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ASUS Z170-Pro Skylake Motherboard Review

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Test System & Testing Methodology

Test System & Testing Methodology


To full test the built in overclocking abilities of a given motherboard, we have broken down testing into multiple categories:

Stock Turbo Boost - To represent a 6770K at stock with turbo enabled.

5-Way Software OC - To represent a Z170-Pro at best proven stable overclock achieved via included software based overclocking (4.6GHz).

Manual OC –To represent an experienced overclocker that is looking for the optimal long term overclock to maximize system performance while keeping voltage and temperatures in check (4.8GHz).

We chose benchmark suites that included 2D benchmarks, 3D benchmarks, and games; and then tested each overclocking method individually to see how the performance would compare.

The full list of the applications that we utilized in our benchmarking suite:

3DMark 8
3DMark 2013 Professional Edition
AIDA64 Extreme Edition
Cinebench R11.5 64-bit
SiSoft Sandra 2013.SP4
SuperPI Mod 1.5mod
RightMark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5
Sleeping Dogs Gaming Benchmark
Metro: Last Light Gaming Benchmark
Tomb Raider
BioShock Infinite


Instead of LinX or P95, the main stability test used was the AIDA64 stability. AIDA64 has an advantage as it has been updated for the Haswell architecture and tests specific functions like AES, AVX, and other instruction sets that some other stress tests do not touch. After the AIDA64 stability test was stable, we ran 2 runs of SuperPI and 2 runs of 3DMark to test memory and 3D stability. Once an overclock passed these tests, we ran the full benchmark suite and then this is the point deemed as “stable” for the purposes of this review.


To ensure consistent results, a fresh installation of Windows 8.1 was installed with latest chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) from the manufactures website. The BIOS used for overclocking and benchmarking was version 1301 and the Nvidia drivers used were version 332.21.




proof_sm.jpg






Our test setup consists of an Intel Haswell 6770K, ASUS Z170-Pro motherboard, one NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card, 8GB GSkill RipJaws V DDR4-3600 1.35v memory, a Intel 335 180GB SSD, and a WD Black 1TB. All this is powered by an EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000 watt PSU.

For cooling we used a Corsair H110i AIO w/ four 140mm fans attached. For hardware installation testing we also used a Noctua NH-U12S and a XSPC Raystorm waterblock.

Complete Test System:

Processor: Intel i7 6770K ES
Memory: 8GB GSkill RipJaws V DDR4-3600
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780
Hard Drive: 1x 180GB Intel 335 SSD. Western Digial Black 1TB.
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i AIO

Special thanks to EVGA for their support and supplying the SuperNOVA 1000 P2.
Special thanks to G.Skill for their support and supplying the RipJaws V RAM.
Special thanks to NVIDIA for their support and supplying the GTX 780
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Feature Testing: Onboard Audio & USB 3.1

Feature Testing: Onboard Audio


<i> While the ASUS Z170-Pro is mainly orientated towards budget orientated consumers, the upgraded onboard audio is one of its main selling features. As such, it behooves us to see exactly what this upgrade brings to the table. To do this we have used RightMark Audio Analyzer.</i>

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/noise.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/thd.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/dr.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

For an inexpensive motherboard the Z170-Pro produces fairly decent numbers. Basically by swapping out the cheaper ALC controller for the much more capable ALC1500 the Z170-Pro easily justifies its increased asking price over the Z170-A. However, in synthetic testing at least, ASUS still trails Gigabyte in their onboard sound solution’s abilities. We highly doubt you would hear the difference though.


Feature Testing: USB 3.1 Performance


For the USB 3.1 device we have used an Asus USB 3.1 enclosure which uses a pair of Samsung 840 EVO 250GB drives, and is powered by a ASMedia ASM1352R chipset.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/USB31/ports2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Unfortunately, this enclosure doesn’t make use of USB 3.1's increased power abilities and instead uses a second USB (micro 2.0) port that uses an included 2A (10watt) wall adapter.

Crystal DiskMark


<i>Crystal DiskMark is designed to quickly test the performance of your drives. Currently, the program allows to measure sequential and random read/write speeds; and allows you to set the number of tests iterations to run. We left the number of tests at 5 and size at 100MB. </i>

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/cdm_w.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/cdm_r.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Real World Data Transfers


<i>No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it cannot really tell you how your hard drive will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 10.00GB contiguous file and a folder containing 400 subfolders with a total 12,000 files varying in length from 200mb to 100kb (10.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, using MS RichCopy and logging the performance of the drive. Here is what we found. </i>
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/copy_sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/copy_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Thanks to its use of an Intel rather than ASMedia USB 3.1 controller, this motherboard is one of the few inexpensive options available today that offers truly cutting edge performance. Brilliant stuff!
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Feature Testing: Software Auto-Overclocking

Feature Testing: Software Auto-Overclocking


Much like every ASUS Z170 motherboard reviewed to date, the ASUS Z170-Pro includes many ways of automatically overclocking the system. Of these options there are two primary paths we want to discuss – as they are the two routes most consumers interested in automatic overclocking will take.

The first is not technically a standalone software based solution but is rather implemented via POST with a feature called HotKey OC. ASUS claims this is a one click solution and they aren’t kidding as it is as fast, easy, and painless a method of overclocking as we have seen.

To enable the HotKey OC, all that is needed is to hold down the Control and 'T' keys during POST. This specific keyboard combination tells the onboard TPU controller to spring into action and apply its factory TPU1 preset overclock to the system. This process takes mere seconds, and when completed the system will reboot and show you on the full screen start-up logo the final frequency.

This option may not provide the highest overclocks, but what it lacks in performance it really does make up for it in ease of use. As with other ASUS models this is bar none the simplest and easiest option anyone will find on any motherboard for automatic overclocking. Also on the positive side, any aftermarket CPU cooling solution will be able to handle this factory preset setting.

soft_oc_tpu.jpg


In our case the TPU Level 1 got our 6700K to run at up to 4.3GHz, with an Uncore to 4.1GHZ, and the RAM's XMP profile implemented which meant boosting it from DDR4-2133 to DDR4-3600.

AI_oc1_sm.jpg

The other main way of overclocking your system without entering the BIOS is via the AI Suite III program. As the name suggests 5-Way Optimization automatic overclocking is not your typical one size fits all approach to letting the board increase frequencies. Instead of relying upon presets this program will slowly increase your processor's clock speed and voltage, test for stability, and repeat that process until it has found the sweet spot.

As with previous versions this program does customize the overclock based upon your processor and it offers you multiple paths to gaining a final overclock. Specifically, it features two options (Fast Tuning & Extreme Tuning) as well as two different methods for achieving that overclocking: Ratio only and Ratio + BCLK (TPU 1 & TPU 2).

On top of all that you can also set the initial ratio the software will use to begin from (depending upon which mode you use) to shorten the testing stages. You can even set limits on the maximum voltage you feel comfortable with, the maximum temperatures you want the processor to remain below, and even the maximum CPU frequency. All these features allow for a much more customizable approach to overclocking.

AI_oc2_sm.jpg

If all that was not enough ASUS has now included the ability to stress test for up to one hour and use the CPU Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) instruction set during the stress testing. This makes the built-in stress test much more capable of finding the true limits of a CPU’s stability. Only being able to stress test for one hour is a touch on the low side, but in conjunction with AVX, this feature should catch nearly all 'bad' overclocks.

ASUS have also listened to complaints about their software overclocking suite handily avoiding the system memory. Basically, older versions simply enabled an XMP profile and called it a day. This new version will also test your RAM to make sure that it is indeed stable at its preset XMP setting. We have lost count of the so called 'stable' overclocks that inevitably failed because the memory was not up to snuff.

To actually use this program, simply set your options to whatever you wish, press the button…and go to bed. When set to maximum testing AISuite will take a long time to complete. This however is not a complaint; instead we think it is quite impressive given the relatively low asking price of this motherboard.

There are however a few things we need to address. First of all, since the Z170-Pro can handle RAM speeds all the way to DDR4-3866, we honestly doubt (m)any consumer will find fault with its abilities. This is something we cannot say about the Z170-A and much like the improved USB 3.1 controller, or better onboard sound solution, this one addition may not impress all consumers but it certainly does make justifying the small increase in asking price a lot easier to justify for some.

Sadly, just as with the Z170-A, the motherboard's best overclock was via ratio overclocking only. This is because TPU II also ungangs all cores, and while the one core overclock went higher than TPU 1 settings, the quad core results were lower. This was a tad disappointing. Also, it still does not really do much on the Uncore side of things. Both options only set the Uncore to 4.1 from 4.0GHz. Not much, but it is better than nothing.

soft_oc_sm.jpg

Even with these minor caveats taken into account we are impressed with what AISuite accomplished. Basically the system purred along, tested, retested, and finally decided on 4.6GHz for all cores at a moderately reasonable adaptive voltage level set to 1.365V. A combination of DDR4-3600 RAM, 4.6GHz on all four cores, and Uncore of 4.1GHz is quite impressive to say the least…. even if it is only slightly better than what the Z170-A was able to do with the exact same components.
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Manual Overclocking Results

Manual Overclocking Results


It is here in the manual overclocking section where users will typically fall into one of two camps: those who love this board and the value it offers, and those who feel its asking price is simply too much for the Pro to be classified as a great value. In either case everyone will agree on a few key details.

We could easily wax eloquently on the excellent BIOS that makes things easier than on most other inexpensive motherboards or discuss the benefits of the Z170-Pro’s all-digital power delivery sub-system which is lightyears ahead of similarly priced competitors. We could even talk about the physical layout that makes using robust cooling solutions and high performance components downright simple. The fact of the matter is none of this matters as while it may look slightly different than the Z170-A, all these key ingredients are the same (or similar enough to not matter) on both boards. ASUS doesn’t make the Pro from a different set of blueprints than the –A. Instead they simply tweaked it, and this tweaking will either make you consider it money well spent over the Z170-A’s lower asking price…. or it won’t.

Put simply for a mere twenty dollars extra consumers may not get a better board, a better bios, or even a better power delivery system but what they do get is ease of use that cannot be matched by the ASUS Z170-A. This is because ASUS has not artificially limited the PRO as they do their entry level -A model. Make no mistake the Pro is nothing more than a Z170-A with all these restrictions lifted. These restrictions we are of course talking about is on supported RAM speeds. Yes, that is it. Something as simple as a few lines of code added to the firmware to allow high performance RAM to really stretch its legs is basically what separates the Z170-Pro from the Z170-A model when it comes to overclocking.

We would like the give ASUS the benefit of the doubt on this issue and it is simply a case of ASUS being surprised at the speed at which DDR4-3600 RAM modules has dropped – they now only cost an arm and a leg… instead of an arm, a leg, and a kidney. It could even be a case of the unexpected performance that Skylake’s Integrated memory controller has to offer. In either case the fact of the matter is not having to worry about a motherboard hanging simply because of an artificial barrier is easily worth twenty dollars.

Some consumers who are not interested in going above DDR-3400 speeds may not feel the same and may in fact feel a bit cheated by the –A’s seemingly artificial limitation. After all, from an overclocking perspective this motherboard is just a Z170-A with better firmware.

Luckily, such arguments do become moot once anyone starts to use this motherboard since when compared to similarly priced MSI or Gigabyte offerings the ASUS Z170-Pro is noticeably easier to work with. The combination of an almost best in class power delivery system with that excellent BIOS makes for a very enjoyable experience. One that the Gaming 5 twins from MSI and Gigabyte simply cannot match.

Unfortunately, as this is basically a Z170-A with a few new tricks up its sleeves there are some areas that could certainly stand to be improved. So much so that it really does throw into stark contrast what an additional $30 will get consumers if they step up to the m-ATX ASUS Republic of Gamer’s Z170 Maximus VIII Gene. If anything, it is that very market segmentation that puts a small fly into this ointment. In their so-called “Pro” product ASUS could have included a backup BIOS like Gigabyte does or a basic debug LED panel on the board like many others do. What about a clear CMOS button instead of jumper pins? What about the removed power button? Would have blown ASUS’ budget to include the ReTry and SafeBoot that the slightly more expensive Gene has? We think not.

oc_man.jpg

Despite some MIA features, this motherboard was rock solid and while we did curse the design team for excluding basic features the end results do speak for themselves: 4.8GHz on all four cores, Uncore of 4.3GHz, and the RAM set to DDR4-3644. As long as you have the patience and experience to work with this board it will reward your hard effort. It just should not be this difficult.
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
System Benchmarks

System Benchmarks


In the System Benchmarks section we will show a number benchmark comparisons of the 6700K and Z170-Pro using the stock speed (turbo enabled), software overclocking, and our manual overclock. This will illustrate how much performance can be gained by the various overclocking options this board has to offer.

For reference the CPU speeds, memory speeds, memory timings, and uncore speeds used for these tests are as follows:
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/results.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

SuperPI Benchmark


<i>SuperPi calculates the number of digits of PI in a pure 2D benchmark. For the purposes of this review, calculation to 32 million places will be used. RAM speed, RAM timings, CPU speed, L2 cache, and Operating System tweaks all effect the speed of the calculation, and this has been one of the most popular benchmarks among enthusiasts for several years.
SuperPi was originally written by Yasumasa Kanada in 1995 and was updated later by snq to support millisecond timing, cheat protection and checksum. The version used in these benchmarks, 1.5 is the official version supported by hwbot.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/pi.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>


CINEBENCH R11.5


<i>CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer's performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON's award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation.

In this system benchmark section, we will use the x64 Main Processor Performance (CPU) test scenario. The Main Processor Performance (CPU) test scenario uses all of the system's processing power to render a photorealistic 3D scene (from the viral "No Keyframes" animation by AixSponza). This scene makes use of various algorithms to stress all available processor cores. The test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/cine.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

Sandra Processor Arithmetic & Processor Multi-Media Benchmarks


<i>SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. The software suite provides most of the information (including undocumented) users like to know about hardware, software, and other devices whether hardware or software. The name “Sandra” is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means "defender", "helper of mankind".

The software version used for these tests is SiSoftware Sandra 2013 SP3. In the 2013 version of Sandra, SiSoft has updated operating system support, added support for Haswell CPUs, as well as added some new benchmarks to the testing suite. The benchmark used below is the Processor Arithmetic benchmark which shows how the processor handles arithmetic and floating point instructions. This test illustrates an important area of a computer’s speed.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/sis.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>


PCMark 8 Benchmark


<i>Developed in partnership with Benchmark Development Program members Acer, AMD, Condusiv Technologies, Dell, HGST, HP, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Samsung, SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital, PCMark 8 is the latest version in FutureMark’s popular series of PC benchmarking tools. Improving on previous releases, PCMark 8 includes new tests using popular applications from Adobe and Microsoft.

The test used in below is the PCMark 8 Home benchmark. This testing suite includes workloads that reflect common tasks for a typical home user such as for web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat. The results are combined to give a PCMark 8 Home score for the system.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/pcm.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>


AIDA64 Benchmark


<i>AIDA64 Extreme Edition is a diagnostic and benchmarking software suite for home users that provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives.

The benchmarks used in this review are the memory bandwidth and latency benchmarks. Memory bandwidth benchmarks (Memory Read, Memory Write, Memory Copy) measure the maximum achievable memory data transfer bandwidth. The code behind these benchmark methods are written in Assembly and they are extremely optimized for every popular AMD, Intel and VIA processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x86/x64, x87, MMX, MMX+, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE4.1, AVX, and AVX2 instruction set extension.

The Memory Latency benchmark measures the typical delay when the CPU reads data from system memory. Memory latency time means the penalty measured from the issuing of the read command until the data arrives to the integer registers of the CPU.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/aida.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/aida_mem.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
3D and Gaming Benchmarks

3D and Gaming Benchmarks


In the 3D and Gaming Benchmarks section we will show a number of benchmark comparisons of the 6700K and Z170-Pro using the stock speed (turbo enabled), highest stable software over-clock, and our manual overclock. This will illustrate how much performance can be gained by the various overclocking options this board has to offer.

For reference the CPU speeds, memory speeds, memory timings, and uncore speeds used for these tests are as follows:
<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/results.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

3DMark Fire Strike Benchmark


<i>The latest version of 3DMark from FutureMark includes everything you need to benchmark everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. And it's not just for Windows. With 3DMark you can compare your scores with Android and iOS devices too. It's the most powerful and flexible 3DMark we've ever created.
The test we are using in this review is Fire Strike with Extreme settings which is a DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. Fire Strike features real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/3dm.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

Sleeping Dogs Gaming Benchmark


<i>Sleeping Dogs is an open world action-adventure video game developed by United Front Games in conjunction with Square Enix London Studios and published by Square Enix, released on August 2012. Sleeping Dogs has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play and an average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are the Extreme display settings and a resolution of 1920x1200. World density is set to extreme, high-res textures are enabled, and shadow resolution, shadow filtering, screen space ambient occlusion, and quality motion blur are all set to high.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/sd.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>


Metro: Last Light Gaming Benchmark


<i>Metro: Last Light is a DX11 first-person shooter video game developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and published by Deep Silver released in May 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world and features action-oriented gameplay. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play. Scene D6 was used and an average of four runs was taken.

The settings used in the testing below are Very High for quality and a resolution of 1920x1200. DirectX 11 is used, texture filtering is set to AF 16X, motion blur is normal, SSA and advanced physX turned on and tessellation is set to high.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/met.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

BioShock Infinite Gaming Benchmark


<i>BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games, and published by 2K Games released in March 2013. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play and an average of four runs was taken.

The settings used in the testing below are UltraDX11 for quality and a resolution of 1920x1200.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/bio.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>

Tomb Raider Gaming Benchmark


<i> Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game. Published by Square Enix released in March 2013. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play and an average of four runs was taken.


The settings used in the testing below are Ultimate default settings for quality, VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920x1200.</i>

<div align="center">
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Z170-PRO/tr.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
</div>
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Conclusion; Success or Identity Crisis?

Conclusion; Success or Identity Crisis?


Just as with previous ‘Pro’ models from ASUS, the Z170-Pro has been designed for very specific niche of buyers: those who want a value orientated motherboard but are willing to spend a touch more than what an entry level Z170-A costs. They’re willing to do this as long as they get additional features for this the added expense. At this goal the Z170-Pro is a resounding success but there are still some lingering doubts about whether or not it and the Z170-A should both be products within the same lineup.

While it is indeed based upon the same foundation as the Z170-A, and may lack the PS/2 port and PCI slot of the -A model, ASUS has included features that make the additional twenty-dollar investment a veritable no-brainer. For this modest increase, consumers not only get an additional PCIe slot (instead of the near useless PCI the -A uses), but also receive the ALC1150 audio chipset which is arguably a big upgrade over the ALC892. Then there’s that Intel USB 3.1 controller which pushes this critical I/O element’s performance through the proverbial roof. These features alone easily justify the extra twenty dollar asking price.

Believe it or not, the aforementioned additions can be considered mere bonuses, as the one area that really pushes the Z170-Pro over the edge is the much improved RAM overclocking abilities. As we saw throughout the testing stages this additional headroom did make the task of overclocking much easier and more enjoyable.

This increase in value added features and performance is how ASUS has always made their Pro models stand out from their cheaper -A siblings without cutting into higher end models’ sales. In the past this has been a winning formula that allowed the ASUS ‘Pro models to nearly dominate this corner of the market. Sadly, the Z170-Pro does not exist in a vacuum nor is this still the Z87 or even Z97 days. Other companies, such as Gigabyte and MSI, have significantly upped their game in the critical $170-$180 price range this time around. So much so that the ASUS Z170-Pro is not the slam dunk success its predecessors were. Unlike previous generations, this corner of the marketplace is now so highly contested it will come down to a case by case basis on which motherboard someone should purchase.

Of the various competing motherboards available today there is one model that stands out as the stiffest competition: the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5. It not only costs ten dollars less than the ASUS Z170-Pro but offers numerous features the Pro cannot match. For example, the ASUS Z170-Pro lacks a whole list of items some buyers may find to be mission critical: a secondary BIOS chip, the Gaming 5’s removable op-amp, the secondary NIC (Killer E2201 NPU), PCIe slot shielding and slot reinforcement. It even goes without a onboard diagnostic LED display, a secondary M.2 x4 port and even lacks the secondary and tertiary SATA EXPRESS ports the Gigabyte Gaming 5 offers.

That is a lot of value added features that ASUS could have included but chose not to. In many ways the Z170-Pro is a byproduct of the utter and complete saturation going on in the Z170 market and within ASUS’ own lineup. There are so many models that differentiating one from another becomes extremely difficult and that’s exactly the situation ASUS ran into with the Z170-Pro.

All is not lost though as ASUS did do a better job at the layout of the features they do include, at least when compared to the Gaming series from Gigabyte and MSI. For example, the USB 3.0 headers are much easier to work with, the single M.2 port supports all M.2 cards including longer 110mm models, and best of all the Z170-Pro includes a much better fan controller. On top of all this ASUS also uses an all-digital power delivery system instead of a ‘hybrid’ based VRM like Gigabyte and MSI use. When you mix in the superior AI SUITE III’s automatic overclocking abilities there’s no doubt this board is extremely competitive in its own right. So much so it will come down to what you the system builder prize the most: quantity or quality.

So where does this leave the ASUS Z170-Pro? In a pretty decent position actually. It may no longer reside in the driver’s seat among its peers but for buyers who absolutely cannot stretch their budget another $30 to afford the ASUS RoG Hero or Genes of the marketplace, the Z170-Pro is still a very good choice. Just be aware of the still competition around its price point.


DGV.gif

 

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