Intel Z97 Chipsets

Most of the basic functionality offered by Intel's new Z97 chipset is quite similar to what was offered with Intel's Z87 chipset, but the USB 3.0 ports seem to be faster. All the SATA ports provided offer SATA 6 Gb/s functionality, just as before, although they seem to have received a speed boost as well.


The chipset offers PCIe speeds of up to 5 GT/s (PCIe 2.0) for fast access to peripheral devices and networking with up to eight PCI Express 2.0 x1 ports that can be configured to act as x1-, x2-, or x4 ports. Intel's functionality diagram for the Z97 chipset is shown above. There is new support for PCI Express-based storage, such as the M.2 or NGFF port found on most Z97 boards, or the SATA Express plugs and M.2 port on some boards, but not all, as some feature one or the other. There are some that do not offer either PCI Express-based storage option, instead only including the new M.E. 9.1 firmware while offering support for other Intel CPUs slated to launch in the future.