- Mini-ITX Z87
- DIGI+ VRM
- WiFi GO! w/ Dual Band 8011ac WiFi
- USB 3.0 Boost
- USB BIOS Flashback
The good, bad, and ugly
11/02/2014
This review is from: ASUS Z87I-DELUXE LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
Pros:
This is a mini (very small) ITX mother board and this was my first build in this format.
The PCB is solid. The daughter board is attached well. It has more features than some will fully use. It has enough PWN MoBo connectors for the ITX format cases I looked at. It is worth buying; just bought another one.
I am not greatly concerned about how pretty a component looks; I'd rather have a mounting point for another case fan than a side window. Please see Cons and Other Thoughts.
The egg was docked because of RMA tribulations. Electronics do fail. This was my third MoBo failure since the mid 1990s; it happens.
Cons:
The MB USB 3 connector might be in the way of other components. A case speaker would be nice at this price point too. The PCI slot lock is flimsy. The daughter board is close to the rear fan and in my case it fit okay.
The sordid tale:
After stripping down the MoBo and testing everything but the CPU, I contacted ASUS Tech support on-line. They sent me directly to the RMA site. After three RMA forms (the third was the only approved one) and numerous telephone calls I received advanced replacement authorization. From there on everything went smoothly.
The shinning light is that almost 45 day obscenity was Justin. I have to believe the others tried to help. Yet, I kept getting new people getting involved and overridden by the next new people.
Yes, they replaced it. Yes it took forever and they do not honor their own deadlines. It was the worst time since I had to prove to Microsoft their update corrupted my system.
Overall Review:
I hope ASUS contacts me. They need to improve the RMA process. Worst case was the guy that hung up on me when I tried to confirm the shipping address to send the defective unit to. The best case was Justin who actually explained what was needed and how to get it done. Somebody needs to give him a raise.
Build Specs:
Case - Bitfenix Prodigy with optional mesh front panel and a Silverstone rear dust filter
Mother board - Asus Z87 I - Deluxe (Just replaced under warranty)
PSU - Seasonic X 650
CPU - i5 4670 Haswell 3.4 GHz
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3 (PC3 106666) 2 X 4 GB sticks
OS HD - Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB SSD
Storage HD - Western Digital Velociraptor 1 TB HD
Optical Drive - Pioneer SATA Blu-Ray burner
Cooling has been upgraded and configured for positive pressure
Corsair H80i with fans changed out to -
2 X Noctua 120 mm NF-F12 PWM fans in push pull configuration
Front case fan replaced with -
BitFenix 230 mm Spectre Pro
Rear case fan replaced with -
Noctua 140 mm NF - A14 PWM fan
A closing thought. I like this MoBo enough to risk ASUS' customer service again and bought another one.
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- Donald G.
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Verified Owner
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Owned For:
1 month to 1 year
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