Pros: -Easy set up and aesthetically pleasing to look at even without RGB lighting on
-Included software makes monitoring and overclocking simple.
-Bios tweaking is super easy as well.

Cons: A couple of gripes. Nothing major.

-The pro gaming logo and light is mostly covered by graphics card. So be aware unless you have a low profile card like a R9 nano.
-CPU fans run at 1900-2000 RPM after installing and setting up FanXpert in AI Suite 3 with no reply or solution from ASUS in forums. BIOS changes do nothing to fix issue.
-No troubleshooting guide on ASUS website. Empty page. It is a new MOBO, but some recently asked questions would be a lot easier and faster for smaller issues than speaking to or emailing a representative.
-An aura motherboard with no RGB header for compatible strips. Could have skipped out on 1 of the 2 USB 2.0 headers and had a RGB header. Small issue.

Other Thoughts: I replaced my Crosshair V Formula and FX 8150 due to 2 Dimm slots (One in each channel) being damaged and only being able to run 1 RAM stick for this board and a FX 8370 and so far it has been smooth sailing with no compatibility issues. I would buy this MOBO again if it included a RGB header. There are 8 USB ports on the back and cases today have 2 USB 3's on the front and maybe 2 USB 2.0. One 2.0 header should be enough. And if the CPU fan issue was fixed. Almost a perfect MOBO. 4 eggs!

Pros: it works asus rocks and this one is a hit. it worked right off recognized everything. looks incredible. so many options with included apps

Cons: none so far

Other Thoughts: great product. only issue i had was driver for onboard sound didnt want to install. it may have been my error. customer support was great replied to emails fairly quickly and problem was solved.

Pros: good quality
sturdy
breeze to install
nice packaging
very well made!
runs my 8350 and my two 380 msi crossfired like champs! no problems what so ever
3.1 usb!!! that is awesome thanks ASUS!!!! u never let me down.
gorgeous uefi bios! i mean seriously i had asrock motherboard that fried my cpu and that was garbage compared to this one is so beautiful i could not believe my ayes!!!

Cons: there is nothing not to like about this board buy it you wont regret it!!!!

Other Thoughts: i suggest you buy this board if you running amd fx processors it runs very good and O.C. like a champ!
this is what i have installed just in case people want to know:
amd fx 8350 at 4.6 ghz
crucial ballistix red at 1866 MHz 4 stick 16gb
two pny 512gb raid 0
2x msi amd 380 crossfired
corsair rm 850 power supply
dvd player and writer
1tb WD 7200 rpm blue
1tb WD 7200 rpm green
lepa water all in one water cooler with corsair static pressure fans.
hope this helps and put doubts in place for people looking for a new board and don't buy asrock please they are garbage!!!

Pros: Looks great, performs well, and has a easy to navigate bios (even in advanced bios)! Has led diagnostic, supports up to 32 GB ram. and packed with some really good software as well. This mobo will bring new life to an older chip. Overclocking is a cinch on this board. Has adequate heat sinks as well.

Cons: North bridge gets a little warm - but this is to be expected on the 970 chipset. Rear led cannot be changed, but this is a fickle complaint, cosmetics have no bearing on functionality.

Other Thoughts: FX-8300 (4.4ghz), and gtx 970 makes this mobo a wrecking ball for gaming!!!! FPS in Battlefront with settings on ultra w/ v-sync seldomly dips below 60 in big battles!

Pros: This motherboard has a 7+1 power phase design, making overclocking an FX chip pretty easy, this board can also push the higher 9000fx series chips. It also has USB 3.1 in the back, and a USB 3.0 header for front panel USB ports. That may not sound like much, but nobody really advertises headers, and I bought my last motherboard expecting it to have one and it didn't. This board also brings several other more modern features to the FX lineup, which is nice, because it allows me to squeeze a few more years out of my 8350.

Cons: There were a few unexpected hiccups with this board, despite my extensive research before getting it.

1) I'm not sure if the board is thinner than standard, but with my last motherboard, my graphics card actually poked into the hard-drive bay a little bit because it is so long. With this one, I was running into clearance issues with the far wall of the hard-drive bay, which I could only resolve by installing the GPU before screwing in the motherboard.

2) The lighting. Everybody seems to really love the lighting in these reviews, and frankly I'm not sure why. It is some of the poorest implementation of RGB lighting that I have ever seen. The Asus arua software is completely terrible, it resets all the settings after every boot. This is especially frustrating, because I can't find a solution to this online anywhere. Asus' website even says that you should be able to save up to 6 different profiles, but I don't even see an option to save 1, and there's not a manual or any other sort of user guide that describes how you might go about doing that.

Continuing with my lighting gripes, the actual light placement is pretty terrible as well. I have a Sapphire Radeon r9 280x toxic, and it completely covers up the RGB lit south bridge. If you look at the pictures on Asus' website, they have a shorter card, but the card length is not the issue here, as pretty much any dual fan graphics card is going to cover up the south bridge. In addition to the lights being covered up, the Power Indicator light is red, and cannot be changed, and actually CAN be seen. luckily, my build is red, but if for some reason you want to get a red board and light it up a different color, then just know that there will be a red light that you can't change.

Other Thoughts: My only cons with this board have to do with the lighting, the actual performance of this board is really top notch, and the features that it offers are really great as well (except maybe the lighting), hence only a 1 egg deduction. That being said though the way they advertise the lighting is a little bit misleading since as I said earlier, you won't be able to see it with just about any half-way decent graphics card.

Pros: -stable
-fast with quad-core 4.2 GHz FX CPU
-Really looks cool
-good bang for the buck
-seem well made
-easy setup

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: I had previously written a bad review talking about a problem with a sound card conflict with the graphics card. Turned out it was a driver issue with the ASUS R7 370. I was going to AMD's site and getting the drivers. I guess the newer drivers have bugs and I found that the older Catalyst software works flawlessly. The Crimson software keeps locking up on YouTube and other similar video sites. Once I found this out, this motherboard has worked flawlessly. This build is the system I've been dreaming about.

Pros: cool colored leds

Cons: DOA

Other Thoughts: shouldnt be doa

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with the ASUS 970 PRO GAMING/AURA. What is wrong with your motherboard? Please check all your power connector cables on the motherboard. Make sure to reseat your 24+8 pin EATX12V power supply plugs. Double check that all GPU 6pin connectors are firmly installed. Clear CMOS and see if the board will POST. If it will not, pull one memory module and place the other stick in the slot furthest from the CPU and see if that helps. I would recommend flashing to UEFI build (0501) if you can get the board to POST. Also, make sure your memory and power supply are in the qualified vendor list as well. If you can, please provide me with more details on this situation so we can take the appropriate steps to get this issue resolved. If there is no POST following this process, then it would be best for you to provide us with your full list of parts for further analysis on QVL parts. If you need assistance with any technical questions feel free to email me at cl-nestor@asus.com using N160386871 as reference to this case.


Thank you for choosing ASUS!

Best Regards,
-Nestor
ASUS Customer Loyalty - US Support

Pros: Looks great, provides some of most current standards, and the BIOS is amazingly simple to work with.

Cons: Oh lord, Windows does not like this motherboard. After spending hours trying to trouble shoot with Asus why the motherboard only recognizes SATA hard drives in a legacy mode (IDE) with no avail, I found an obscure Windows fix to a registry that somewhat corrects the problem. For the first time since assembly, I can actually run my motherboard on its intended default settings.

But now I am faced with a strange issue of the USB ports being non-responsive when I attempt to download Win 10. At this point, I have given up on trying to upgrade to Win 10 and will stay with Win 7. It's just too hard with this motherboard and I need to move on with my life. Hardest upgrade ever.

Other Thoughts: Really disappointed with Asus. I called them trying to figure out why my motherboard is acting the way it is and their only solution was to send my motherboard in and be without a computer for the next 2 - 3 weeks (with no assurance it would be fixed). Kind of rocked my faith in Asus, that is for sure.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for sharing your ASUS experience. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this issue has caused. What issue are you experience when attempting to install Windows 10? Have you already tried a clean install of Windows 10? Please format your USB flashdrive to a bootable disk formatted for UEFI use. Proceed to BIOS and under the BOOT tab and boot directly from your bootable Windows 10 disk. The ASUS PRO GAMING/AURA is fully compatible with Windows 10. If you need further assistance on getting Windows 10 installed on your PC, feel free to contact me directly at cl-nestor@asus.com using N160386167 as reference to this case.

Thank you for choosing ASUS!

Best Regards,
-Nestor
ASUS Customer Loyalty – US Support

Pros: Aesthetically, it's the best looking AMD board I've ever bought. Added modern features like USB 3.1 and M.2 are great. Asus BIOS are still, in my experience, the best I've ever dealt with. My son loves the LED's.

Cons: FedEx Smartpost. Do yourself a favor and drop a few dollars on a non-free shipping option. The FedEx part of the delivery process was fine, in that FedEx got it to the state where I live. The problem came when they handed it over to the US Postal Service, who apparently don't possess the skill to get the package the last 60 miles from where they took possession of said package from FedEx to my residence. They lost it, for a week, in the 60 mile expanse between points A and B. The part that aggravated me the most was when it did finally surface where it never should have been in the first place, the US Postal Service website claimed it was "due to an incorrect address or zip code." Imagine my surprise when it arrives a week late still bearing the original shipping label with the correct zip code and address in pristine, and most importantly correct, condition. Don't make excuses for your incompetence by making it up as you go along. That makes you Incompetent and a Liar where before you were just Incompetent. This isn't the first time, it's becoming more common, the last piece of software I ordered was sent by the same lovely delivery apparatus to Austin, Texas, many hundreds of miles away from me. I guess because both Austin and the City where I actually live have a "U" in it, it should be the same thing. It isn't, US Postal Service, you're garbage. It's no wonder you're underwater financially up to your eyeballs. If you stopped driving packages around aimlessly you might gain some kind of efficiency and with it, a reduction in operating costs.

No Cons with the board, my son loves it =]

Other Thoughts: I bought this board to replace an aging AsRock 770 in my sons PC who's SATA ports were dying off. It looks great in the NZXT S340 case I threw it into.
FX6300 - Cryorig H7
Asus 970 PG/Aura
8gig G.skill Sniper
HD7970
WD HDD

Pros: better crossfire speed then regular m5a97 board, sweet LED's that are controllable, good quality so far everything works.

Cons: LED's stay on when power is off which is really lame.

Other Thoughts: I would def recommend this board, for $100 you can't get a better one