Product Comparison: MSI Z97 GAMING 5 vs ASUS Z97-A

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Best Pick

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Performance Motherboard

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ASUS Z97-A ATX Gaming Motherboard

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General Specifications

Brand

MSI

ASUS

Model

Z97 GAMING 5

Z97-A

Origin

China

About the Product

MSI GAMING motherboards are designed to provide gamers with best-in-class features and technology. Backed by the imposing looks of MSI's Dragon, each motherboard is an engineering masterpiece tailored to gaming perfection. The best gaming weapons at hand.

Asus Z97-A. One click takes care of all that complex tuning. Your PC is smart with ASUS 5-Way Optimization. Get robust overclocking, energy savings, digital power, customized fan control and tailored networking and audio settings.

Key Specs

Form Factor

ATX

Socket

LGA1150

Chipset

Intel Z97 Express

Intel Z97

Supported Processors

Supports 4th and 5th Generation Intel Core, Intel Pentium, Celeron

Supports 4th and 5th Generation Intel Core

Memory Slot Type

240 pin

What customers say about "Key Specs"

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Performance Motherboard

Supports great processors. Fast.
I am using a i7 4.0 GHz so I have fantastic performance. That’s a very nice processor that comes with a real nice fan – plug and play.
Compatible with pretty much everything on the market in terms of 4th gen processors.
Currently using this motherboard with a i4690k processor and GTX970 video card. Good support.
Motherboard works beautifully, has a very nice look to it and had no issues with my I7 4790k processor.

ASUS Z97-A ATX Gaming Motherboard

Works fine, and the processor still works great.
This is perfect for any of the intel 4th gen processors (I3, I5, I7).
Great board, works fine with latest generation intel i7 processors.
The upgrade from an amd fx series processor to an i7 is amazing.
I purchased the Intel I7 4790K (4.0Ghz) processor to go with this. Works very well.

Size & Weight

Height

12 in.

Width

9.6 in.

Depth

2.59 in.

2.7 in.

Weight

3.57 lbs.

1.57 lbs.

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

Memory

Memory Type

DDR3

Maximum Speed

3300 MHz

3200 MHz

Number Of Memory Slots

Max. Memory Supported

32 GB

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

What customers say about "Memory"

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Performance Motherboard

Fast Boot loads Windows 10 in less than 10 seconds with SSD. Good memory speed.
Good Basic MSI Board. Good memory compatibility.
Recognized my memory's xmp settings perfectly. Good speed.
RAM slots 3 and 4 were faulty, I had no need for them as I was running everything off of the first two slots.
My first unit had a bad memory channel so only 2 RAM slots worked.

ASUS Z97-A ATX Gaming Motherboard

Works well with overclocked memory.
4 DDR3 Memory slots with a maximum support of 32 GB.
Has my 4790k at 4.4 GHZ and my memory at full speed 2133mhz. A lot of memory slots.
Amazing motherboard for the price. Good memory speed.
Excellent motherboard with good memory speed.

Connectivity

PCI

PCI-E

3x PCIe 3.0 x16, 4x PCIe 2.0 x1

2x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16, PCIe 2.0 x16, 2x PCIe 2.0 x1

HDMI

USB

6x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0

6x USB 3.1 Gen1, 8x USB 2.0/1.1

SATA

Other Interfaces

M.2, Serial port connector, PS/2, RJ-45, VGA, DVI-D, 6x audio jacks

M.2, PS/2, DVI-D, VGA, DisplayPоrt, RJ-45, Optical S/PDIF out, 5x audio jacks, Thunderbolt

MSI Z97 GAMING 5

ASUS Z97-A

What customers say about "Connectivity"

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Performance Motherboard

Very easily labeled connections for easy location. Easy install.
Fit was perfect and plenty of connections for everything else in the case.
Many fan connectors. Works great.
Plenty of connection options. I like it.
Plenty of connections. M.2 slot, utilizing the PCIE lanes, instead of SATA.

ASUS Z97-A ATX Gaming Motherboard

The M.2 SSD connection only runs at PCI-e 2x rather than 4x. Good connect.
Lots of fan connecters, even a spare CPU 4pin for a water cooler pump! Easy connect.
Plenty of USB connections. Nice connectivity.
I have an I5 4670k connecting with it and it works well. Easy connectivity.
I have connected 4 case fans and the CPU fan on this one. Good and easy connect. I like it!

Features

Native Audio

Realtek ALC1150

Realtek ALC892

Additional Accessories Included

Driver disk, I/O Shield, SATA Cable, M-Connector, Audio Power Adapter, USB 3.0 Bracket, SLI Cable

I/O Shield, 3x SATA cables, SLI Bridge Connector, Q-connector, Driver disk

Extras

Audio Boost 2, Smart Fan Control, MSI Super Charger, MSI's Command Center software, Super stable with Guard-Pro, Boost your FPS

Dual Intelligent Processors, Crystal Sound 2, ASUS HomeCloud, Fan Xpert 3, Special memory overclocking design, Ultra-fast transfer speed, Turbo LAN

What customers say about "Features"

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 Performance Motherboard

Lot's of features. Easy to use.
Solid board, good features. Get it.
Great features all around. Looks wicked in my case even with blue LED's.
Great value and feature mid range gaming board. Perfect LED lighting along Audio chipset.
Quality Components. Feature Rich BIOS.

ASUS Z97-A ATX Gaming Motherboard

As for features, this thing has a ton including power management and fan control.
I have tried to use the "5 Way Optimization" feature, so I can attest to how well it works. Good. I like it.
It has the ASUS famous 5-way optimization and other value added features that are part of the higher offerings.
The UEFI BIOS seems very nice generally and feature loaded for overclocking.
Good board, lots of features and a graphical BIOS typically found in this price segment.

Power

Power Connectors

24-pin ATX, 8-pin ATX 12V

24-pin EATX, 8-pin ATX 12V

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

CE, FCC

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link