# ASUS Announces its Mainline Z87 Classic Series, with a New Look



## btarunr (May 16, 2013)

ASUS announced a fleet of socket LGA1150 motherboards, covering its mainline (classic), Republic of Gamers (ROG), and The Ultimate Force (TUF) lines. With this series, ASUS is adopting a new color scheme for its mainline motherboards, breaking away from the black PCB with blue heatsinks scheme it maintained since the first LGA1156 motherboards, almost four years ago. The new mainline motherboards from ASUS feature black PCBs with golden-colored heatsinks covering the VRM and PCH, and simpler naming. ASUS' first wave of Z87-based mainline (classic) motherboards include the entry-level Z87-C and Z87-A, mid-range Z87-PLUS and Z87-PRO, and premium Z87-DELUXE. 



 

 

 

 




The Z87-C covers the basics, including 4- phase CPU power, four DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot wired to the CPU, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) wired to the PCH, two other PCI-Express x1 slots, and three legacy PCI slots. Display outputs include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. Storage connectivity includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. 8-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 ports, a single gigabit Ethernet connection, make for the rest of the board. This is the most affordable Z87-based motherboard from ASUS, and could occupy a sub-$100 price-point.

The Z87-A is a few notches above the Z87-C, with a stronger 8-phase CPU power, an expansion-slot loadout that includes two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x16/NC or x8/x8), wired to the CPU, a third PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), wired to the PCH, and two each of PCI-Express x1 and legacy PCI; ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and other connectivity that includes 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF, gigabit Ethernet, and a few other ASUS-exclusives. The board supports 2-way SLI and CrossFireX, and should be the cheapest option for multi-GPU builds.

Moving on to the mid-range, we begin with the Z87-PLUS, which builds on the feature-set of the Z87-A. It features the same electrical system, while upping the ante with overclocker-friendly features, and connectivity. You find features that stabilize memory and CPU overclock at the push of a button, an obscene twelve SATA ports, the same expansion slot layout as the Z87-A, and the same connectivity options.

The Z87-PRO is designed for people who will opt for nothing less than the top socket LGA1150 processor. You get all ASUS-exclusive features of the Z87-PLUS, and 12-phase CPU power backed by EPU, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots wired to the CPU (x16/NC or x8/x8), a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the PCH), four PCI-Express x1 slots, eight internal and two external SATA ports, six USB 3.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), display outputs that include DVI, D-Sub, HDMI, and DisplayPort.

Leading the pack for ASUS' mainline Classic series, is the Z87-DELUXE. This board is probably the most connectivity-rich model in ASUS' entire portfolio of LGA1150 motherboards. It offers 16-phase CPU power, the same expansion-slot layout as the Z87-PRO, but drops in ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports, eight USB 3.0 ports, 802.11ac WiFi, dual gigabit Ethernet, and display outputs that include HDMI and/or DisplayPort. There are a few more overclocker-friendly features on offer.

*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## HumanSmoke (May 16, 2013)

Asus taking styling cues from ECS and Eddie Plein


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## Vancha (May 16, 2013)

Gold _and_ yellow? That's just horrible. Either/or, but never both.


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## dj-electric (May 16, 2013)

I don't know if i should be mad at asus or just love them for this


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## HammerON (May 16, 2013)

I was thinking "Goldmember" the movie
"Goldmember: Dr. Evil, can I paint his yoo-hoo gold? It's kind of my thing, you know. 
Dr. Evil: [comes over to Goldmember] How 'bout no, you crazy Dutch bastard?"


I do like the colors though.


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## TheLostSwede (May 16, 2013)

That is just vomit inducing...


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## Sinzia (May 16, 2013)

Well, I know what series of boards I wont be using for a haswell build.


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## buggalugs (May 16, 2013)

I like them. They look better than the current series with blue heatsinks.


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## buildzoid (May 16, 2013)

It's better than the massive mix of white blue and turquoise. The best looking boards come from MSI and Gigabyte


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## 20mmrain (May 16, 2013)

Vancha said:


> Gold _and_ yellow? That's just horrible. Either/or, but never both.



very ugly!


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## CameronBanna (May 16, 2013)

This is a joke right?


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## m1dg3t (May 16, 2013)

They couldn't buy back Asrock so they borrowed their colour scheme?


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## Johnny Utah (May 16, 2013)

the GOLD/YELLOW is a big mistake...they should have sticked to BLUE
even if it has great specs i will certainly NOT buy such a board. i need a black/blue/red MB


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## Octavean (May 16, 2013)

I see some of these Asus boards still have the Asus proprietary Thunderbolt "TB_Header" which was first seen on Asus Z77 motherboards.

The problem there is that this was supposed to support the Asus ThunderboltEX add-in card at or near the introduction of Ivy Bridge Processors into the retail market.  Needless to say Asus never made the ThunderboltEX add-in card available. Presumably this was due to Intel refusing to certify it.

So what then is the point of adding the Thunderbolt "TB_Header" to new Z87 motherboards,.....?

Maybe they retooled it to meet Intel certification,....?

Who knows but it seems kind of pointless.

As for the color scheme, don't really care all that much.  All else being equal the color of the board wont make it go faster or make it more stable,....so meh.


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## micropage7 (May 16, 2013)

gold with matte black would be good
and the yellow, can they use bright yellow with matte black only
or gold with matte black


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## theonedub (May 16, 2013)

HammerON said:


> I was thinking "Goldmember" the movie
> "Goldmember: Dr. Evil, can I paint his yoo-hoo gold? It's kind of my thing, you know.
> Dr. Evil: [comes over to Goldmember] How 'bout no, you crazy Dutch bastard?"
> 
> ...



I like it, too.


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## MxPhenom 216 (May 16, 2013)

Thank god I don't like Asus boards. Other then their TUF series.


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## jalex3 (May 16, 2013)

m1dg3t said:


> They couldn't buy back Asrock so they borrowed their colour scheme?


Asrcok used gold tastefully, but this is just tacky.


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## Hilux SSRG (May 16, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Thank god I don't like Asus boards. Other then their TUF series.



I agree the matte black is the way to go.


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## radusorin (May 16, 2013)

btarunr said:


> ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports,





btarunr said:


> an obscene twelve SATA ports,



Were the 10/12 SATA ports ... I dont see theme


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## Assimilator (May 16, 2013)

Everything I've read about Haswell says its chipsets will have 6x SATA3 ports. Yet every Z87 board I've seen so far has at least 8x SATA ports, and I can't see any additional SATA controllers. Can anyone in the know confirm/deny the number of SATA ports that Z87 will natively support?

And I wish mobo manufacturers would stop putting VGA and DVI on "high-end" boards. Give us more DisplayPort/HDMI connectors and use the space saved on the back panel for useful stuff, like additional USB ports.



radusorin said:


> Were the 10/12 SATA ports ... I dont see theme



Honest question: are you blind?


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## badtaylorx (May 17, 2013)

z87 may represent a massive shift in the perception of enthusiasts with concern to motherboard manufacturing.  With this major gamble on the part of Asus, we may see Gigabyte and ASRock leapfrog Asus and MSI.


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## McSteel (May 17, 2013)

HumanSmoke said:


> Asus taking styling cues from ECS and Eddie Plein
> 
> http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1341945687_no-mold-gold-teeth.jpg



ECS is the OEM for many (all?) ASUS boards, actually. Don't know about Eddie, though.


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## 15th Warlock (May 17, 2013)

Too.. much.. bling...

I'm so glad the ROG series retain their motif, what was Asus thinking when they designed their mainstream boards?


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## PLSG08 (May 17, 2013)

The blue and black theme was already great..... WHY ASUS :C

EDIT: Well actually the colors grew on me, I kinda like it the second time I look at it :/


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## Volkszorn88 (May 17, 2013)

Even though I personally don't like the colour scheme, I do appreciate what they're doing. Black/blue Black/red and even some Black/green has been done countless times. They're switching it up.

As long as they perform like monsters, who cares about the way they look.


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## cadaveca (May 17, 2013)

Already in-house @ TPU.


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## m1dg3t (May 17, 2013)

Playing with an 1150 ES yet?


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## Assimilator (May 17, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Already in-house @ TPU.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



@cadaveca can you confirm or deny if the chipset has 6 or 8 SATA ports native? Or only when NDA is lifted?


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## buggalugs (May 17, 2013)

When you install your ram and graphics card etc, you're not going to see the yellow anyway except on the sata ports.


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## cadaveca (May 17, 2013)

Assimilator said:


> @cadaveca can you confirm or deny if the chipset has 6 or 8 SATA ports native? Or only when NDA is lifted?



Sorry, I've already posted what little I could.


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## Delta6326 (May 17, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Sorry, I've already posted what little I could.



Can't wait for your review. From the looks of it the "plus " isn't really worth it over the "a". You get 1-2 more 4pin fan headers, 2more SATA  ports, and some fancy pants OC button.


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## radusorin (May 17, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Sorry, I've already posted what little I could.



Can you at list correct the text in the article? The Z87-A has only 6 sata ports NOT 10, and the Z87-PLUS has only 8 NOT 12 internal sata ports. At list in the picture the are missing 4 sata ports for this two models. Or am i wrong


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## Rahmat Sofyan (May 19, 2013)

Those motherboards reminds me this board :






ASUS became AECS?


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## TheHunter (May 19, 2013)

Im going to get Deluxe, any news on pricing yet? I hope its not gonna be more then 230€.


I don't mind the colours, its not like I will look the mobo all day long and my pc case is under the table


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## nleksan (May 19, 2013)

I see a PLX Chip on the Deluxe, although I can't make out the IC's numbers so I don't know which KIND of PLX chip it is...

Still, it would make sense to me to include one, as the Asus Deluxe and Premium variants almost always support more-than-2-way X-Fire/SLI (and I don't mean X8/X4/X4 because that's kinda pointless).  I would expect them to at least offer x16/x16 or x16/x8/x8 or even x8/x8/x8 via PLX, and then reserve 4-Way with either full x16 or with 16x/x8/x16 3-way + x16/x8/x8/x8 4-way multi-GPU setups.

Power delivery looks good, especially on the higher-end "mainstream" boards.  They seem to still be using the same VRM/Phase layout that they began en-mass with the Rampage IV Extreme, and as I know how well it works on that board with a CPU that's nearing the 300W mark, I imagine it'll work extremely well with CPU's that draw ~35-45% the power.  

I do wish we would start seeing MORE phases for the RAM and PCI-Express, as currently we're pretty well set with CPU Phases (owning a GA-Z77X-UP7 with its 32-phase CPU VRM's that don't get more than warm to the touch even with all the switching frequencies cranked, and my 3770K @ 5.2Ghz with 1.3525v, ~1.2125v for VTT/VCCSA, as well as ~1.7425v vDIMM for 2x4GB G.Skill Trident-X 2400 9-11-11 @ 2740 10-12-10-31 1T, and an MSI G680 Lightning w unlocked voltages running 1438core/7568mem with +195 Power Percent, +84mV Core, +10mV VRAM, +10mV Aux Voltage).  
The reason I say this is because with X79, for example, some of us are hesitant to run 8x DIMM's due to the negative effects it has on overclocking, while others have a difficult time overclocking their memory past 2133 or even 1866.  I realize that a lot comes down to the chips' IMC, but it's practically a "rule" that Cleaner Voltage/Power Deliver = Less Total Voltage Required and Less Excess Heat due to more efficient regulation.  

A real easy example of this is hooking something up to a wall socket directly vs using a top-notch Surge Suppressor with Voltage Regulation and EMI/RFI filtration such as the Tripp-Lite ISOBar Ultra series (which also have isolated filter banks, huge capacitors, and don't use MOV's for anything except secondary, sacrificial volt-stoppers so they can be blown but the unit is still perfectly fine).  I run these exclusively, and don't trust any other "surge suppressor" unit after having had the transformer box in my front yard suffer a direct lightning strike; my entire home theater, 6 PC's, family room TV/surround sound, etc were all hooked up to ISOBar 4/6/8/12 Ultra's or the ISOBar Home Theater version (which has angled outlets and 2x Cable + 3x/ea Ethernet and Phone to ensure all connections going into any of the electronics have a common ground).  I lost 2 of the ISOBar units, but didn't have a single damaged piece of equipment, which is good because I know that my insurance wouldn't pay for all of the high-end audio gear I've got (Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor speakers, McIntosh Amps, etc) or my gaming/benching or workstation (audio editing/mixing) computers.
Anyway, I simply used some Kill-A-Watt meters and measured one of my receivers ( ) while playing the same WAV song file that is 5:42s long and 239MB in size and about 750KB/sec (a Sigur Ros song), from my HTPC* at the same exact settings/volumes through the same amplifier (one of my McIntosh MC452 2ch 450W-per-Channel amps, also tried with one of my Audio Research DS450 2ch 450W/ch Amps with the same results) and with the same speakers (Sonus Faber Cremona Amati Anniversary Limited-Edition/Hand-Made Italian Floor-standing Speakers, also tried with B&W Signature 805's, Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors/Auditor M's and the floor-standing Cremona's).
The results were:
(McIntosh MC452 450Wx2 Amp + Sonus Faber Amati Anniversary Speakers)
WALL PLUG = 1203Watts
ISOBar4Ultra = 1148Watts from Wall, 1031Watts from IsoBar4Ultra-to-Receiver (KaW attached to both the wall and another to the Isobar4 between it and the receiver plug)

That's far from conclusive, and I know it's not the same thing at all as what goes on in a motherboard's conversion process for power, but it still would make sense that "clean in = cleaner out".

I hooked up the EZ_Plug2 on my RIVE (the 4-Pin FDD Power Plug), which is advertised for use with 8x DIMM's, and found that my memory was stable with lower voltage AND LLC settings at any given overclock.... and that I could tighten timings further than I could previously at any given speed, i.e. from DDR3-2248 9-11-10-28 1T to DDR3-2248 9-10-9-26 1T, or from DDR3-2496 10-12-11-30 1T to DDR3-2496 9-11-10-29 1T.  
The same goes for the EZ_Plug1, which is a 6-Pin PCI-Express Power Plug on the board for additional voltage to the PCI-e bus, advertised as only being used when 4 or maybe 3 GPU's are running in SLI/CF-X.  While I just have one card in the rig ATM, I plugged it in and found that my 670FTW 2GB, which was at 1348core/7362mem, would go to 1401core/7454mem with no other changes (both are with the voltage at 1.218v).

That tells me that additional 12V power inputs, other than the standard ATX 24pin and 4-/8-pin EPS plugs would likely be of quite some benefit to those of us running fast memory and/or high GPU clocks.
What if all boards had a 24pin ATX + 2x 8pin EPS *AND* 2x PCI-e 6-/8-pin Power Plugs or 4x SATA 12V Power plugs on them, with the PCI-e/SATA Power being sent directly to the RAM, PCI-Express Lanes, and onboard chipsets such as the SATA/USB controllers and LAN chips?
What if my board had 8 RAM Power Phases instead of 2?  Or what if it had 4 or even 8 PCI-Express power phases?  

Would that not result in far more even power distribution, prevent overloading of any single circuit, and also supply the cleanest possible power with the least possible voltage fluctuation/ripple?

Why don't motherboard manufacturers do this????





*("HTPC" isn't the correct term really, it's more like a "temporarily retired benching rig that I threw a RAID card/array, TV-Tuner/Capture, and Sound Card all into until I build yet another test bench"-machine...  So a Temporary Media Server/PC...  It consists of: CaseLabs SM8 with every upgrade for the main housing, Core i7 990X @ 4.64Ghz w Apogee HD CPU Block + Gigabyte X58A-OC w Full-Board Block + 24GB DDR3-2280 7-9-8-21 1T Corsair Dominator GTX w 2x Bitspower 3-DIMM RAM Blocks + MSI GTX580 Lightning Extreme 3GB @ 1190c/4850mem w Bitspower FC GPU Block & Backplate + 4xLive-Stream TV Tuner/Recorder Card w 4k2k/8bit-Color/1080p60 Video and 192Khz/48bit/11channel Audio support and is able to record 4x 1080p30/1080p24 streams simultaneously while a fifth is being watched + HT Omega Claro Halo XT Sound Card Feeding to the Receiver + Crucial M4 512GB SSD for OS/Boot/Programs + SAS9281-24i HW RAID Card w 4GB DDR3 Cache and Battery Backup, 4x4TB WD RE in RAID10, 8x Seagate 7200.14 3TB in RAID6, and 5x WD10EZEX in RAID0 + Intel PCI-e x4 10GbEth HW NIC w Dual Ports, HWLabs Black Ice SR1 560 with 8x Bgears Blasters P-P in a custom Rad Stand + Watercool MO-RA3 1260 Pro with 18x 140mm Bgears Blasters P-P and 18x 20mm Shrouds and Watercool MO-RA3 HexxMesh Rad Grills on both sides and the feet on the bottom + Phobya G-Changer 1080x60mm Rad with 18x Koolance FAN-12038HBK 120x38mm 2600rpm/117cfm/6.4mmH2O Fans P-P and 18x 20mm Shrouds in the Phobya 3x360 Rad Box, 2x Swiftech MCP35X2 dual-pumps with heatsinks, 3x Bitspower 500mL Multi-Z Tank Reservoirs + 1x 250mL BP Res, 1/2x3/4 tubing, ~55x Bitspower Fittings/Comps)


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## McSteel (May 19, 2013)

Wow. And I thought my posts were long-winded...  

Anyway, since RAM uses the 3.3V rail, and most enthusiast RAM operates at 1.65V, you get around 50% duty cycle, which is where the buck converter (actually, it's MOSFETs) is the most efficient. CPU VRM has it tough, it goes from 12 to 1.2V, or 10% duty cycle, which coupled with high amperage means more heat dissipation.

The difference isn't exactly astronomical, but the best CPU VRMs reach around 92-94% efficiency peak, while the same efficiency level is typical for RAM VRMs (peaking as high as 97%). More phases would only make sense if every MOSFET used was to put out > 50% of it's rated drain current. Since in most cases the FETs are rated at 40A continuous, it is a rare case indeed.

All this makes it economically questionable to put more than 2-3 RAM VRM phases, even for the most "extreme" boards out there.


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## TheHunter (May 19, 2013)

imo 16VRM looks plenty on Deluxe


btw it doesnt look that bad at all 





Also Deluxe has some fancy VRM - gold ones, vs pro just average


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## Jurassic1024 (May 20, 2013)

The first 3 images look like they have a brown PCB.  Pass. 

My current theme is black and blue. I'll go with Gigabyte or MSI if i have to to keep my black/blue theme alive.


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## Maban (May 20, 2013)

Jurassic1024 said:


> The first 3 images look like they have a brown PCB.  Pass.
> 
> My current theme is black and blue. I'll go with Gigabyte or MSI if i have to to keep my black/blue theme alive.



You'd pass on a motherboard simply because of the colors?


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## cadaveca (May 20, 2013)

Maban said:


> You'd pass on a motherboard simply because of the colors?



When you have nearly 100's of board options, with all brands included, why not? Rather than restrict by brand, you CAN restrict your choice by color alone instead. Either way, you limit your options in some way. I remain impressed at how each brand still manages to find a unique touch to call their own, actually.


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## MxPhenom 216 (May 20, 2013)

TheHunter said:


> imo 16VRM looks plenty on Deluxe
> 
> 
> btw it doesnt look that bad at all
> ...



Actually, yeah that looks sweet.


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