With Coffee Lake now official, it’s only a matter of time until their Add-in Board (AIB) partners showcase their upcoming Z370 motherboards with support for Intel’s latest batch of processors.
First off the block is ASUS. At their event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Taiwan giant showcased their newest take on Intel’s Z370 chipset. Let’s start off with the basic Z370 motherboard range, the Prime series:
ASUS Prime
The ASUS Prime series is the middle-of-the-road motherboard for the Z370 chipset. It offers most functionality that you’d expect from a Z370 board with at an excellent price as proved by previous boards in the Prime series.
ASUS Prime Z370-A
The Z370 Prime range is currently consists of two boards: the Prime Z370-A and the Prime Z370-P. The Prime Z370-A boasts a beefier PCH heatsink for better temperature performance in the PCH.
ASUS Prime Z370-P
Meanwhile the Z370-P, the most basic of ASUS’ Z370 range, comes with what you’d expect from a mid-range motherboard such as four DIMM slots with DDR4 support of up to 4000MHz and two M.2 sockets.
ROG Strix
If you want to experience the ROG experience without breaking the bank, then the ROG Strix lineup is for you. ASUS’ latest ROG motherboards are currently split into several different motherboards:
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming
Let’s start off with the runt of the litter, the ASUS ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming. As the photo suggests, the ROG Strix Z370-I was designed for mini-ITX builders. Despite its size, the board still packs a punch, it comes with large VRM heatsink for its size and a decent PCH heatsink as well.
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-G Gaming
The ROG Strix Z370-G Gaming is the micro-ATX offering from ASUS. Like the Z370-I, the Z370-G comes with a large VRM heatsink. It also supports M.2 drives, four DIMM slots that can support up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM, and a SupremeFX audio chipset for better audio experience.
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming
The ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E is the “entry-level” to the ATX form-factor in the brand’s Strix range. It comes with an M.2 heatsink near the PCH heatsink as well as beefy VRM heatsinks for better overclocking potential. The board also comes with an addressable LED extension cable for all RGB fanatics.
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F Gaming
Much like the Z370-E, the ROG Strix Z370-E comes in a black and white design that’s sure to fit most builds in the market. Of course, it has an M.2 heatsink to prevent throttling for a more consistent computing experience with your M.2 NVMe SSD.
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-H
The ROG Strix Z370-H is has the most striking design in the Strix range. Its red accents and the ROG eye on the PCH heatsink scream Republic of Gamers. Its design might not be as clean as some of the motherboards in ASUS’ range, but it sure is eye-catching.
ASUS TUF
Designed for 24/7 usage, their Z370 TUF series carries over the design choices they have made with previous TUF and Sabertooth motherboards. This means that TUF motherboards were designed to run longer and cooler than other motherboards in the market.
ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming
Clad in military camo and yellow accents, the ASUS TUF Z370-Pro uses overvoltage protection via an exclusive circuit design with built-in voltage regulators to protect the board from sudden high-voltage. Audio has been improved as well with the TUF Z370-Pro using a custom audio solution for DTS to enable virtual multi-channel audio for your run-of-the-mill 2.1 stereo headset.
ASUS TUF Z370-Plus Gaming
The ASUS TUF Z370-Plus Gaming carries over what makes the TUF-Pro Gaming great and adds to the formula. The board can now support 2-way SLI with its two PCIe x16 slots that are capable of running at x8/x8.
ASUS ROG Maximus X
The ASUS ROG Maximus X series offers the definite ROG experience. These motherboards sit at the top of the ASUS range. At their launch, there were four Maximus X motherboards:
ASUS ROG Maximus X Formula
The Maximus X Formula is the current top dog of the Maximus X series until ASUS releases Maximus X Extreme. It comes with an integrated I/O shield so installing the board’s I/O shield wouldn’t be a hassle whenever you’re building a system. The Maximus X Formula also sports a LiveDash OLED just below the CPU socket. This screen can be customized to show your personalized insignia or display hardware monitoring information. The VRM heatsinks has been equipped with a hybrid water block for easier custom water-cooling setup.
ASUS ROG Maximus X Apex
The Maximus X Apex isn’t exactly a motherboard that you’d use day-to-day. It only has two DIMM slots that support overclocked memory as fast as 4,500MHz. What separates it apart from the crowd is its overclocking capability. All of its features such as a 5G OC Profile and large VRM heatsinks scream overclocking. The DIMM.2 socket has been carried over from the previous Apex for better trace routing. The Apex also has a Post LED code at the top to for easier bug identification if you can’t POST.
ASUS Maximus X Code
The Maximus X Code acts like a budget-oriented version of the Formula. It still retains the armor of the Formula but it is missing the liquid cooling channels of its big brother. This means that the Code has been geared more for air cooling rather that custom water-cooling.
ASUS Maximus X Hero
The Maximus X Hero is the most budget-oriented of the Maximus range. It might be missing some of the key features of the other boards such as a water-cooling block or the armor, but it still packs a punch with its SupremeFX 1220 audio chip, 2-way SLI compatible x16 slots, and support for up to 64GB DDR4 RAM.
That’s about it from the current range of motherboards from ASUS for the latest Z370 chipset for Intel’s Coffee Lake processors. There are some missing motherboards such as the Maximus X Extreme, but we fully expect that it will be announced in the coming months. You can also check out ASUS’ guide for choosing a Coffee Lake motherboard.
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