ASrock's Z97 M8 barebones unit is one that definitely pleases. I have had this PC on my desk since it arrived on my doorstep, and it has become my daily driver PC. Given the huge number of VGAs and CPUs it supports, you opt for either an entry-level or high-end configuration, so no matter what your performance needs, the ASRock Z97 M8 is ready to wrap a blanket around you for that warm and fuzzy feeling. The aluminum parts and excellent esthetic design are winners for sure, and there is its fancy display on front, with the ability to adjust several features as it not only look good, but does something too. I've got a few Wi-Fi dead-zones in my house, and the Z97 M8's Wi-Fi picked up a signal where some of my other rigs simply cannot. Nearly everything is perfect and nothing is going to change that.
So, where are the benchmarks, you might ask? With as many CPU and VGA options on the market today, there's simply no point in posting any. Whether you want to use the Pentium G3258 or the high-end I7-4790K, the BIOS is ready to rock, and if you want to use the Z97 M8 as a workstation with a XEON CPU, you can do that too. Maybe you need a R9 290X, a GTX980, or a TITAN for gaming performance, or just the on-board GPU capabilities pretty much all LGA 1150 CPUs provide - this isn't a system set to a specific level performance; it's all up to you and the parts you choose to install.
I did run into some minor issues with the casing itself, and that's unfortunate, but something I have to deal with given winter has come to Edmonton and my local TNT delivery driver isn't the most gentle with large packages. What problems I did have were easily remedied in a couple of seconds, although re-attaching that magnet did require some good glue. It's cold here, though, and plastic and glue don't do well in cold climates. Such things sometimes happen, and I didn't have to tell you about them. The fact that I'm willing to so easily overlook these issues says something, though. My real issues are the required SO-DIMM memory sticks since they limit memory speeds and that the PSU can put out some serious dBs when pushed hard. As long as you know about these things and are prepared to deal with them, which is easily done, the ASRock Z97 M8 is near-perfect in every way, which makes these minor issues stick out even more. I was excited when ASRock offered me the chance to review the ASRock Z97 M8 and still am. It's smaller than my BitFenix Prodigy rig overall, but just as fast.