Test – Asus ROG Strix Z270H Gaming
| Specs | Price
Yo everyone!
It had been a while since I had an Asus product in my hands, so the brand is back at Conseil Config with a brand new motherboard accompanying the release of “Kaby Lake” processors, the Asus ROG Strix Z270H Gaming . Under this very marketing name hides a motherboard equipped with the latest Z270 chipset, intended for overclocking, therefore with all the features that almost all users will never need.
The card is around 200 €, which is higher than the “basic” models equipped with the same chipset, let’s see if this is justified!
| Asus ROG Strix Z270H Gaming | |
|---|---|
| Format | ATX (30.5 cm x 23.4 cm) |
| Socket | Intel LGA 1151 |
| CPU | Intel Celeron / Pentium / Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 6th and 7th generation |
| Chipset | Intel Z270 |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 2133 Mhz “Dual Channel” Support XMP Maximum the 64 Go Up to 3866 MHz (OC) |
| Slots d’extensions | 1 x PCIe 3.0 16X (wired in 16X) 1 x PCIe 3.0 16X (wired in 8X) 1 x PCIe 3.0 16X (wired as 2X) 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
| Multi-GPU | AMD® CrossFire™ 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ 2-Way |
| Audio Chipset | ROG SupremeFX (Realtek) S1220A |
| Wired Network | 1 x Intel® I219-V Gigabit LAN Controller |
| Wireless network | Non |
| Number of connectors for fans | 5 x 4-pin PWM |
| Storage | Intel Z270: 6 x Hours 6 Gb / s Intel Optane technology support AsMedia ASM1061: 2 x Hours 6 Gb / s |
| USB | Rear panel: 4 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A Internal: |
| Video outputs | 1 x DVI 1 x HDMI |
| Additional features | ROG RAMCache II ROG CPU-Z ROG CloneDrive Overwolf GameFirst IV Sonic Radar III Sonic Studio III ROG GameFirst Technology |
| Price | ~ 200€ |
The Asus ROG Strix Z270H Gaming (the name of these motherboards increasingly long 😉) is therefore a motherboard in ATX format of 30.5 x 24.5 cm, a little shorter than the standard ATX, so it will miss a few holes for the fix on the 9 spacers available in the box, although this should not pose a problem. Of course it is equipped with the latest Intel Z270 chipset, compatible with 6th (Skylake) and 7th (Kabylake) Intel Celeron, Pentium, Core i3 / i5 / i7 processors. Note that as usual the Z270 chipset can support the overclocking functions of “K” processors (i3 7350K, i5 6600K / 7600K and i7 6700K / 7700K), which other chipsets (H270 and B250) can not do.
The motherboard is only compatible with DDR4 memory, ranging from 2133 to 3866 MHz, note that all memory above 2133 MHz will be considered overclocking. The card can accommodate a maximum of 64 GB of memory, which will leave a lot of wiggle room for many people, those who need more will then have to switch to a card equipped with an X99 chipset.
Asus offers multi-GPU compatibility here, with the possibility of installing 2 graphics cards AMD (CrossfireX) or nVidia (SLI). There are 3 PCIE 16x ports, one that works in 16x (or 8x in a CrossfireX or SLI configuration), another in 8x and a small last in 2x, so do not expect a graphics card in this one. here under penalty of restricting performance 😉
On the storage side, there is the bare minimum here, even if that should be more than enough. The Intel Z270 chipset manages 6 Sata 6Gb / s ports, 1 M.2 port (type 2242 to 22110) PCIe x4 / Sata 6Gb / s as well as another M.2 port (type 2242 to 2280) which it is only PCIe 4x compatible. Even if other motherboards use other Sata 6Gb / s ports via the integration of other chipsets (such as Asmedia for example) Asus did not want to use this option.
Connectivity level there is everything you need to install everything you need, 8 USB ports on the back (4 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2.0) as well as 2 USB 2.0 connectors and 2 USB 3.0 internally, no problem to do so at this level. The presence of 2 x USB 3.0 internally is very good for those who would like to add an SD card reader in the case in addition to the USB 3.0 connectors on the front.
Of course a plethora of utility or “features” are present, such as ROG RAMCache II, CloneDrive, Overwolf, GameFirst, Sonic Radar III etc … The usefulness of all this remains to be seen on a case by case basis, depending on what you want to do , but are clearly in no way essential 🙂
As you can see Asus offers us a rather complete card on paper, including high-end components (Intel network chipset, high-end audio capacitors etc.), the price of 200 € is still a bit steep.
On the front of the box we can see a photo of the beast accompanied of course by the name of the model as well as the logo of the brand and the obligatory logo “Republic Of Gamers” showing the “gamer” side of the thing, even if we are talking about a motherboard here!
At the back another photo of the motherboard seen from above with a listing of the main technical characteristics.
Inside the box we fall directly on the motherboard in its antistatic bag, below is the bundle, which we will see immediately!
The bundle is rather complete, we find in addition to the instructions and user manuals of ROG stickers in order to show everyone what it is. There are also 2 Sata cables (although it would have been nice to put 4 when you pay € 200), a small plastic square allowing easy installation of the processor, an SLI bridge as well as of course a I / O plate. A 20% discount coupon is also there in case you feel like buying cables from Calemod.
To summarize and really useful there is no more than the minimum union.
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