Z170 motherboards by ASUS, EVGA and ASROCK

ASUS, EVGA and ASRock Showoff Z170 Motherboards – Includes Z170-Pro and FATAL1TY Z170 and Z170 Classified

ASUS, EVGA and ASRock have shown off their upcoming Z170 motherboards at Computex 2015. The new motherboards which include classics like the FATAL1TY series from ASRock, Classified from EVGA and Pro motherboards from ASUS feature the latest LGA 1151 socket that will allow support for Intel’s 6th generation Skylake processors that are launching in Q3 2015.

ASUS, EVGA, ASRock Showoff Latest Z170 Motherboards

Yesterday we saw MSI, Gigabyte and Biostar unveiling their Z170 motherboards and today, we have three different manufacturers which include ASUS, EVGA ASRock. The motherboards shown off by these board makers feature new and updated designs that provide users more features, superior overclocking and far better stability.

ASUS Z170-Pro Motherboard

We start off this article with the ASUS Z170-Pro motherboard which has a similar design scheme as their X99 motherboards. The ASUS Z170-Pro is a high-end product and comes just below the ASUS Z170 Deluxe that will launch along with Skylake processors. We can see that the CPU socket is powered by a 8-Pin power connector and the board adopts a 15 Phase DIGI+ VRM design. The entire PWM section is covered by large heatsinks that are interconnected through a single heatpipe to dissipate heat effectively. Next to the CPU socket are four DDR4 DIMM slots which can support 64 GB capacity of DRAM with frequencies up to 3400 MHz (O.C+).

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16, four PCI-e 3.0 x1 and a single M.2 slot. Storage includes 10 SATA III and two SATA Express ports. There are a variety of switches for overclocking management on the board along with a debug LED. The Crystal Sound 2 audio chip offers high quality audio through the rear panel audio jack. Two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 internal headers provide front panel I/O support. The rear panel I/O includes dual Gigabit LAN ports, a 7.1 channel audio jack, 4 USB 3.0, 2 USB 3.1, 4 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Display port, Mini-Display port connectors, SPDIF and a WiFi-Go module that allows wireless Wi-Fi 802.11 B/G/N connectivity.

EVGA Z170 Motherboard Lineup – Z170 Classified, Z170 FTW, Z170 Stinger

EVGA has three new motherboards ready for Skylake which include the Z170 Classified, Z170 FTW and the Z170 Stinger. The flagship Z170 Classified features the LGA 1151 socket that is powered by dual Power 8-Pin connectors. The board features a 10 Phase PWM design featuring EVGA’s high-quality components that allow better overclocking. The board has four DDR4 DIMM slots which support can support up to 64 GB of DRAM with speeds of 3400 MHz (O.C+). The expansion slots include five PCI-e 3.0 x16 and a single PCI-e 3.0 x4 slot. There’s a single M.2 slot on the board while storage includes 8 SATA III ports and two SATA Express ports.

The EVGA Z170 FTW is the more cost optimized offering that features a single 8-Pin power connector to power the socket and has a 8-10 Phase PWM design. All EVGA boards feature the black and silver color scheme which we can clearly see in the picture posted by EVGA’s Jacob Freeman. The expansion slots for FTW include four PCI-e 3.0 x16, PCI-e 3.0 x4 and a single M.2 slot. Storage includes 6 SATA III ports while there are a bunch of I/O options available on the rear panel. The last board is the mITX Z170 Stinger that has seen several chipset variations. The latest Z170 Stinger features full support for Skylake and has a 6 Phase PWM design while the two DDR4 DIMM slots offer support for 32 GB of DRAM. Storage options include four SATA III ports and expansion includes a single PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot.

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ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 and Extreme Z170 Motherboards

While ASRock already teased their boards prior to computex, we get a more better look at them during Computex. First of the Z170 lineup from ASRock is the high-end Z170 Extreme 7 that comes with a fully loaded super alloy design.The motherboard adopts a black and gold color scheme like the previous Extreme boards and offers a lot in the overclocking department. Fitted with high-quality capacitors, VRMs and MOSFETs, this motherboard is meant to push the overclocking limits with a 13 Phase PWM. The LGA 1151 socket that allows support of Intel’s Skylake processors is powered by a 8-Pin connector while the board draws power from an ATX connector. The motherboard has its VRMs and power area kept cool by a large aluminum heatpipe based heatsink that has a Z170 label etched to it.

Being the first mainstream consumer platform to support DDR4 memory, we found four DDR4 DIMM slots on the left side to the socket. There are separate power phases for the DIMMs to enhance overclocking on the modules. Two switches (On/Off and Reset) can be found along with a CMOS reset switch. Storage will include 10 SATA 6 GB/s and 3 SATA Express ports while there are two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 internal headers on the motherboard. The Z170 chipset is kept hidden inside a cool aluminum based heatsink with a nice design. The motherboard includes a Dual BIOS that can be changed from a switch and a Diagnostic LED can also be spotted. When it comes to expansion, ASRock is offering four PCI-e 3.0 x16, two PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and three Ultra M.2 slots that operate at speeds of PCI-e 3.0 x4. A Mini PCIe slot can also be seen that can support SSDs or WiFi cards and can easily be used since the M.2 slot above it is risen.

On I/O front, we can see 6 USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, dual Gigabit LAN ports, a 7.1 Channel audio jack, PS/2 port, HDMI and DVI display outputs. Sound is provided through the Purity Sound 3 design that has the technology implemented on an isolated PCB. ASRock is using a thermal armor across the I/O and sound PCB to enhance thermal loads and looks of the board.

ASRock Z170 FATAL1TY Gaming K6 Motherboard

The second motherboard shown off by ASRock, the Z170 Gaming K6 is part of the FATAL1TY brand or ASRock’s own gaming series products. This motherboard is designed to look similar to the Extreme 7 but comes with a red and black color scheme. The LGA 1151 socket that allows support of Intel’s Skylake processors is powered by a 8-Pin connector while the board draws power from an ATX connector. The motherboard has its VRMs and power area kept cool by a large aluminum heatpipe based heatsink that has a Z170 label etched to it.

Being the first mainstream consumer platform to support DDR4 memory, we found four DDR4 DIMM slots on the left side to the socket. There are separate power phases for the DIMMs to enhance overclocking on the modules. Two switches (On/Off and Reset) can be found along with a CMOS reset switch. Storage will include 8 SATA 6 GB/s and 2 SATA Express ports while there is a single USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 internal headers on the motherboard. The Z170 chipset is kept hidden inside a cool aluminum based heatsink with a nice design. The motherboard includes a Dual BIOS that can be changed from a switch and a Diagnostic LED can also be spotted. When it comes to expansion, ASRock is offering three PCI-e 3.0 x16, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and a single Ultra M.2 slot that operate at speeds of PCI-e 3.0 x4. On I/O front, we can see 8 USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Killer E2200 LAN port, a 7.1 Channel audio jack, PS/2 port, HDMI and DVI display outputs. Sound is provided through the Purity Sound 3 design that has the technology implemented on an isolated PCB. Rest of the line up which includes the H170 Performance, Z170 Extreme6 and Z170 Extreme4.