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Which one to buy ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1 vs ASUS Z97-PRO GAMER?

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System Name Main system
Processor Intel Core-i7 4790K @4.5
Motherboard Asus Z97-Pro Gamer
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Memory 32 Gig (16 GigADATA XPG V2 DDR3 2400 + 16 Gig Geil Evo Veloce DDR3 1600 CL11)
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Hello everyone,
My current Asus H87ME seems to have become faulty and restart on its own randomly.
This happened after I updated the BIOS which was needed for my new 4790K.
To cut a long story short, I decided to purchase a new motherboard for two reasons :
1. This one is getting old (I bought it in 2012/2013 I guess and with the upgrade I did If it fails in the next one or two years, I won't be finding a decent motherboard then)
2. The newer motherboard would support my CPU out of the box without bios updates and the stuff like that and hopefully will be more performant and reliable for the years to come.

However, looking at the reviews on newegg, it really made me hesitant of buying one without further consultation.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132510
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132412

For Z97 A, 32% were extremely disappointed with the quality of the board whereas 61% liked it (7% where in between)
and for Pro-Gamer, 22% disliked the board while 72% liked it .
and it seems Z97 A has more features compared to the higher prices Pro-Gamer : Link
So all in all, which one do you suggest/recommend?
 
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Don't go by Newegg reviews. Get the board with the features you need.
 
Joined
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Location
North of Iran
System Name Main system
Processor Intel Core-i7 4790K @4.5
Motherboard Asus Z97-Pro Gamer
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Memory 32 Gig (16 GigADATA XPG V2 DDR3 2400 + 16 Gig Geil Evo Veloce DDR3 1600 CL11)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX1080 G1 Gaming
Storage Western Digital Blue Cavier 500 and 1 Terabyte + 1 Terabyte Green Cavier + Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500G
Display(s) ASUS ML238 LED Monitor
Case Green Viper X3
Audio Device(s) Onboard-Realtek
Power Supply Green 700watt (Its a rebranded psu from highpower/kolink I guess)
Software Windows 10 /Ubuntu 16.04
Don't go by Newegg reviews. Get the board with the features you need.
which one of these two do you suggest ? to me it seems Z97 A would be a better choice, but I'm notsure .
 
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The z97-A board seems to have more extras along with USB 3.1. Plus, it's a newer board.

I'm just not sure on price as they're both showing out of stock for me.
 
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Location
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System Name Main system
Processor Intel Core-i7 4790K @4.5
Motherboard Asus Z97-Pro Gamer
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Memory 32 Gig (16 GigADATA XPG V2 DDR3 2400 + 16 Gig Geil Evo Veloce DDR3 1600 CL11)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX1080 G1 Gaming
Storage Western Digital Blue Cavier 500 and 1 Terabyte + 1 Terabyte Green Cavier + Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500G
Display(s) ASUS ML238 LED Monitor
Case Green Viper X3
Audio Device(s) Onboard-Realtek
Power Supply Green 700watt (Its a rebranded psu from highpower/kolink I guess)
Software Windows 10 /Ubuntu 16.04
The z97-A board seems to have more extras along with USB 3.1. Plus, it's a newer board.

I'm just not sure on price as they're both showing out of stock for me.
Where I live Pro-Game is about 5 ~10 dollars more expensive
 
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How about the ASUS Z97-E/USB3.1? Been working trouble free for me other than the odd issue requiring you to plug a keyboard into the USB 3.1 ports after a failed overclock if you want into the uEFI.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VBKLX9A/?tag=tec06d-20
 
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I have a Z97-A. Really nice board.
 
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i LOVE my asrock Extreme4 Z97 fwiw, IF thats an option.
 
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I'd go with the ASUS Z97-A, the only real diff between the boards is the Z97-A brings an m.2, usb 3.1, and has a displayport out, everything else is the same.

Also, the pro gamer isn't supported anymore, fwiw. My guess is they are phasing it out with the Z97-A or dropping it in favor of.
 
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Asus Z97 A 3.1 user here.

Had to RMA the first one due to a faulty PCI slot. The replacement board works fine for my purposes.

Excellet feature set for the money I paid. It has 4 PWM fan headers which is nice.
It has plenty of adjustments for overclocking though I havn't used them much.

Like most Z97 boards the m2 connection only has 2 lanes.
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
226 (0.04/day)
Location
North of Iran
System Name Main system
Processor Intel Core-i7 4790K @4.5
Motherboard Asus Z97-Pro Gamer
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Memory 32 Gig (16 GigADATA XPG V2 DDR3 2400 + 16 Gig Geil Evo Veloce DDR3 1600 CL11)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX1080 G1 Gaming
Storage Western Digital Blue Cavier 500 and 1 Terabyte + 1 Terabyte Green Cavier + Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500G
Display(s) ASUS ML238 LED Monitor
Case Green Viper X3
Audio Device(s) Onboard-Realtek
Power Supply Green 700watt (Its a rebranded psu from highpower/kolink I guess)
Software Windows 10 /Ubuntu 16.04
i LOVE my asrock Extreme4 Z97 fwiw, IF thats an option.
Sadly they are all sold out, the only boards that are still available are those of ASUS such as AZ97 and Pro Gamer.
OK so it seems all are in favor of Z97 A .
Thank you very much every one :)
 
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