Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx. US$149 – ASUS Z170-A
PH – Php9500
As we’ve fully moved from the older Haswell and Devil’s Canyon processors to the new Skylake platform, many users are now finding themselves in an upgrade scenario and the biggest challenge is always picking out the components and usually the hardest choice is always the motherboard. While processors, memory and GPUs have finite metrics for considerations, motherboards on the most part rely heavily on features, quality and price to attract buyers on tops of looks. In most situations, its always the price that influence the decision of the buyers and this has always been a challenge for brands like ASUS. While they won’t openly admit it, ASUS wants a piece of the entry- and lower-mainstream market and they have been rolling out boards like the Z170 PRO GAMING to appeal to these people but for more discerning buyers, that board has limited appeal particularly those who want a more professional board. This is where the entry-level mainstream ASUS board for the 10-series comes in with the ASUS Z170-A. Read on to find out more about this board and see why this board is one of the most scalable board out right now featuring the Z170 chipset with a sub-$200 price tag.
Features
- 5-Way Optimization: One click to optimize your entire system; plus a dedicated onboard water-pump header
- ASUS Pro Clock Technology: Extends base clocks and improves stability for extreme overclocking
- Crystal Sound 3, Intel LAN and Turbo LAN: Flawless audio and low-latency networking
- USB 3.1 onboard: One Type-A port plus a reversible Type-C port
- 5X Protection II: Advanced hardware safeguards
Intel Skylake CPU
Intel has opted to stagger the launch of the Skylake CPUs with the flagship Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K unlocked processors debuting at launch together with the Z170 chipset. Further SKUs were released after launch for the lower end of the product stack.
Intel Skylake CPUs presents a new microarchitecture using the 14nm process seen in Broadwell processors. Intel Skylake CPUs will feature improved efficiency numbers and IPC performance together with a new IGP. As with all launch CPUs, these top-end unlocked processors are aimed at enthusiasts and support multiplier overclocking.
Also in the platform is support for DDR4. The new processors fully supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with the new DDR4 modules supporting higher default memory of 2133MHz at only 1.2v. Some motherboard makers may also opt to use DDR3 still as the processor still retain support for that.
The Intel Z170 Chipset
Accompanying the Intel Skylake 6th-gen processors is the new 100-series chipset, codenamed Sunrise Point. As the primary consumer chipset for the 6th-generation Intel Core processors, the 100-series chipset is available in various chipset series from the mainstream H110, H170 and Z170 and the business-class B150, Q150 and Q170. Intel has decided to stagger the release of their Skylake processors which made the release of the other chipset only happen recently. While it’d take an entire post to describe the finer details on the difference of each chipset, to sum it up really quick the chipsets differ in features: with the Z170 offering the most in terms of expansion and support as well as PCI-e lanes with lower model chipsets reducing on what’s offering the business-class ones expanding to include Small Business Basics and Small Business Advantage.
For the most part of what we’re reviewing we’ll take a look at the Z170 chipset, the top-end chipset for desktop and offers the most features and support for multiplier overclocking.
One of the primary changes from Z97 to Z170 is support for a newsocket, the LGA 1151. LGA 1151 supports Intel Skylake CPUs and is not compatible with LGA 1150 processors and vice versa. Mounting holes for the 115x range have remained the same though so your old LGA 1156/1155/1150 will still be compatible with the new LGA 1151 motherboards.
Support for DDR4 memory is also one of the changes that comes with the new chipset. Connectivity between CPU and chipset also utilizes DMI 3.0 allowing a full 20 PCI-e 3.0 lanes which is up to the motherboard maker on how they utilize it.
Closer Look
The ASUS Z170-A continues the trend of the black and white motherboard color scheme that ASUS has helped kick-start with the X99-Deluxe from last gen’s release and has continued to roll-out more and has become one of the signature white motherboards in the market right now. For the Z170-A, it features a smaller rear I/O shroud which barely covers the vertical heatsink. The VRM sinks are silver which contrasts the motherboard’s black and white print PCB scheme with styling silkscreening on the socket area. Grey sockets alternate the board’s trim with blue accents on the PCH heatsink shroud.
The ASUS Z170-A features a 10-phase power delivery design for good CPU power delivery and for Skylake this is pretty good even for some serious overclocking. The ASUS Z170-A has a large array of fan controllers with 5 just for the upper half of the board. Perfect for watercooling and/or hosting plenty of fans and accessories.
For storage, the ASUS Z170-A supports a single SATA-Express array with a total of 6 SATAIII ports. ASUS notes the preferred OS slot for the SATA ports and a single M.2 slot is present compatible with both PCI-e and SATA M.2 devices and runs in x4 speeds.
Here’s a glimpse of ASUS’ mainstream line when paired with one of the similar releases for their VGA.
Performance Testing
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-A
Memory: Kingston HyperX SAVAGE DDR4-3000
Storage: Kingston HyperX FURY 240GB
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1000w
Cooling: Custom loop (XSPC Raystorm block, EK DCP 4.0, BlackIce Stealth GT 360 rad)
Monitor: LG 42UB820T UltraHD TV
VGA: ZOTAC GTX 980 Ti Arctic Storm
For a full-hardware workout, visit http://www.futuremark.com for our benchmarks of choice.
Performance Testing – Synthetic
wpDataChart with provided ID not found! wpDataChart with provided ID not found! wpDataChart with provided ID not found! wpDataChart with provided ID not found!Performance Testing – 3D Benchmark
3DMark Fire Strike
wpDataChart with provided ID not found!Power & Temperatures
We check to see how motherboard makers tune their default BIOS settings and see how it impacts temperatures and power consumption. The system is left to idle for 30 minutes before readings are taken and load data is taken 30 minutes while AIDA64 stress test is running. Power readings are taken for the entire system from the socket. Power draw for the entire system is captured for this test via an outlet wattmeter and temperatures are recorded via Intel Extreme Tuning app.
wpDataChart with provided ID not found!Conclusion
Let’s break it down for the ASUS Z170-A:
Performance. We’re pretty much limited by our CPU when it comes to overclocking given its 4.6Ghz wall and we know that Skylake can go so much further. That said, in stock alone the Z170-A performs right about where we peg it at upper ranges of the pack. Overclocking gives it that extra push and as an ASUS board, its not limited by any means in letting us overclock our CPU until it hits our voltage and frequency wall.
Build Quality. ASUS sets pretty high standards for their motherboards and curiously enough, being the lower-mainstream product, the ASUS Z170-A is a more premium board in both features and build starting with the shroud and board layout. This is in contrast to the Z170 PRO GAMING which is intended for an audience that like the vintage red and black appeal of the older ROG styling. We’d like to make special mention of the M.2 slot location which is a really good touch as we’ve encountered numerous overheating issues with M.2 cards being placed between PCI-e slots leading to OS errors due to overheating M.2 SSDs.
Functionality. As mentioned, the ASUS Z170-A is the entry-level offering of ASUS in its classic line of motherboards featuring the Z170 chipset. That means this board features support for multi-card configurations particularly dual card setups, even dual-GPU single cards like the R9 295×2 or GTX 690 (if you happen to have any of those.) This is one of the only entry-level motherboards that offer USB3.1 with a Type-C connector, something we’ve not seen in any of the entry level Z170 boards we’ve checked out. Other than that, this board also features one of the richest BIOS options as expected from ASUS as well as board options despite lacking debugging tools, the MemOK button is a good addition.
Bundle. The ASUS Z170-A comes with an average bundle of SATA cables, manuals and I/O shield with CPU installation tool and EZ connectors.
Value. At $149, the ASUS Z170-A sits in a comfortable spot competing in the lower-mainstream space while still providing plenty of features to add to its namebrand quality advantage. The board does have a premium over similar products and MSI and GIGABYTE have no direct answer to the same loadout as the Z170-A, their entry-level gaming models serve as direct competitors.
Ultimately it all boils down to specific user requirements and the ASUS Z170-A ticks all the right check boxes to easily become one of the top choices when you need a premium Z170 board but don’t want to a gaming-centric motherboard nor go high-end and spend more. In a more specific scenario, the ASUS Z170-A provides a highly flexible and scalable motherboard that allows users to slowly max-out their systems as they go without adding a hefty price tag for advanced features like USB3.1 Type C, amplified audio, etc. Its still not without its fault though, a debug display would’ve been nice to compliment the board’s DIY and troubleshooting features. Other than that, some minor nitpicks like choice of LED ambient color for the audio area etc. but overall this is one board that has more good things going for it than bad.
The ASUS Z170-A grows with the user and combined with high-reliability that ASUS is known for and is very proud of, the ASUS Z170-A motherboard is easily the top choice if you’re looking for a foundation for a Intel 6th-gen system that can scale to accommodate future upgrades.
Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx. US$149 – ASUS Z170-A
PH – Php9500
We give the ASUS Z170-A our B2G Silver Award!
7 Comments
quick question po, mas okay ba yung auto overclock feature neto or manual overclocking? kasi pag nag auto overclock ako hnd sya nagboboot need ko pa i force shutdown thru long pressing the power button then pag on ko uli i need to set the default setting sa bios. then pagka restart saka lang sya magboboot ng maayos
you mean auto overclock po like using a software para mag overclock?
Meron po kasing 1 click overclock tong mobo na to sa uefi. Ayun po ginamit ko
Ai Suite yung auto overclocking. mas ok pa rin ang manual overclocking in my opinion. parang Manual at matic na kotse lang din.
ok sya kung gusto mo ma-figure out ung capabilities ng chip mo pero always have in mind ung safe voltage ranges.
Ang typical 4.6Ghz 6700K chip would need 1.35v and kaya sya cool ng 120mm radiator or a single tower cooler, on stock cooler baka di kayanin.
Much better pa rin bro manual ka since marerefine mo ung stats. ano proc mo?
i5 6600k po. Right now naka 212x ako. Nagtataka lang talaga ko bat hindi sya nagboboot when i use the auto overclocking feature. No beep sound when turning on. Dahil po kaya sa voltage na sineset nung AI suite when I auto overclock? Di ko pa nattry imanual overclock e no time para magkalikot kaya nag auto ako. Ngayon naka default settings lang ako kasi intermittent yung booting problem. Minsan ok minsan hindi talaga
means wala syang makapa na OC settings for your chip. most likely hindi sya makahanap ng balance ng frequency for you. Ganito try mo:
4.4ghz @ 1.26v ka muna
then mag-stress test ka gamit intel extreme tuning 😀 report ka saken ano mangyari