ASUS Z97-DELUXE Motherboard

Conclusions

The ASUS Z97-DELUXE is an excellent top mid-range (or entry high-end, depending on your point of view) motherboard, targeted to the user who is building a computer using a “Haswell” CPU (fourth-generation Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processors) and wants it to be compatible with the “Devil’s Canyon” (enhanced fourth-generation) and “Broadwell” (fifth-generation) “Core i” processors, and wants a little more than simple motherboards offer.

The highlights of this motherboard include the extra SATA-600 and USB 3.0 ports, a high-end audio interface, support for two video cards in SLI or CrossFireX, the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth interface, the two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the support for M.2 modules and SATA Express devices.

It is a more complete version of the ASUS Z97-PRO we analyzed recently, with two more USB 3.0 ports, one more SATA Express interface, better voltage regulator, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the addition of the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module.

Like its simpler sister, the Z97-DELUXE cannot be called a “high-end” motherboard because it does not support a high-end slot configuration; this needs a switching chip to support up to four video cards with no performance drop. However, coming with more features than the average user will ever need, the ASUS Z97-DELUXE will satisfy virtually anyone who is building a high-end PC with up two video cards.