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May require a BIOS updateRumor has it Intel will finally release its 14nm Broadwell desktop processors in the middle of next quarter (think somewhere around mid-May), so you still have some time to prepare for an upgrade or overhaul, if going that route. Wondering if your motherboard will support Broadwell? At least one company is making it easy -- Asus on Tuesday announced that all of its 9 Series motherboards support Intel's 5th Generation Core lineup.That takes the guesswork out of the equation, though you may need to update the BIOS, which you can do a couple of different ways. One is to use Asus' USB BIOS Flashback tool, which downloads the latest BIOS to a USB flash drive."The motherboard does not even need to have a CPU or DRAM modules in place; users can simply connect the power supply, plug in their USB drive, press the USB BIOS Flashback or Reset button, and then sit back and wait -- there's nothing else to do," Asus says.Another way is to use Asus' Windows-based BIOS updated application. It's available to download from Asus, though if you can go the other route, you'll remove a bit of risk from the equation. I've updated BIOSes from within Windows on several occassions, but generally don't advise it in case there's an OS hiccup that interrupts the process and corrupts the BIOS.In any event, here's the list of Asus 9 Series mobos and the minimum BIOS version you'll need to run Broadwell:
| Model name | BIOS version |
|
| Z97 | Z97-Deluxe(NFC & WLC) | 2205 |
| Z97-Deluxe/USB 3.1 | 0401 |
|
| Z97-Deluxe | 2205 |
|
| Z97-Pro(Wi-Fi ac)/USB 3.1 | 2302 |
|
| Z97-Pro(Wi-Fi ac) | 2205 |
|
| Z97-Pro | 2205 |
|
| Z97-A/USB 3.1 | 0501 |
|
| Z97-A | 2205 |
|
| Z97-AR | 2205 |
|
Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1/USB 3.1 |
0401 |
|
| Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 | 2205 |
|
| Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 | 2205 |
|
| Sabertooth Z97 Mark S | 2205 |
|
| Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition | 2205 |
|
| Gryphon Z97 | 2205 |
|
| Maximus VII Formula | 2304 |
|
| Maximus VII Hero | 2304 |
|
| Maximus VII Ranger | 2304 |
|
| Maximus VII Gene | 2304 |
|
| Maximus VII Impact | 2304 |
|
| Z97-Pro Gamer | 2002 |
|
| Z97I-PLUS | 2502 |
|
| Z97M-PLUS | 2604 |
|
| Z97-K | 2502 |
|
| Z97-C | 2401 |
|
| Z97-E | 0602 |
|
| Z97-P | 2702 |
|
| Z97-K R2.0 | 0702 |
|
| H97 | H97-Pro Gamer | 2402 |
| H97I-Plus | 2502 |
|
| H97M-Plus | 2402 |
|
| H97-Plus | 2402 |
|
| H97-Pro | 2703 |
|
| H97M-E | 2302 |
More...