Asus Introduces Z97 WS Workstation Motherboard

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Asus' Z97 WS can be used to build a serious workhorse.

Asus Introduces Z97 WS Workstation Motherboard : Read more

 

[ssdpro]

How can I get a job here? I could also read articles other websites posted a few days ago and rewrite them here. Heck I might even be able to do it later that same day or next day You have my email!

 

[DookieDraws]

"It's just shy of $300 on the street and is available immediately." You left out ugly!

Would love to see an all black & white color scheme for once. Would probably be too difficult to do, though.

 

[lp231]

Their WS heatsink rarely changes, it's almost similar dating back to the fossil ages of socket 775.
Looks like those USB ports found on the WS are no longer there, but there are 2 internal USB 3 headers, good if your case has 4x front USB 3. The other board that has this was their P8Z77-V Pro. Not even the deluxe has 2 internal USB 3 headers.

 

[Draven35]

Too bad they skipped Thunderbolt. No thunderbolt *and* no firewire means its not a first choice as a DAW motherboard, or for serious video editing.

 

[SirKnobsworth]

A lot of PCIe lanes used there - I'd imagine there are two PLX switches to accommodate all that (one from the CPU and one from the chipset).

 

[Draven35]

Ok, research on Asus' site shows it *does* have firewire, and has a (displayport) header for their Thunderbolt expansion card.

Can't tell if there are PLX switches sorry.

 

[thefiend1]

Im surprised they didnt add more ram slots. Being a workstation board, the more ram the better. Also, I would like to see a Micro Atx board geared towards WS needs... Lets start getting boards the size of the new mac pro that can scream!

 

[COLGeek]

No sure what some folks are looking at, but the specs are pretty darn impressive:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97WS/specifications/

Keep in mind, this is a WS class mobo. It isn't intended to be as "flashy" as a gaming rig component. "Beauty" is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[TeamBLU 4K]

Too bad they skipped Thunderbolt. No thunderbolt *and* no firewire means its not a first choice as a DAW motherboard, or for serious video editing.

Indeed, it's too bad ASUS stopped putting on Thunderbolt 2.0 connectors on their Z97 motherboards. Big drawback just as Intel announced 10Gbps Thunderbolt networking.
I will be going for GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD7 TH which does have Thunderbolt 2.0