| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Introduction
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Z97 vs Z87
*In addition to the 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the CPU From an official chipset perspective, the only thing new in Z97 is the addition of PCI-E M.2 support which is a relatively recent improvement to mSATA. Just like mSATA, M.2 allows for the connection of storage devices (like SSDs), except that unlike mSATA which uses the existing PCI-E Mini Card slot, M.2 uses an entirely new physical connection. This redesign will allow storage manufacturers to be more efficient with their designs and let them cram more total storage capacity into a smaller footprint.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
H97 vs H87
*In addition to the 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the CPU Just like the Z97/Z87 chipsets, H97 doesn't have any new features beyond the added PCI-E M.2 support. Just like with Z97, you should check the specifications for a motherboard since not every motherboard will include a PCI-E M.2 slot even though the chipset now officially supports it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Asus Z97/H97 changesIn addition to the official addition of PCI-E M.2, there are a couple of new features we have found to be present on many of the new Z97 and H97 motherboards from Asus. First, the majority of the ATX and Micro-ATX Z97 and H97 motherboards we have seen now includes at least one SATA Express port. This port is similar to the PCI-E M.2 slot in that it allows hard drives and SSDs to connect to the system either through the SATA controller or the PCI-E bus. From what we have seen and heard, it appears that Intel initially planned on making SATA Express an official part of the Z97 and H97 chipset, but at some point decided to focus on the PCI-E M.2 slot instead. Since Intel has shifted focus away from SATA Express, it is unclear how many hard drive manufacturers are going to make drives that utilize SATA Express. Luckily, the SATA Express port is also completely backwards compatible with SATA III 6GB/s, so even if SATA Express fizzles you can simply use that port to connect standard SATA devices.
The problem with a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 adapter is that while the ports and devices will be active, they will only operate at USB 2.0 speeds. Many users may be fine with this, but as a PC builder we never want to have a device that is labeled as USB 3.0 running at USB 2.0 speeds. The alternative - a PCI-E USB 3.0 card - has been our preferred method when a customer needs an additional USB 3.0 header. However, the problem with that is that it adds both cost and complexity (which increases the chance of problems) to the system. The Silverstone USB 3.0 card we've been using is not too expensive and has had a remarkably low failure rate, but no add-on card is ever going to be as good and reliable as a USB 3.0 header on the motherboard. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ConclusionOverall, the Z97 and H97 chipsets are really only incremental updates. They add PCI-E M.2 support, but otherwise the chipset itself is exactly the same as Z87 or H87. One of the biggest benefits is really in that it gives motherboard manufacturers like Asus a chance to make improvements on their existing products. The chipset might not be much different, but the new Z97 and H97 motherboards overall have much more balanced feature sets compared to their predecessors. If you are considering upgrading from Z87 or H87 to these newer chipsets, we would advise against it in most situations. You simply will not gain much in terms of features, and nothing in terms of performance. If you are in the market for a new system, however, there is really no reason to not use a Z97 or H97 chipset instead of the previous generation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tags: Z97, Z87, Intel, Chipset | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Just built a ASUS Z97 Deluxe with an I7-4770 and a Samsung 256GB SSD. I have not gotten around to any testing yet still installing and migrating from my old system. The board is great, I love the layout. Going from an I7-930 EVGA x58 FTW3, still a great machine I need t find some use for.