Z97WE arrives in a rather eye-catching box. The typography, design and use of colour is quite erratic – the artwork lacks the finesse we have seen from other brands which opt for a professional palette and design.

The front of the box details the significant features which accompany the motherboard and the reverse goes into further detail to explain the technical specification.



Accompanying the motherboard are a number of accessories which make up the bundle. These items include:

• User’s Manual
• Guidance Leaflet
• Software/Drivers CD
• Rear IO Shield
• 4x SATA III Cables
• Velcro Cable Tie



With the packaging now out of the way we can get our first glimpse of the motherboard itself. Once again, in similar vein to that of the packaging the colour of the heatsinks do not match the DRAM/PCI-E slots. The current theme lacks consistency and whilst it may be a big improvement over previous BIOSTAR motherboard designs, the motherboard designers still have a long way before they reach the zenith of styling.

BIOSTAR has recently unveiled their Z9727 which is a step in the right direction – this highlights there is still hope. It’s just disappointing the rest of their motherboard range hasn’t been given the same facelift.

For those who aren’t at all bothered by the aesthetics on a motherboard the above will be of little importance – Z97WE follows the standard ATX form factor and is: : 30.5cm x 24.4cm.