Testing Configuration and Benchmarks Used
To verify that the motherboard works as advertised, the board was run through our standard benchmark suite. In most cases, the results are presented for the motherboard under review as well as a different similar-class motherboards for performance comparison purposes. The benchmark tests used should give you a good understanding of the board’s capabilities for both office and gaming use so that you, the reader, can make a more informed purchasing decision.
| Test System Setup | |
| Motherboards | Intel Z170-based systems ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme MSI Z170A-XPower Gaming Titanium Edition ASUS Z170-A Intel Z97-based system ASUS Z97-Pro Intel X99-based systems ASUS X99-A |
| CPU | Intel Z170-based system Intel Core i7-6700K (4.0GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 40 x 100MHz Base Clock) Intel Z97-based system Intel Core i7-4770K (3.5GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 35 x 100MHz Base Clock) Intel X99-based systems Intel Core i7-5960X (3.0GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 30 x 100MHz Base Clock) |
| Memory | Intel Z170-based system Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 modules (1600MHz, 16-18-18-35-1T, 1.225V) Intel Z97-based system Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 modules (1600MHz, 9-10-9-27-1T, 1.525V) Intel X99-based systems Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 modules (2133MHz, 15-17-17-35-1T, 1.225V) |
| Hard Drive | Intel 730 240GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA III HD |
| Sound Card | On-board sound |
| Video Card | NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB |
| CPU Cooling | XSPC Raystorm water block Koolance CPU-360i water block |
| Video Drivers | NVIDIA 353.62 |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX750 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro x64 |
Test Setup Explanation
The 64-bit Windows 10 based test bench used for Intel Z170 LGA1151 board testing includes an Intel Core i7-6700K processor, 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive. For the Z97-based board testing, an Intel Core i7-4770K CPU, 16GB of DDR3-2400 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive were used in the test system. Intel X99 LGA2011-V3 board testing includes an Intel Core i7-5960X CPU, 32GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive. Using the selected components gives us the ability to demonstrate the motherboard's capabilities rather than that of the components themselves.
Benchmark Tests used for evaluation:
- SoftPerfect Research NetWorx Speed Test v5.41
- LanBench v1.1.0
- ATTO Disk Benchmark v3.05
- SiSoft Sandra 2015 SP2b (v2015.07.21.42)
- Intel Linpack Benchmark v11.3.0.004
- Maxon Cinebench R15
- PCMark 8 v2.4.304
“Holding the “Flagship”
“Holding the “Flagship” moniker for the ASUS ROG Z170 board line, the board is shock full of features and accessories including the latest edition of their OC Panel device.”
Try chock-full instead of shock full.
I’m shocked by this comment.
I'm shocked by this comment.
Thanks, fixed…
Thanks, fixed…
Test System Setup shows GTX
Test System Setup shows GTX 780. Pic shows a Palit GTX 570 label? I don’t really care, just thought that was inconsistent.
Also, can we not get great CMOS battery placement with a $500 motherboard? This doesn’t seem like too much to ask.
I agree, the CMOS battery
I agree, the CMOS battery tech hasn’t changed since the conception of integrated circuits…what gives..?
I would call that a clever
I would call that a clever play on words Mr. Dictionary. If not a little callous don’t you think?
Doesn’t make much sense to
Doesn’t make much sense to have such an expensive board on a socket that can only use midrange CPUs
Fastest possible single
Fastest possible single threaded performance out there. It matters for some people and some apps.
How much more performance are
How much more performance are we talking for spending two or three times the amount for this board instead of something else?
Fair enough, although I
Fair enough, although I wonder if LGA2011 can clock higher than mainstream chips when good cooling is used (custom water or better), as the lack of soldered heat spreader on mainstream chips should cause a heat bottleneck that reduces scaling with improved coolers
I get that there’s always a
I get that there’s always a market for the best of the best (even if small.)
What’s confused me though about this and previous similar offerings from ASUS is the timing. The Z170 chipset is nearly a year old. Are there really people who want the best of the best, cost no concern, but were twiddling their thumbs for a year? I would have imagined that set of buyers upgraded their rigs long ago.
Or are there really people that rebuild their already top-end rig at this point in the cycle? Even disregarding cost, seems like a lot of hassle for little performance returns left on the table?
Man….this thing has ALL the
Man….this thing has ALL the bells and whistles…as well it should. At $500 it better gimme a chubby every time it posts…lol
One thing that doesn’t make sense…an ASMedia 1061 (from 2012) for the 2 additional sata 6gbs/usb 3 ports…pretty much a turd on an otherwise nice lawn. I guess if u can afford a $500 non-X99 mobo, you’ll prolly be pimpin a $300 raid card too…lol
Why is a board almost a year
Why is a board almost a year old just now being reviewed?