ASUS Z87-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: * Lots of customization in the bios
* Bluetooth and wifi on-board (I only plan on using the bluetooth)
* Built-in overclocking switches
* Worked with all my components right away
* Great Linux support (Fedora 20+)

Cons: For whatever reason, using the TPU II switch causes Windows setup to throw a "machine_check_exception". The only way around it was to set it to 1. I sadly had to dock an egg for that because it was a huge waste of time for me to discover THAT was the reason why I couldn't get windows installed.

I was able to install Linux perfectly fine though.

Overall Review: Newegg needs to either stop being selective on their RMA requests or revise their replacement policy. I had a board come in that had bent pins and the customer service department said I was trying to return it (I was trying to get a replacement) and said I damaged it. This led to HUGE amount of frustration when they said they'd give me store credit to buy a new board... which I wouldn't have got till Tuesday that next week. Basically, I got third class service, and apparently the only way to get things done the right way is to complain on their facebook page.

That's actually very depressing and I expect better from Newegg. The multiple times my family has RMA'd motherboards for replacements, they got their replacements no questions asked. Loyal customers (for me, since 2006) get treated a much more negative way than new-ish customers.

If you happen to get a bad board, RMA it with Asus. Dealing with newegg will be the biggest mistake you'll ever make. Trust me on that.

Pros: Like most ASUS boards, build quality is impeccable. Can’t say I like the new color scheme but that’s a personal opinion.

Cons: Board worked fine when I first got it then I made a mistake setting up a RAID array and spent 2 long days chasing down the problem. Board would load Windows 7 X64 and work OK until I installed Intel Rapid Storage Technology then it would boot directly into the BIOS and tell me I had an obscure CMS incompatibility. I updated the BIOS to the latest and that seemed to help. I reset the BIOS several times to no avail and loaded Windows 3 or 4 times until finally I realized the mistake I’d made in the RAID array was still there even after pulling the battery for several hours. Now the board seems stable and loads windows OK but I’m uneasy about it. I’m using it as my primary machine hoping to see any stability problems before the time runs out to send it back.

Overall Review: The RAID problem was a dumb mistake on my part but I’ve never seen this particular behavior with any other board.