ASUS Micro ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97M-PLUS

Great motherboard that has enough tools to make setup simple. I had a very strange incident which I can't fully contribute to the fault of my CPU (i5-4690K) or motherboard. Upon hotplugging a DVI cable into the rear I/O with integrated graphics turned on, the CPU suddenly failed. For those of you who find yourselves suddenly unable to power on the computer after it has already been comfirmed properly built/working (a click and no response), first test the power supply (a tester like one from Ultra isn't that expensive). Get both the board and CPU exchanged as in my case both were non functional after the fact. A week of headache and regrets. After receiving replacements, there has been absolutely zero issues. Using the EZ overclock tool in the BIOS gives you a generous overclock with a reasonable voltage (mine was 4.5 GHz on 4 cores @ 1.275 Vcore using an AIO liquid cooler). Overclocking using ratio only in Asus AI Suite 3 gives you a lesser overclock at stock voltages from my experience (4.1 to 3.9 GHz from 1 to 4 cores). RAID is super easy to setup using the same EZ tool in BIOS. Fan Xpert is great software and can be set up in both BIOS or AI Suite. The board can even stop the fans when there isn't much heat to dissipate, giving you a truly silent machine. Use AI suite to flash the BIOS with EZ update first -- it's easier than using the BIOS to dig around. Settings will reset and to my knowledge there isn't an easy way to restore all your BIOS settings. I just let the motherboard handle RAID setup, overclocking, fan profiles, and memory XMP profiles before calling it a day. Oh yes, don't forget -- there is a plastic film over the big round ASUS logo (heat spreader) in the bottom right corner. It's really not obvious even when you look directly at it, but it will prevent optimal heat dissipation.Long story short: cheap, solid, very capable board with great fan control (although only 2 chassis + 1 CPU PWM headers) giving you a truly quiet experience in the right case. Setup is very easy for the novice with the EZ tools for overclocking and RAID configuration.No dual graphics support aside from a slower crossfire (lower PCI-E speeds on 2nd slot), so this is not really for the extreme enthusiast. Put it in a small case with a GTX 960/970 and you'll have a very efficient powerhouse.

ASUS makes great mobos and this board is feature-packed. I put it into a Silverstone GD05B case for my HTPC build and the M.2 support came in very handy. Instead of a 2.5" SSD, I bought a comparably fast Crucial MX200 CT250MX200SSD4 M.2 Type 2280SS for my C: drive, which is like a stick of gum and tucks right onto the board taking up almost no space at all. Because of this I was able to fit two 3.5" HDD in my case for data. If you do make use of the the M.2 support, know that it shares bandwidth with the SATA 5 & 6 ports, but if you're building a micro ATX rig you probably won't need those ports anyway, especially if you've already got an M.2 drive in there. The BIOS is super easy to configure and so far I've had no issues whatsoever. If I had to pick something to complain about, it would be that the IO shield is a little chintzy. It stayed in one piece during the install though and hasn't been an issue since. Also the power port for the CPU was in an awkward spot for my particular setup, but with some careful routing of the PSU wires it worked out just fine. I definitely recommend this board.

Motherboard was defective, system would not boot up with all 4 memory modules loaded but reduced to 2 and it would boot up.

Great motherboard. The little brother to my ASUS Z97-Pro. I'd give it five stars, but for the old-school PCI slots, that really should be PCIe.. The UEFI BIOS in this MB has enough overclock settings options to make my head spin (same with Z97-Pro). My setup has had approximately 100 hours of burn-in time as my workbench computer, playing music, playing BluRay movies, and running automotive maintenance apps, etc., and not one hiccup yet, (knock wood). I selected this microATX board because I've been using ASUS motherboards since my first build in 1992, and have had exceptional longevity in all cases.

Came with three defective ram slots.

Well this MB works as far as it is advertized except one single problem. The onboard soundcard creates a static level when your CPU+HDD are being used. This became more pronounce when I plug this into an external amplifier and use my HD-600 to listen.Combine with the fact that this card has no PCI-E x1 accessible for another soundcard so now I have to order an external soundcard to make sure I'm not getting static.

Set up was easy and most of the ports are labeled clearly which made wiring it with the case simple. BIOS is super user friendly and has a decent UI. One thing to consider is that if you are using a larger CPU cooler like I do (I use the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus), you may not be able to use all four RAM slots. I only need two and could easily replace the cooler if I ever needed all four. Form factor is nice and allows me to use a smaller case but doesn't restrict me on power. Overall opinions:Pros:-Small-Easy to use and set up-Overclocking supportCons:-Might have trouble fitting RAM if using a large coolerWorked with my i7 4790k out of the box.