ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Aesthetics
Durable, at least in appearance
Plenty of fan headers

Cons: Not much really!

Overall Review: I've been debating for a while now whether to get a Sabertooth to go with my Vengeance C70 case or not.

It's a difficult scenario for me because I don't believe in spending twice the money for the same performance, but I am a huge ASUS fan and a sucker for beautiful things. Much like the Haswell refresh processors, these new Z97 boards don't bring much to the table.

I wasn't disappointed when I got this board - it's got the looks I wanted, but I was also sad to find my suspicions correct regarding performance. There isn't much new stuff to a Z97. This board actually overclocks worse than my Z87-PLUS using the same exact processor.

To be fair, the Sabertooth boots up slightly faster (0.5-1s) and offers a superior (and very beautiful) BIOS. There are also a lot of fan headers for more customization options. The back plate is also a very nice addition. These little things add up to a pleasant experience overall.

There is one little thing I'd recommend to ASUS: Please include two LAN dust plugs if you're going to sell a motherboard with 2 ports!!! I use wireless PCI-E and having one LAN port open just doesn't seem right! Perhaps ASUS updated the LAN port from 1 to 2 and forgot the update the plug count with it.

If any ASUS employee reads this and would like to send me a plug please let me know.

Pros: UEFI bios looks a lot better than my previous board, which used the AMD 990fx.
dust caps, extra fans for the I/O port and between CPU/ main PCIx16 slot, dust filter, and airflow vents provide excellent, useful accessories. They not only keep these socket's clean, but when the covers are installed, provide a flush look alongside the main airflow/armor.
"Reinforced" backing means you can grab most of the board's backside/bottom without fear of ESD...if you had to. Same with the topside armor.

armor surrounds the screw holes so it seemed easier to get the screw lined up.

Cons: Here's where the board has sort of disappointed me.
It's marketed as extra durable, put through more testing, etc. At least one of the DIMM slots is a complete no-go on that front. Put a known-good stick in it and the pc whirs to life for 3 seconds, shuts down for 6, comes on for 3. rinse repeat until I intervene.

For those of you with keyboards like my DAS, that can take advantage of full key rollover in PS/2 slots: only usb here. In their defense, ps/2 is a connection type built in 1987.. Still, one more usb slot taken.
2 sata ports are located on the edge of the board with the audio, usb, and power panel connections. the others are located in the typical spot facing where the bays for drives and storage would be. Not a problem unless you like things to be together.

Overall Review: Other than a bad DIMM slot of two, I actually like the board, its layout, and especially see the armor/dustcaps as things that should really be standard for all motherboards.