"ASUS has been at the forefront of the high performance mini-ITX revolution since it became popularised by small form factor mini-ITX cases like Bitfenix’s Prodigy. Today we have one of those innovative mini-ITX solutions of which ASUS now have numerous for the Intel Haswell LGA 1150 socket. ASUS’ mini-ITX solutions include the Maximus VI Impact for Z87, the Q87T for Q87, the H81I-PLUS for H81, the H87I-PLUS for H87, the Z87I-DELUXE for Z87 and the Z87I-PRO for Z87 which we have with us today. In terms of the product segmentation both the Z87I-DELUXE and Maximus VI Impact are “better” motherboards than the Z87I-PRO that we have, but the Z87I-PRO is a more cost effective solution.
You’d think that smaller size means less features but it certainly does not as ASUS have done a great job to cram in as much as possible to the Z87I-PRO. Other than the inevitable loss of 2 DIMM lanes and all PCI connectivity except the main PCIe X16 lane ASUS have managed to preserve pretty much everything. You’ve got the full 6 SATA III ports from the Z87 PCH, 8 USB 3.0 ports and 6 USB 2.0 ports. They’ve even managed to cram in a 12 phase VRM with a vertically placed VRM daughter-board at the top."
