ASUS Z97 motherboard lineup has been leaked which include their upcoming Z97 ROG, Sabertooth and Legacy series products. We also have details regarding the features which ASUS's next generation Z97 motherboards feature for gamers and overclockers.

ASUS Z97 Motherboard Unveiled - ROG Maximus, Sabertooth and Deluxe Boards

The ASUS Z97 motherboards lineup includes a total of 6 new leaked products which range in different tiers. Starting with the flagship ROG (Republic of Gamers) overclocking lineup which includes three motherboards:

ASUS Maximus VII Hero

ASUS Maximus VII Gene

ASUS Maximus VII Ranger

ASUS Maximus VII Hero

Featuring a new improved ROG design scheme, the ROG Maximus VII Hero will be featuring the latest LGA1150 socket powered by the latest DIGI+ VRM design. Power would be provided through an 8-Pin connector while the 24-Pin ATX connector located next to the four DDR3 DIMMs will power the rest of the mainboard. The board is equipped with overclock switches which include the OC key, On/Off and Clear CMOS switches. Rest of the board includes three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots (x16/x16/x8 electrical), three PCI-e 3.0 x1 and a M.2 PCIe SSD interface which will support Intel's NGFF form factor drives.

For storage, ASUS has included 8 SATA 6 GB/s ports and a USB 3.0 header. The VRM and Z97 PCH are cooled by several heatsinks featuring the ROG emblem and theme. The ROG boards use a red and black color theme and the new boards stay loyal to the design. ASUS has also feature new technologies such as Intel Ethernet, LAN Guard, GameFirst III, Supreme FX, Sonic Radar II, KeyBot, TrueVolt USB and Gamer's Guardian on their ROG Z97 motherboard lineup which will come in handy for connectivity and accessibility.

ASUS Maximus VII Gene

Next up is the Maximus VII Gene which is the M-ATX board made for overclockers. It maybe small but it retains the overclocking features of the flagship ROG Z97 motherboard, comes with two PCI-e 3.0 x16 and a PCI-e 3.0 x4 slot while storage includes 8 SATA 3 Ports. There are several I/O options an the addition of THX audio within the backpanel ports. The CPU is provided power with a 8-Pin power connector which means that the design of DIGI+ VRM is quite beefy and the cooler includes a heatpipe for superior cooling performance. The board has a M.2 PCI E SSD interface and a add-in board of some sort which is most likely the sound card since we can't spot the Audio jack on the headers.

ASUS Maximus VII Ranger

The ASUS Maximus VII Ranger is a new addition in terms of naming scheme to the ROG lineup and is a cut down board which features a 8 Phase DIGI+ VRM powered by an 8-Pin connector which provided juice to the LGA1150 socket. Four DDR3 DIMMs will be able to support memory with XMP profiles for OC support. We can spot some OC and LED diagnostics switches near the 24-Pin ATX connector.

Expansion includes three PCI-e 3.0 x16 (x16/x16/x4 electrical), three PCI-e 3.0 x1 and a M.2 PCIe SSD slot. Storage includes six SATA 6 GB/s ports while the board uses a similar heatsink design as the Maximus VII Hero.

ASUS Z97 Sabertooth Mark I Upgraded with TUF Fortifier

The flagship TUF series motherboard which will be introduced in ASUS's Z97 motherboard lineup is the Z97 Sabertooth Mark I fitted with the latest TUF Fortifier shielding which protects the board from damage and enhances the cooling performance. Much of the details are hidden since we can't spot what's underneath the TUF armor but we can spot an 8-Pin power connector that supplies juice to the LGA 1150 socket which itself is connected with a beefy DIGI+ supply. Four DDR3 DIMM slots seem to feature some thermal guard to enhance cooling for the DIMMs. The Storage options include 8 SATA 6 GB/s ports and a USB 3.0 header.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 and three PCI-e 3.0 x1, the mPCIe M.2 slot is hidden beneath the TUF armor and users will have to remove the armor first to equip NGFF form factor SSDs on the board. The board will feature a ton of tech support from ASUS but we don't really know much at the moment.

ASUS Goes 5-WAY Optimization and SATA Express With the Z97 Deluxe Motherboard

The last motherboard of the series is the Z97 Deluxe which is the most feature packed board we have seen yet in ASUS's Z97 motherboard lineup equipped with a large heatpipe heatsink design and powered through dual 8-Pin connectors. The CPU socket is powered by a 16 Phase DIGI+ VRM which features both TPU and EPU technology support. Storage options include 6 SATA 6 GB/s and a single SATA Express port which will enable faster transfer speeds for next generation SSDs. The motherboard has tons of expansion as seen in the picture. Other boards that are leaked include the Z97 Gryphoon which can be seen in the pictures below:

ASUS Z97 Motherboard Pictures (Courtesy of fashaoyou):