Asus Z87i-Pro or Z97i-Plus

Scramz · 5 Jun 2014 at 15:45

I am a little stuck. I want to move down to a ITX mobo and I had my eye on a Asus Z87i-Pro.

I was thinking of moving to a new 4790k when released and I am aware that it is compatible with the Z87i.

Do I go with the Z87i and have more power phases than the Z97i board or do I got with less power phases in the Z97i and have a couple more feature to hand that I properly will not use.

Thank you for your help in advance.

tbyeah · 7 Jun 2014 at 19:01

As far as I can tell, the only real advantage over the Z87I Pro is the M.2 slot.

Then the older board has better VRM and layout.

altrewin · 7 Jun 2014 at 23:00

tbyeah said:
As far as I can tell, the only real advantage over the Z87I Pro is the M.2 slot.

Then the older board has better VRM and layout.

The Z97 board also has 802.11AC vs 802.11N wireless. Personally OP I'd go with the Z97, if only to have fully compatibility for DC and Broadwell (DC is supposedly supported on most Z87 boards now, but nobody knows how different it is compared to Z97, if at all.

McstylisT · 7 Jun 2014 at 23:46

Unless you get a great deal on the Z87 then I can't see any reason not to go with the most current motherboard chipsets. As already mentioned these have early broadwell support so will be more worth the outlay in long run.

I have recently upgraded to z97 from z87 , just adding the finishing touches.

mightymouse · 8 Jun 2014 at 09:51

Depending on price and budget I would also get a z79 board. Doesn't make sense to get the older especially now that it will start dropping in price

Euphoria · 11 Jun 2014 at 18:38

altrewin said:
The Z97 board also has 802.11AC vs 802.11N wireless. Personally OP I'd go with the Z97, if only to have fully compatibility for DC and Broadwell (DC is supposedly supported on most Z87 boards now, but nobody knows how different it is compared to Z97, if at all.

DC is supported on the Z87 boards just not fully, but that doesnt mean you cannot bios flash. It is whether or not the manufacturer has released a bios with DC support or if it is still in beta.

It makes sense to go for the Z97 board but why not wait a few weeks/ month for the PRO board instead of going for the plus. Thats what i am waiting for atm

Scramz · 16 Jun 2014 at 13:55

Thank you for your responses.

Asus Z87i will support DC which I will be purchasing over in USA as I'm over there when they release so I can save a bit of money at MC (Maybe Mobo combo if available).

I will not be using M2 feature, I will be using a Noctua D14 which I know will fit on this board.

Unfortunately I cant wait for the Z97i Pro's as I just sold my other system.

Therefore I have gone for the Z87i Pro.

Thanks again.