Intel Z370 Motherboard Roundup

[IInuyasha74]

This roundup of Intel Z370 Coffee Lake motherboards pulls from our in-depth reviews, and includes recommendations for gaming, value & overall performance.

Intel Z370 Motherboard Roundup : Read more

 

[0451]

I can never seem to find the next page on these long articles. There are only 4 boards on the first page.

 

[Crashman]

I can never seem to find the next page on these long articles. There are only 4 boards on the first page.

Yes, that's because of all the Z370's tested, only four won awards

 

[Tanyac]

Why do manufacturers insist on using the E2500 Killer Hype NIC... The Intel NIC "Kill" the Killer LAN ports any day (Pun intended).

MSI Boards may have 10 4-pin fan headers but when you read the manual at least half of them only have 3 pins connected.

 

[P1nky]

A came here for a roundup. All I see is 3 cards. What?!

 

[Pixel13]

@Crashman: I see 3, not 4, and only one of the three seems to have earned an award. As well, the title of the "Round Up" has nothing in it, nor is there anything in the text, about "award-winning". Either someone left something out or this ain't what it claims to be.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Best deal for your dollar would be the ASROCK Z370 Extreme 4.

 

[Crashman]

@Crashman: I see 3, not 4, and only one of the three seems to have earned an award. As well, the title of the "Round Up" has nothing in it, nor is there anything in the text, about "award-winning". Either someone left something out or this ain't what it claims to be.

Dang, it looks like the rest are still in queue for publishing at a later date. Yes, I just checked. Seeing that, I probably would have skipped the Z370 version this month. Then again, I think they're added to the list live, so maybe they were trying to get ahead of those...

 

[tsnor]

At least they call it "roundup" now instead of "best MB...". Big step in the right direction. I'll be grabbing a z370 MB shortly, but am looking at the $100-$150 price point to match with a non-OC i5-8400. If you see any good (or bad) ones there a heads up would be nice.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

ASROCK Z370 Extreme 4...This is what I just used for my 8400 build for my youngest son.

 

[kcscouler]

The Gaming 7 review redirects to a Godlike Gaming review.

 

[kcscouler]

The Gaming 7 review redirects to the Godlike Gaming review. Has been like that forever.

 

[Crashman]

The Gaming 7 review redirects to the Godlike Gaming review. Has been like that forever.

OH, the link at the TOP of the page. I was clicking the other link and going to the right review. I'll let MJ know.

 

[zach.hillerson]

Is it a big deal that the gaming 7 isn't efficient on a stock clock? I'm planning an 8600k build and will probably run stock clock for a while, but want the ability to oc later. Due to rebates and sales, it's available locally for $169, which seems like a solid day real against that price group.

 

[Crashman]

Is it a big deal that the gaming 7 isn't efficient on a stock clock? I'm planning an 8600k build and will probably run stock clock for a while, but want the ability to oc later. Due to rebates and sales, it's available locally for $169, which seems like a solid day real against that price group.

Well, since I'm using an average of idle and max, it might not be all that apparent to you. That is, unless you're doing similarly-intense workloads 12 hours a day and leaving the system idle the other 12.

What I'm saying is that your level of workload is your own, I have no way to calculate your personal cost.

 

[zach.hillerson]

Is it a big deal that the gaming 7 isn't efficient on a stock clock? I'm planning an 8600k build and will probably run stock clock for a while, but want the ability to oc later. Due to rebates and sales, it's available locally for $169, which seems like a solid day real against that price group.

Well, since I'm using an average of idle and max, it might not be all that apparent to you. That is, unless you're doing similarly-intense workloads 12 hours a day and leaving the system idle the other 12.

What I'm saying is that your level of workload is your own, I have no way to calculate your personal cost.

This is my first build, so it's all new to me. I am hoping to spend a few hours each evening playing mostly iracing and some other gaming and light office use, and it will sit idly the rest of the time. Is the inefficiency something that is due to the cost of the motherboard or something that actually impacts performance when not pushing the cpu to the limits?

I was torn between this and the AsRock Extreme 4 and locally, due to a sale, they are priced the same. This seems to be from the next tier up, but being my first build, it is a new world for me.

Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

Is it a big deal that the gaming 7 isn't efficient on a stock clock? I'm planning an 8600k build and will probably run stock clock for a while, but want the ability to oc later. Due to rebates and sales, it's available locally for $169, which seems like a solid day real against that price group.

Well, since I'm using an average of idle and max, it might not be all that apparent to you. That is, unless you're doing similarly-intense workloads 12 hours a day and leaving the system idle the other 12.

What I'm saying is that your level of workload is your own, I have no way to calculate your personal cost.

This is my first build, so it's all new to me. I am hoping to spend a few hours each evening playing mostly iracing and some other gaming and light office use, and it will sit idly the rest of the time. Is the inefficiency something that is due to the cost of the motherboard or something that actually impacts performance when not pushing the cpu to the limits?

I was torn between this and the AsRock Extreme 4 and locally, due to a sale, they are priced the same. This seems to be from the next tier up, but being my first build, it is a new world for me.

Thanks!

In your situation the idle number is closer to what you'll actually experience in CPU power consumption. You can find that, along with some game tests, in the full review.

Your graphics card will determine things of its own (additional power, potential FPS).

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Is it a big deal that the gaming 7 isn't efficient on a stock clock? I'm planning an 8600k build and will probably run stock clock for a while, but want the ability to oc later. Due to rebates and sales, it's available locally for $169, which seems like a solid day real against that price group.

Well, since I'm using an average of idle and max, it might not be all that apparent to you. That is, unless you're doing similarly-intense workloads 12 hours a day and leaving the system idle the other 12.

What I'm saying is that your level of workload is your own, I have no way to calculate your personal cost.

This is my first build, so it's all new to me. I am hoping to spend a few hours each evening playing mostly iracing and some other gaming and light office use, and it will sit idly the rest of the time. Is the inefficiency something that is due to the cost of the motherboard or something that actually impacts performance when not pushing the cpu to the limits?

I was torn between this and the AsRock Extreme 4 and locally, due to a sale, they are priced the same. This seems to be from the next tier up, but being my first build, it is a new world for me.

Thanks!

Built 2 with the Asrock Extreme 4 , great board for the price and feature rich.
Here's the one I built for my youngest son!

 

[zach.hillerson]

Is that the Cryorig H7? I have been debating between that and the Noctua 14. It seems like the Noctua might be more efficient with the larger fan. I have 2 140mm Noctuas for the front of the case and 1-120mm for the exhaust.

I've read great things about both motherboards. For essentially the same cost - is there a reason to go for the Extreme 4 over the typically more expensive Aorus 7?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

That's the Cryorig H7 LUMI.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=z370&ignorear=0&N=-1&isNodeId=1
AORUS Gaming 7 is usually a bit more in the US.

 

[zach.hillerson]

That's the Cryorig H7 LUMI.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=z370&ignorear=0&N=-1&isNodeId=1
AORUS Gaming 7 is usually a bit more in the US.

The microcenter an hour away has it for $229 with a $30 rebate and $30 discount of you buy a CPU at the same time. They don't carry the AsRock.

Does price dictate performance? As mentioned, it is my first build, so I am not sure I grasp the differences between the Gaming 7 and the Extreme 4. Perhaps they both would suit my needs...

Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated...I'm confused.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

For a first build either would be great , they are both Enthusiast type offerings , nice breakdown here.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/11860/z370-motherboards-asus-asrock-ecs-evga-biostar-msi-gigabyte/41

 

[Crashman]

That's the Cryorig H7 LUMI.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=z370&ignorear=0&N=-1&isNodeId=1
AORUS Gaming 7 is usually a bit more in the US.

The microcenter an hour away has it for $229 with a $30 rebate and $30 discount of you buy a CPU at the same time. They don't carry the AsRock.

Does price dictate performance? As mentioned, it is my first build, so I am not sure I grasp the differences between the Gaming 7 and the Extreme 4. Perhaps they both would suit my needs...

Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated...I'm confused.

No, companies charge more for features. Performance has become a fixed number that varies only by a company either screwing up the memory timing or cranking up the clocks to win review awards.

 

[zach.hillerson]

Thanks - i think part of the issue is that I don't know enough about all of the subtleties to know the difference between the various features, etc... I am working on figuring it out though.

I appreciate your help.

Initially, I am planning a very mild overclock but suspect that as time goes on and I learn more, that might change. Does one of those 2 motherboards limit what I might be able to do in the future or is it really as simple as picking the one that has the best aesthetic for me?

The additional RGB lighting doesn't do anything for me. I'm not into that and would much prefer solid functionality and reliability. Would the Extreme 4 and the Gaming 7 both be equally friendly to the newbie and reliable, overclockable, etc....?

It sounds like they are more similar then different.

Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

Thanks - i think part of the issue is that I don't know enough about all of the subtleties to know the difference between the various features, etc... I am working on figuring it out though.

I appreciate your help.

Initially, I am planning a very mild overclock but suspect that as time goes on and I learn more, that might change. Does one of those 2 motherboards limit what I might be able to do in the future or is it really as simple as picking the one that has the best aesthetic for me?

The additional RGB lighting doesn't do anything for me. I'm not into that and would much prefer solid functionality and reliability. Would the Extreme 4 and the Gaming 7 both be equally friendly to the newbie and reliable, overclockable, etc....?

It sounds like they are more similar then different.

Thanks!

We try to set up a maximum overclock for real-world continuous use with off-the-shelf cooling. You'll see that most of the boards get the same O/C result. That's because most overclocking boards have a little extra power for people who overclock beyond what ordinary people can do with off-the-shelf parts (such as guys who delid their processors).

You'll see that a lot of guys claim even higher overclocks at even lower voltage, or much lower temperatures. They're not using a maximum load of Prime95 threads with AVX and small-FFTs. If they were, you'd find the most of them achieved similar results.

Since our CPU is thermally constrained, the overclocking evaluation weeds out those few weaker boards.