Shootouts

High-end Intel Z170 motherboards duke it out

By Koh Wanzi - 20 Oct 2015

Conclusion

Conclusion

Intel’s new Z170 chipset is a major milestone in many ways. At long last, DDR4 support has arrived on a mainstream chipset, and PCIe 3.0 lanes are finally available through the chipset itself. M.2 was a new addition on Z97 boards, and that feature has now become commonplace on Z170 motherboards from various manufacturers. Thanks to PCIe 3.0 now being supported on the chipset, Z170 boards can now have more M.2 sockets than before. All of our tested boards come with at least one M.2 socket, and most of them feature more. Other features like USB 3.1 Type-C sockets are also found on the majority of the boards, and manufacturers have worked to distinguish their offerings with value-added features like improved onboard audio and metal-reinforced PCIe slots.

To tease out a winner, we took into account different aspects of the board in terms of performance and features. The performance score of each board takes into account the board's stock performance, overclocking capabilities, temperature and power performance relative to each other. In addition, we also considered individual board features like onboard PCIe slot layout, connectivity options, and any other standout features.

Ratings Breakdown
Model Features Performance Value Overall Price
ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 S$475
ASUS Z170 Deluxe 8.5 8.5 8.0 8.5 S$559
ECS Z170 Claymore 6.5 6.5 8.5 7.0 US$160 (approx. S$221)
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT 9.0 8.5 8.0 8.5 S$565
MSI Z170A Gaming Titanium Edition 9.0 9.0 8.5 9.0 S$559

 

The MSI Z170A Gaming Titanium Edition turned out stellar results in all our performance tests. In addition, it combined great performance with value-added overclocking features like a dedicated OC dashboard, a Game Boost overclocking knob, and additional CPU and PCIe power headers. Finally, it completes the package with an exceedingly attractive and unique titanium gray PCB and heatsinks.

The MSI Z170A Gaming Titanium Edition was a consistent performer throughout our performance tests. It took first place in SYSmark 2014, 3DMark 2013 and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and was among the top three performers in Cinebench and SPECviewperf. In addition, it acquitted itself well in our overclocking tests, going toe-to-toe with the ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ and falling just shy of the ASUS Z170 Deluxe. Furthermore, it comes with several value-added features like additional CPU and PCIe power headers for improved overclocking capabilities, metal-reinforced PCIe slots, two dedicated M.2 sockets, and onboard Nahimic audio technology. It is also the only board in the line-up to feature an isolated memory circuitry for a cleaner signal and a dedicated OC dashboard. At S$559, it is the same price as the ASUS board but offers more for every dollar (including dual BIOS). And combined with its excellent performance, it manages to edge ahead of the competition.

The ASUS Z170 Deluxe was our other standout performer. It was at its best in our overclocking tests, where the board was able to maintain the highest BCLK value and also the highest overclock. The more the BCLK value deviates from the default, the less stable the system is, and this speaks volumes to the quality of the board’s components. In addition, the ASUS board placed within the top three of most of our benchmarks. In terms of official multi-GPU support, it supports up to NVIDIA quad-GPU SLI. It also comes with dual Intel Gigabit LAN, albeit without support for teaming, and its PCIe slots are sensibly spaced to accommodate dual graphics setups. Furthermore, it was the only board to feature onboard Wi-Fi support with the 3x3 module, definitely a welcome feature for anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of setting up their system near to their router.

The Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT is an unabashedly gaming-oriented board with a handful of features to attract the gaming crowd. Although it didn’t fare as well as expected in our overclocking tests, it has a dedicated quad-core Creative Sound Core 3D audio processor, the only board here to offer an audio solution from an established audio company. Other key features include upgradeable op-amps and Creative's own SBX Pro Studio Audio Suite for effects like surround sound. It was also the only board other than the MSI Z170A Gaming Titanium Edition to come with metal-reinforced PCIe slots. At S$565, it was also the most expensive Z170 board we tested, which penalizes it slightly in terms of value because it didn’t manage to top the less expensive boards.

The ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ places a lot of emphasis on connectivity options. Its four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, three M.2 sockets, and 10 SATA 6Gbps ports combine for the widest selection of connectivity options on all our tested boards. In addition, it did well in our overclocking tests, tying with the MSI board for the second highest overclock. Furthermore, unlike the ASUS and Gigabyte boards which feature dual LAN without teaming support, the Extreme 7+ actually supports teaming with its dual Intel LAN ports. It retails for S$475, making it the second most affordable option out of all our boards. If you want a slightly cheaper but reasonably feature-rich Z170 board, this might be it.

The ECS Z170 Claymore is probably a bit out of place among the boards we tested. At US$160 (approximately S$221), it is far cheaper than the rest of the boards. Nevertheless, as the only available board from ECS at the time of writing, we decided to include it in our shootout anyway. Unique features of the board include its choice of a total of five PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, although this isn’t likely to benefit users much given that triple- and quad-GPU setups still aren’t too feasible on Intel Z170. Perhaps the board’s saving grace is its exceedingly affordable price as it lacks features found on other boards like USB 3.1 Type-C ports and support for NVIDIA SLI (officially, it only supports AMD CrossFire). It also fails to keep pace with its competitors in the vast majority of our benchmark tests.

 

Our Final Ratings
MSI Z170A Gaming Titanium Edition.

Click for detailed results break-down

ASUS Z170 Deluxe.

Click for detailed results break-down

Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT. Click for detailed results break-down
ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+.

 

Click for detailed results break-down
ECS Z170 Claymore. Click for detailed results break-down

 

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