ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 Motherboard Review

By David Ramsey

Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Product Name: LGA1150 Intel Desktop Motherboard
Model Number: Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1
Price As Tested: $249.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: ASUS provided the product sample used in this article.

ASUS tries to cover all the bases in the enthusiast market, and their TUF series motherboards are aimed at those who prize toughness and stability. Built with military-spec capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs, and features such as extra ESD (electrostatic discharge) resistance, the Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 motherboard also includes ASUS’ unique Thermal Armor system and a custom processor to monitor the board’s voltages and temperatures, which is part of the Thermal Radar 2 system. Of course it also includes features common to their other motherboards such as the Digi+ fully digital power system and their best-in-class UEFI BIOS to control it all. A five-year warranty tops it all off.

The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 prioritizes reliability over pure over clocking performance and extra features like integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, or NFC support. But that doesn’t mean ASUS has skimped on features, either, as we’ll see in the upcoming sections.