ASUS Z87I-PRO (Intel LGA 1150)

cadaveca · Dec 9, 2013

We continue our foray into mITX motherboards by taking a look at an high-end enthusiast option from ASUS, the P87I-PRO. Featuring a huge 12+2 VRM design, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus all Intel Z87 features, the ASUS P87I-PRO also carries the standard high-level ASUS experience we've all come to expect.

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erixx · Jan 31, 2014

Truely amazing how small things can get... precious analysis Dave. The big towers we loved and love so much are turning into dinosaurs...

Complete fan control of any kind of fans (be they 3 or 4 pins) is still a feature not available on all boards? It is always a lottery when you buy a board (unless you read this level of reviews

Would be great if full fan control could be done in UEFI without AI Suite (particularly to set some fans to stay totally off until needed, not just changing speeds).

cadaveca · Jan 31, 2014

Many PWM-based headers provided by certain SuperI/O chips aren't capable of scaling voltage for 3-pin fans. Some allow adjust of voltage (50-100%), so you can adjust 3-pin fan speed, but yeah, many headers do not work perfectly, and it's not a problem by design by the board maker...it's about the parts available to them.

On this board, you CAN control fanspeed in the BIOS alone without AISuite, but if you have AISuite installed, it will over-ride anything you put in BIOS. Secondary fan headers only offer limited customization, compared to the CPU_FAN header. That said, It is better than most mITX boards I have played with so far(still two more reviews to be published, at least, looking for more boards now).

fullinfusion · Feb 1, 2014

I thought Master Dave's reviews were done for but Im glad to see things are still being reviewed.

Nice little board but why is the memory XMP so lame?

cadaveca · Feb 1, 2014

fullinfusion said:
Nice little board but why is the memory XMP so lame?

I dunno, man, I see this from time to time with certain boards, usually boards, of the same sort of "caliber", too. With Haswell, differences in board performance can easily be rectified in most cases...could be something as simple as having a low NB multi profile, lower Turbo profile, etc, etc, and pretty much all of these options are user-adjustable.

What I can say for sure is that there's no problem with any of the other hardware, since I've done other testing on multiple boards since then.. that performed as you'd expect.

Nordic · Feb 1, 2014

What are your thoughts of the daughter boards in comparison to other brands? Specifically the power board.

BorisDG · Feb 1, 2014

Please, review Rampage IV Black Edition.

TheLostSwede · Feb 1, 2014

Got a list of countries that doesn't allow 802.11ac as you put it in the review? It's the first I've heard about it as it's 5GHz Wi-Fi and the card that comes with this board is clearly dual-band...

cadaveca · Feb 1, 2014

james888 said:
What are your thoughts of the daughter boards in comparison to other brands? Specifically the power board.

I'm not sure it's needed, really, except if you want to OC in low-air environment. The cooling and how it's designed hints at that too much. That said, It's nice to have if you want to minimize cooling fans and have a small silent build.

BorisDG said:
Please, review Rampage IV Black Edition.

Review is done, will go live next week.

TheLostSwede said:
Got a list of countries that doesn't allow 802.11ac as you put it in the review? It's the first I've heard about it as it's 5GHz Wi-Fi and the card that comes with this board is clearly dual-band...

It's about specific channels, not just the frequency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

Locally, certain channels just don't work. The Wi-Fi provided with this board is NOT a/c, but there ARE boards available @ Newegg with a/c (the Deluxe version).

Domokun · Feb 2, 2014

Thanks for the review, I wish I had read it prior to ordering the ASUS Z87I PRO. Do you know if ASUS are aware of the poor memory performance (and hopefully looking into a solution)?

TheLostSwede · Feb 2, 2014

cadaveca said:
It's about specific channels, not just the frequency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

Locally, certain channels just don't work. The Wi-Fi provided with this board is NOT a/c, but there ARE boards available @ Newegg with a/c (the Deluxe version).

Yeah and that would be the same regardless of Wi-Fi card you install, be it 2.4 or 5GHz. I'm sorry, but I have to say that you're wrong about this one. This is a driver issue if anything, but as I'm sure you're aware, you can unlock most routers quite easily by changing the firmware to get access to additional frequencies. Yes, it's technically not legal to do, but it'd be the same in this case, as long as you use the allowed frequencies where you live, it's not an issue.

cadaveca · Feb 2, 2014

Doesn't explain why ASUS has two boards, identical in every way BUT...the Wi-Fi.

What is your point, exactly? ASUS sell both the DELUXE and the PRO because of driver issues? I am confused...

TheLostSwede · Feb 6, 2014

Because they can charge more for one than the other?

BorisDG · Feb 6, 2014

cadaveca said:
Review is done, will go live next week..

Still waiting ...

Tsukiyomi91 · Mar 19, 2014

Best ASUS mini-ITX boards? I say it is. Might get this for my gaming rig since I'll be going Haswell in a few months' time.

Processor	7800x3d
Motherboard	Gigabyte B650 Auros Elite AX
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	GSKILL 2x16gb 6000mhz Cas 30 with custom timings
Video Card(s)	MSI RX 6750 XT MECH 2X 12G OC
Storage	Adata SX8200 1tb with Windows, Samsung 990 Pro 2tb with games
Display(s)	HP Omen 27q QHD 165hz
Case	ThermalTake P3
Power Supply	SuperFlower Leadex Titanium
Software	Windows 11 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores	CB23: 1811 / 19424 CB24: 1136 / 7687

System Name	Black Knight \| White Queen
Processor	Intel Core i9-10940X (28 cores) \| Intel Core i7-5775C (8 cores)
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore X299G \| ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark S (White)
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black \| Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk (White)
Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 4x8GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 \| Corsair Vengeance LP 4x4GB DDR3L 1600MHz CL9 (White)
Video Card(s)	ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC \| KFA2/Galax GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Hall of Fame Edition
Storage	Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, 980 Pro 1TB, 850 Pro 256GB, 840 Pro 256GB, WD 10TB+ (incl. VelociRaptors)
Display(s)	Dell Alienware AW2721D 240Hz\| LG OLED evo C4 48" 144Hz
Case	Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW (Black) \| NZXT ??? w/ ASUS DRW-24B1ST
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar Essence STX \| Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply	Enermax Revolution 1250W 85+ \| Super Flower Leadex Gold 650W (White)
Mouse	Razer Basilisk Ultimate, Razer Naga Trinity \| Razer Mamba 16000
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 (Orange switch) \| Razer Ornata Chroma
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64bit

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w

ASUS Z87I-PRO (Intel LGA 1150)

cadaveca

My name is Dave

erixx

cadaveca

My name is Dave

fullinfusion

Vanguard Beta Tester

cadaveca

My name is Dave

Nordic

BorisDG

TheLostSwede

News Editor

cadaveca

My name is Dave

Domokun

TheLostSwede

News Editor

cadaveca

My name is Dave

TheLostSwede

News Editor

BorisDG

Tsukiyomi91

System Name	Rainbow Puke Machine :D
Processor	Intel Core i5-11400 (MCE enabled, PL removed)
Motherboard	ASUS STRIX B560-G GAMING WIFI mATX
Cooling	Corsair H60i RGB PRO XT AIO + HD120 RGB (x3) + SP120 RGB PRO (x3) + Commander PRO
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 2 x 8GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16
Video Card(s)	Zotac RTX2060 Twin Fan 6GB GDDR6 (Stock)
Storage	Corsair MP600 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
Display(s)	LG 29WK600-W Ultrawide 1080p IPS Monitor (primary display)
Case	Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow (White) w/Lighting Node CORE + Lighting Node PRO RGB LED Strips (x4).
Audio Device(s)	ASUS ROG Supreme FX S1220A w/ Savitech SV3H712 AMP + Sonic Studio 3 suite
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular
Mouse	Corsair M65 RGB FPS Gaming (White)
Keyboard	Corsair K60 PRO RGB Mechanical w/ Cherry VIOLA Switches
Software	Windows 11 Professional x64 (Update 23H2)