Asus Z97I-Plus

D

Daemos

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
376
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97IPLUS/

This is Asus' entry into the Z97 ITX space!

The key specifications that set it apart from the ASrock version are:

1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)

2 more USB ports

But no SATA express...which is the only downside :(
 
I like that it has M.2 Type 2260 and 2280 support, I believe the 2280 (along with the 2242) will be the most common in the near future. But they are confusing people by changing the location of the M.2 port, even on their website:

overview.png


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They do the same confusing crap with the rear ports:

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Too bad it only has a ALC892 soundchip without headphone amp or I might have gone with this one instead of the ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac. But I like it that this board also has the Intel NIC and a 802.11ac card. I also like the layout more and the extra fan header, but to me the ASRock's sound card and amp are much more interesting than a slightly better layout and an extra fan header.
 
Hmm. is this meant to be serve dual purpose enterprise / DIY?

- VGA port? The 90s called and they want their connector back. (Again, for enterprise? who's the audience?)
- No rear panel Mem / BIOS buttons?
- Only 6 phase power delivery? Where's the Asus daughter board?
- That ugly circular gold Asus logo on NB?
- TPU port ok, but that placement? Along with the exposed wi-fi card. This just won't look good
 
JoeH823 said:
I wonder what their plan for Wifi antennas is as well.
Click to expand...

I was wondering this as well. Their product page shows the same large external ASUS Wi-Fi antenna, but that seems weird with the antenna connections not on the I/O.

Does anyone know if they're planning a Z97 ITX board in their Pro/Deluxe or ROG Impact series?
 
blood said:
VGA port? The 90s called and they want their connector back. (Again, for enterprise? who's the audience?)
Click to expand...
LOL. Maybe we ought to wait for the ROG Z97 itx board. It should be out by the time Intel has broadwell ready.
 
JoeH823 said:
I wonder what their plan for Wifi antennas is as well.
Click to expand...

I was curious too, so I downloaded the manual. Instead of having connectors on a metal plate connected to the motherboad. You have to screw the connectors on the backplate (there's space next to the optical out port, and then attach the internal wires to the wireless board.

It's good for system integrators, who might use this with cases with antennas build into the chassis of the case. However, it seems pointless for the consumer, given the lack of such chassis available on the retail market.
 
I speak for myself when I say that I dont mind not having the Sata Express, even ASRock's MITX's board's Sata Express is tied to m.2 meaning either or, not both. I do agree about the VGA. As for the Location of the m.2 Asrock did the samething, in their main overiew page they show it being on the top side not the under side, and they advertised ultra when in the end thats on on a certain board or two :(. As for the back panel I see nothing wrong, only part that gets tricky is if you plan to use 7.1, then you need to plug the last conector to the front panel lol. But 2.0-5.1 only requires the rear(as per the manual). Hopefully Asus Releases the ROG version soon, but till then I feel this board is a worthy contender to the ASRock, but for $20 more than the ASRock I say it would be a toss up or pick your favorite manufacuter. I know for me Either one is a Major over due upgrade from my x48 rog Formula Rampage :eek:
 
In my opinion, ASUS released Z97 ITX low-end board to shift enthusiast attention to upcoming Z97 ROG Impact! Let's wait and see the upcoming Computex...
 
encode said:
In my opinion, ASUS released Z97 ITX low-end board to shift enthusiast attention to upcoming Z97 ROG Impact! Let's wait and see the upcoming Computex...
Click to expand...

I don't plan to build till after Computex, Devil's Canyon & Pentium Anniversary release :D. Now we play the partial waiting game :eek:
 
encode said:
In my opinion, ASUS released Z97 ITX low-end board to shift enthusiast attention to upcoming Z97 ROG Impact! Let's wait and see the upcoming Computex...
Click to expand...

Yeah, ASUS will have other mitx mobos. this one is just the first. I feel confident a ROG version will appear at some point. :)
 
So.. the new ASUS boards now support PWM/DC modes for chassis fans, but the minimum duty cycle is still 60% via manual setting in the BIOS..

Chassis Fan 1/2 Min. Duty Cycle(%) [60]
Use the <+> or <-> keys to adjust the minimum chassis fan duty cycle. The
values range from 60% to 100%. When the chassis temperature is under
40°C, the chassis fan operates at the minimum duty cycle.

Allow Fan Stop [Disabled]
This item allows your fans to run at 0% duty cycle when the temperature of the source drops
below the lower temperature. Configuration options: [Disabled][Enabled]

E9272_Z97I-PLUS.pdf (3-45)
Click to expand...

If I'm reading the manual correctly, the chassis fans can be set to stop when the CPU (or chassis?) is below a set temperature (40°C to 75°C), which is a vast improvement.. but with my 1500RPM fans, there is no way to have them operate between the 300-900RPM range that they're capable of (via BIOS, that is.. AiSuite sucks imo).

Also, I wonder if they're at least planning to update their Z87 boards to allow "fan stop", or if they're hoping I upgrade to something that's still half-assed :mad:
 
AFD said:
So.. the new ASUS boards now support PWM/DC modes for chassis fans, but the minimum duty cycle is still 60% via manual setting in the BIOS..



If I'm reading the manual correctly, the chassis fans can be set to stop when the CPU (or chassis?) is below a set temperature (40°C to 75°C), which is a vast improvement.. but with my 1500RPM fans, there is no way to have them operate between the 300-900RPM range that they're capable of (via BIOS, that is.. AiSuite sucks imo).

Also, I wonder if they're at least planning to update their Z87 boards to allow "fan stop", or if they're hoping I upgrade to something that's still half-assed :mad:
Click to expand...


I agree 60% is much too fast for a SFF machine. Asus may be worried about mobos overheating and replaced under warranty, OR they just don't understand fan control. Duty Cycle for all fans should be 0-100%.
 
Asus understand fan control, that's simple. So it's the warranty issue. What hits them in the wallet is consumers setting fans to ultra quiet and then sending back an overheated board for RMA.

Remember that the BIOS setting and FanXpert2 are only a software limitation. You can always set the fans using manual mode in SpeedFan or another app that can talk to the Nuvoton controller directly.
 
I guess they want you to use 1.000rpm fans or less if you want to use a silent system.
No use in having 2.000rpm fans to have them at 25-30% duty cycle all the time and I'm having trouble believing anyone here is in a noise-induced world of pain when a 120mm fan is at 600rpm.
 
Phuncz said:
I guess they want you to use 1.000rpm fans or less if you want to use a silent system.
No use in having 2.000rpm fans to have them at 25-30% duty cycle all the time and I'm having trouble believing anyone here is in a noise-induced world of pain when a 120mm fan is at 600rpm.
Click to expand...

It's not just the noise, it sucks up more dust & dirt. New CPUs & mobos make very little heat, so ~200rpm is all you need at idle. Check this build.
 
AFD said:
So.. the new ASUS boards now support PWM/DC modes for chassis fans, but the minimum duty cycle is still 60% via manual setting in the BIOS..
Click to expand...

The Z97-Deluxe has all PWM headers but according to the manual the Z97I-Plus only has PWM on the CPU header. It's the same setup as the Z87 stuff like the Impact, the fourth pin just puts out a +5V signal (100% PWM signal) and the control is voltage only.
 
Ok that M2 support is confusing the hell outa me, is it on the underside of the board,because I think the close up picture you show is of a different board, it being below the CPU and having 2 PCI slots
 
Peter_364 said:
Ok that M2 support is confusing the hell outa me, is it on the underside of the board,because I think the close up picture you show is of a different board, it being below the CPU and having 2 PCI slots
Click to expand...

underside as per the manual and the first picture which is from the asus website :)
 
WiSK said:
Asus understand fan control, that's simple. So it's the warranty issue. What hits them in the wallet is consumers setting fans to ultra quiet and then sending back an overheated board for RMA.
Click to expand...

Would be better for them than customers opting to run no chassis fans, instead. When customers where asking about this issue, Raja wrote "Too many users with fans that don't spin up complaining in comparison to you guys. Greater need wins no matter how illogical it may sound in this case."

WiSK said:
Remember that the BIOS setting and FanXpert2 are only a software limitation. You can always set the fans using manual mode in SpeedFan or another app that can talk to the Nuvoton controller directly.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure I've read a few times that SpeedFan doesn't work at all with these boards for some reason (haven't tried it yet, myself). FanXpert does allow fans to run below 60%, but requires their bloated AiSuite software which just sucks imo. If they allow this in FanXpert, there's no logical reason they can't implement it properly in BIOS as well.

Phuncz said:
I guess they want you to use 1.000rpm fans or less if you want to use a silent system.
No use in having 2.000rpm fans to have them at 25-30% duty cycle all the time and I'm having trouble believing anyone here is in a noise-induced world of pain when a 120mm fan is at 600rpm.
Click to expand...

My fans running at 900RPM isn't all that bad noise-wise, but it's just completely unnecessary to have them running that fast.

So I guess I shouldn't be upgrading to the new industrial F12 fans (LINK) running at 3000RPM? :D j/k!
 
ALC892 ? Really ?? Come on Asus, you are better than that. If I was in the ITX market right now that right there would take it off my short list.
 
kuhla said:
ALC892 ? Really ?? Come on Asus, you are better than that. If I was in the ITX market right now that right there would take it off my short list.
Click to expand...
Only MSI and Asrock have ALC1150 but then you get the E2205 NIC with the MSI board.

Why can't all the mini-itx boards use ALC1150 or better? Unlike m/ATX, you can't slip in a discrete audio card if you're dissatisfied with onboard sound.
 
Indeed, that's why I've went with the ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac for my next build and the Z87E-ITX for my current one: it includes a very decent audio chip and the headphone amp is really worth it with a good set of headphones.

But I suspect this is Asus's low-tier Z97 offering, we'll be seeying a -Deluxe and an Impact soon I'd guess. That might as well include the ALC1150 chipset.
 
I use a USB dac with an external headphone amp. No built in mobo would be able to drive any of my headphones :) so the audio chip is a moot point to me.
 
Daemos said:
I use a USB dac with an external headphone amp. No built in mobo would be able to drive any of my headphones :) so the audio chip is a moot point to me.
Click to expand...
Sounds interesting. :) But, I think that adds to the build - $100+? Probably more.

Which USB DAC allows for either headphone or speakers? I don't know much about them.

You need an amp in addition?
 
pavel said:
Sounds interesting. :) But, I think that adds to the build - $100+? Probably more.

Which USB DAC allows for either headphone or speakers? I don't know much about them.

You need an amp in addition?
Click to expand...

A pure DAC would require an amp for headphones or unpowered speakers. Most computer speakers have a built-in amp and would work just fine with a DAC.

There are combo units that combine a DAC and amp into one unit like the FiiO E10 or JDS Labs O2+Odac.

A combo unit with an amp should work just fine with powered speakers.
 
I'm using Focusrite Scarlett 18i8, it has a perfect headphone preamp (two preamps for pair of headphones actually)
I am an audio professional and an audio interface is a special thing to me... For sure, it's overkill for regular gamers, however Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 might be a good choice! Why not?
 
Aibohphobia said:
A pure DAC would require an amp for headphones or unpowered speakers. Most computer speakers have a built-in amp and would work just fine with a DAC.

There are combo units that combine a DAC and amp into one unit like the FiiO E10 or JDS Labs O2+Odac.

A combo unit with an amp should work just fine with powered speakers.
Click to expand...
The FiiO E10 is out of stock around here. :( Looks like it would do what I am looking for. So, Line-out or AUX is what I need to plug in computer speakers? I guess I am just looking at that for now. It's cool that you have many options such as audio receivers but the itx build will cost enough. :)

If it was cheap, say around $100 for a DAC, and it solved my audio questions, that would be good. My headphones aren't that good but I think any of these DACs with decent headphones and an option for computer speakers - will be good for me.

I'm not an audiophile but I don't want to pay extra for these motherboard manufacturers that offer subpar onboard sound. Like the complaint about Asus above.

But, if I can solve this with a DAC, then it gives me more options.

I came across the E17. It's more than the E10, but that's a good one as well? I don't want to go over that price ($149). It's about the same price of the friggin' motherboard. :)

Oh wait, the E10 is on amazon for $125. Are those versions with the 'fixed' sound?

Phuncz said:
Indeed, that's why I've went with the ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac for my next build and the Z87E-ITX for my current one: it includes a very decent audio chip and the headphone amp is really worth it with a good set of headphones.

But I suspect this is Asus's low-tier Z97 offering, we'll be seeying a -Deluxe and an Impact soon I'd guess. That might as well include the ALC1150 chipset.
Click to expand...
Any thoughts on the cpu socket placement of the ASrock board? What cooler are you planning on using?

I think I'll use a low profile air cooler or the H60 (*or H75??). So, maybe the location won't be an issue if I chose that board?
 
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pavel said:
The FiiO E10 is out of stock around here. :( Looks like it would do what I am looking for. So, Line-out or AUX is what I need to plug in computer speakers? I guess I am just looking at that for now. It's cool that you have many options such as audio receivers but the itx build will cost enough. :)
Click to expand...

Having line-out is nice but not a necessity. Maybe it makes a difference with high-end equipment but I used a HRT Headstreamer (which is a combo DAC/amp) with powered speakers with no issue.

pavel said:
I came across the E17. It's more than the E10, but that's a good one as well? I don't want to go over that price ($149). It's about the same price of the friggin' motherboard. :)

Oh wait, the E10 is on amazon for $125. Are those versions with the 'fixed' sound?
Click to expand...

I listed the E10 because it seems to be popular, I'm actually not that familiar with the FiiO line personally. I'm sure you can find everything you'd ever want to know about them over on Head-Fi.org
 
pavel said:
Sounds interesting. :) But, I think that adds to the build - $100+? Probably more.

Which USB DAC allows for either headphone or speakers? I don't know much about them.

You need an amp in addition?
Click to expand...

I use a Stoner Acoustic UD110, very cheap, about 50USD...my amp is a tube amp though and that's a bit more, and it's only for headphones, for speakers I just use a cheap pair due to space restrictions, and dac quality to the speakers makes no difference, as the speakers are the weak link.

Reviews of UD100 can be found here:
http://www.inearmatters.net/2013/10/impression-stoner-acoustics-ud110-tiny.html
http://earmass.com/2013/10/27/stoner-acoustic-ud110-true-audiophile-dac-for-budget/

I've used some very expensive DACs, and IMO the UD110 sounds 98% as good (to me)...but has way less features...

If I ran any decent pair of speakers (*decent to me means at the minimum...*not* connected via 3.5mm jack, which completely bypasses any on board dac anyways) , I'd get a decent speaker amp, or a good HT amp that uses a high quality DAC built in, and go HDMI --> reciever/amp --> Speakers...or alternatively...for optimal set-up...optical out ---> External DAC ---> amp ---> speakers

That being said...again I stress I have not heard any "computer speakers" that have impressed me...so DAC on the motherboard wouldn't make a difference to me at all...as the only job of the DAC on the motherboard is to output to 3.5mm
 
I'm still thinking of going with the Audioquest Dragonfly DAC (LINK). Small and simple, under $150 for v1.2, good reviews, and can drive either powered speakers or any headphones 10&#937; and up. Should be good enough for any of my AKG cans.
 
AFD said:
I'm still thinking of going with the Audioquest Dragonfly DAC (LINK). Small and simple, under $150 for v1.2, good reviews, and can drive either powered speakers or any headphones 10&#937; and up. Should be good enough for any of my AKG cans.
Click to expand...

Imo...for that you could do better...its decent as a dac...but as a amp...its not very powerful.

I'd go ud110 and either o2 amp or magni amp be around the same price
 
Daemos said:
I'd go ud110 and either o2 amp or magni amp be around the same price
Click to expand...

Going with an amp that uses an AC pack would be kinda defeating the purpose of me doing this SFF build (trying to keep cabling and external doo-dads to a minimum). Maybe something like the JDS C5D or FiiO E18 would be a happy medium in size and amplification?

Thanks for the suggestion, though!
 
Not sure when you all looked last, but a new mob is available now with 1150 chipset. Also, interesting wifi option.
 
AFD said:
Going with an amp that uses an AC pack would be kinda defeating the purpose of me doing this SFF build (trying to keep cabling and external doo-dads to a minimum). Maybe something like the JDS C5D or FiiO E18 would be a happy medium in size and amplification?

Thanks for the suggestion, though!
Click to expand...

with amplification, USB cannot provide enough power to drive anything really well. There is no free lunch with amplification unfortunately, more power = more amperage.

I owned headphones that required more power than a true 100wpc speaker amp could put out...as a reference.
 
Daemos said:
with amplification, USB cannot provide enough power to drive anything really well. There is no free lunch with amplification unfortunately, more power = more amperage.
Click to expand...

And that applies to the two rechargeable battery-powered models I just mentioned, as well?

Both my AKGs are rated at 200mW max input, one at 32&#937; and the other 55&#937; (both >100dB SPL/V.. none of that goofy 600&#937; crap for me :D).

The FiiO E18 is rated >300mW at 32&#937; (over double that of the Dragonfly). Should be more than enough for the one pair, and pretty darn close for the other.. and it's portable.
 
AFD said:
And that applies to the two rechargeable battery-powered models I just mentioned, as well?

Both my AKGs are rated at 200mW max input, one at 32&#937; and the other 55&#937; (both >100dB SPL/V.. none of that goofy 600&#937; crap for me :D).

The FiiO E18 is rated >300mW at 32&#937; (over double that of the Dragonfly). Should be more than enough for the one pair, and pretty darn close for the other.. and it's portable.
Click to expand...

FYI, I owned a pair of hifiman HE-6...they could take more than 6wpc at 50 ohms...but they needed both voltage and amperage to really be taken to their potential. You can get wattage by increasing voltage or amperage, but all that does is make things louder, and doesn't improve quality (depending on headphones) I ran an ibasso PB2 amp...which is a very very very powerful (perhaps the most powerful) balanced headphone amp...and the HE-6 could get loud...but it didn't have the punch or the energy when driven through a real amp.

Battery powered is okay, as long as it's a high voltage battery source...but usually to charge those wouldn't be USB...(see above with ibasso PB2)

And both those you mentioned are more 'low/mid-fi' portable amps than high-fi desktop amps...and for the money of the JSD you could get a very nice DAC + Amp that would outshine either on all fields.
 
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