and compatibility with Intel’s upcoming 5th Generation Processors.

With its clean and professional styling, Z97-A is a mainstream motherboard which offers excellent price/performance ratio. Combining various features and connectivity you will be hard pushed to find an offering for this price, of this calibre.