ASUS Adds USB 3.1 Support To Mobos

USB 3.1 is here and ASUS want to be on top of it all: First, they have refreshed their mainboard lineup to include USB 3.1 support – these are easy to spot in stores due to their “/USB 3.1” suffix on the model name; then, there are the add-on cards to give your older ASUS mainboard USB 3.1 capability.

The controllers are of course, ASMedia products, and when used in conjunction with the bundled “ASUS USB 3.1 Boost” utility, can push transfer rates upward of the usual.

The mainboards that do support USB 3.1 exists through the tiers, and we shall just list them: X99-Pro/USB 3.1, X99-A/USB 3.1 (Transfer Express), X99-A/USB 3.1, X99-E WS/USB 3.1, Z97-Deluxe/USB 3.1, Z97-Pro (Wi-Fi ac)/USB 3.1, Z97-A/USB 3.1, Z97-E/USB 3.1, Z97-K/USB3.1, Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1/USB 3.1, Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2/USB 3.1, B85M-G Plus/USB 3.1 and B85-Plus/USB 3.1. The availability of each, however, appears to be subject to your locality.

Some of these models have on-board USB 3.1 controllers, whereas others are simply bundled with the add-on card and a BIOS update. We recommend PC shoppers to take a look at this table provided by ASUS before taking the plunge: