Introduction and Technical Specifications

The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 is the latest revision of ASUS much vaunted TUF series Sabertooth line of boards. This board features the new Intel Z97 chipset and promises to pack a wallop…

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 motherboard is the newest member of thier TUF (The Ultimate Force) series. The board features the Intel Z97 chipset, but keeps the aesthetics and functionality you have come to expect from TUF series boards, and more specifically the Sabertooth line. That does not mean to say that ASUS did not improve the design of the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 board. The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 comes with a premium MSRP of $249.99 with features to justify its premium price point.

Courtesy of ASUS

Courtesy of ASUS

Courtesy of ASUS

ASUS used the previous Sabertooth board as a template to design and improve upon the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1. The board includes the line's signature TUF Thermal Armor board overlay and TUF Fortifier back plate. With the new revision of the Thermal Armor, ASUS integrated two optional fans into its design as well as flow ports above the CPU VRM heat sinks to adjust the airflow through the Thermal Armor. The board is designed with an 8 phase digital power system with alloy chokes redesigned to run cooler than previous generation chokes, 10k-rated Titanium capacictors, and military-grade TUF MOSFETs. Additionally, ASUS integrated on board ESD (elctro-static discharge) protection into the rear panel keyboard/mouse, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, LAN, and audio ports to protect the motherboard and integrated components from voltage fluctuations and power surges.

Courtesy of ASUS

Courtesy of ASUS

The ASUS integrated the following features into the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1's design: six dedicated SATA 3 ports; two shared SATA 3 ports; a SATA Express 10 Gb/s port; dual Gigabit NICs – an Intel I218-V GigE controller and a Realtek GigE controller; three PCI-Express x16 slot; three PCI-Express x1 slots; on-board MemOK! and BIOS FlashBack buttons; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.

Courtesy of ASUS

Technical Specifications (taken from the ASUS website)