Everything on it that can be covered is covered

Nov 17, 2014 08:31 GMT  ·  By

Motherboards don't really have to bother with fancy clothing, so to speak, because they're barely visible inside cases and under all that other hardware anyway. Especially in high-end PCs. And yet ASUS gave the TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S a special design anyway.

In truth, this isn't the first fully “armored” motherboard in the world. Hardcore gamers with huge cases that have side windows have shown appreciation for their ilk in the past.

However, even among this type of mainboards with “thermal armor,” the new TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S stands out thanks to its color.

Where other fully covered platforms go with brown or black color themes, this one was made white, regardless of how easily the pristine image can be ruined by even a little dust.

Then again, high-end computers usually have dust filters anyway, so the problem shouldn't rear its head for a good while.

The ASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S motherboard

Being a Z97-based motherboard, it is compatible with new 4th- and 5th-generation Intel Core i3, i5, i7, Pentium, and Celeron processors, but no Xeon units.

That also means that no DDR4 memory is supported, so if you want a computer that is “future-proof,” you'll probably want to look for an X99 chipset-based motherboard instead, with an LGA 2011-3 socket.

If you're fine with “normal” Core-series chips though, which will carry you through the next five years of tough games well enough, the new ASUS board will still suit you. 32 GB of DDR3-1866 RAM are nothing to snort at after all.

Also, keep in mind that this is a limited-edition production run, whatever that means. An exact number wasn't given for how many will be in the world.

Besides the CPU and memory specs, we're looking at two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8), one PCI Express 2.0 x16 (x4), and three PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots. Quad-GPU setups (SLI and Crossfire) are possible.

Storage-wise, we have six SATA 6.0 Gbps storage ports, one SATA Express port (10 Gbps) and a bunch of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectors.

Everything is kept cool and good-looking by the TUF camouflage-white Thermal Armor with Flow Valve. With such things as TUF Ice, Fortifier backplate, ESD Guards, Dust Defenders and other components, as well as the 8+2 phase power design, the computer will run well and at a manageable temperature, without stability issues.

Availability and pricing

ASUS, sadly, did not provide this information in the press release. Since the Sabertooth Z97 Mark S is a limited run, it might not make it to your local retailers depending on where you live. We suppose you can only hope for the best.

Show Press Release

ASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S (5 Images)

ASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S
ASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S, top viewASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S, angle view
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