Asus ROG Strix Z270E Gaming ATX Kaby Lake Motherboard Review

[Crashman]

Asus Strix brings moderate prices to its ROG product series, and the Z270E Gaming adds user-friendly features like 802.11a/c Wi-Fi. Is this the formula for a mid-budget mid-feature overclocking legend?

Asus ROG Strix Z270E Gaming ATX Kaby Lake Motherboard Review : Read more

 

[DookieDraws]

Wonder why we don't see debug LEDs on more motherboards today, especially on the more pricier boards? I find them useful.

 

[Eximo]

I think a lot of it was cosmetic this time. Rather than using something like a small color LCD, they typically use 7 segment displays. On my motherboard that means no matter what I set the RGB colors to, I still have a red display easily visible. I don't think I can turn it off either.

It would have been neat if they went with a plain LCD with an RGB backlight actually, though I doubt that is commercially available.

 

[Stiggy042]

Technically it comes with 2 drink coasters if you count the driver disc.

Joking aside thanks for closer look at this board, I'll probably end up using it in my next build.

 

[Howard_18]

Just got this board, it doesnt POST.

 

[Crashman]

Just got this board, it doesnt POST.

You should start a new thread on that in the forums, I bet at least three guys are itching to help you figure out why

 

[Dazrin]

So, what cases use the new USB 3.1 header?

 

[Hellfire13]

One of the best value for money Z270.

 

[Crashman]

So, what cases use the new USB 3.1 header?

I don't know! I was told Thermaltake was developing one at the end of November but maybe I missed the announcement? I think you'll going to need for "Gen 2" labels, like this:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pw-ic2dah45/

 

[Supporter]

"limitations of Intel’s Z270 chipset interface" I cant stand the limits imposed by intel. Can't wait until there is an all out board with no limits.

 

[Celestialode1]

Always an ASUS user yet not a fanboy however MSI seems to have the upper hand unless you're an overclocker

 

[Crashman]

Always an ASUS user yet not a fanboy however MSI seems to have the upper hand unless you're an overclocker

It's a solid board but I think it needs to be clear that we're enabling all the CPU's specified "green" features and disabling turbo "enhancements" (fixed turbo ratio) to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity in all the tests.That annoys some manufacturers who are always looking for a way to game the system, but putting all settings on par is a particular benefit to overclockers because they can see that at the same frequency, the same CPU will provide extremely similar performance across most boards.

Similarly, since everyone has a slightly different definition of what 1.35V is supposed to be, we actually set the DIMM to 1.35V measured at the slot. Everyone understands that a voltmeter reading changes slowly so it's actually an average over a short duration of time, but doing this for all boards gives everyone the same opportunity in overclocking. This annoys MOST motherboard manufacturers because this memory, which is supposed to be capable of DDR4-4000 or more, usually requires more than 1.35V to get there.

Finally, our CPU reaches a certain temperature at a certain overclock with this cooler. More voltage makes it run hotter, less voltage allows it to run cooler, and we're thus able to verify that the core voltage we set is the one we get, without constantly poking around the rest of the board. We haven't had any problems recently with mid-grade or better boards, all push the CPU to 4.80 GHz at 1.30V. Since there haven't been any problems, nobody should be ticked-off about this stuff, yet some still are (probably carrying over hurt feelings from items 1 and 2 above).

Hurt feelings are not exclusive to Asus, but your comment reminded me of a recent conversation with my boss.

 

[akula2]

Well, as a long term large IT hardware buyer, I recently thrashed Asus Engineering guys (e-mail) for dropping one of my favorite single GPU boards aka ROG Ranger. Those guys made a silly mistake, and I miss my Ranger!