Introduction and Technical Specifications
The Z170-Lightsaber is ECS’ newest revision of their Intel Z170-based offering in their L337 motherboard line…
Introduction
Courtesy of ECS
The ECS Z170-Lightsaber motherboard is the newest offering in ECS' L337 product line with support for the Intel Z170 Express chipset. The Z170-Lightsaber builds on their previous Z170-based product, adding several enthusiast-friendly features like enhanced audio and RGB LED support to the board. With an MSRP of $180, ECS priced the Lightsaber as a higher-tiered offering, justified with its additional features and functionality compared to their previous Z170-based product.
Courtesy of ECS
ECS designed the Z170-Lightsaber with a 14-phase digital power delivery system, using high efficiency chokes and MOSFETs, as well as solid core capacitors for optimal board performance. The following features into the Z170-Lightsaber board: six SATA 3 ports; one SATA-Express port; a PCIe X2 M.2 port; a Qualcomm Killer GigE NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots; four PCI-Express x1 slots; 3-digit diagnostic LED display; on-board power, reset, Quick overclock, BIOS set, BIOS update, BIOS backup, and Clear CMOS buttons; Realtek audio solution; integrated DisplayPort and HDMI video port support; and USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 Gen2 port support.
Courtesy of ECS
For the integrated audio solution, ECS designed the Z170 Lightsaber with an enhanced audio subsystem designed around the 8.1 channel Realtek chipset using a swappable audio amplifier chip and Nichicon sourced audio capacitors.
Courtesy of ECS
Technical Specifications (taken from the ECS website)
| CPU | Supports 6th gen Intel® Core™ family/ Pentium / Celeron series processors for LGA 1151 socket 14 Phase Thermal Design Power 100% Solid capacitor design Intel® K Series Unlock CPU Support ECS Digital Power Design |
| CHIPSET | Intel® Z170 Express Chipset Supports Intel® Rapid Start technology Supports Intel® Smart Response technology |
| GRAPHICS | Supports DirectX® 12 |
| MEMORY | Dual-channel DDR4 Memory architecture Supports DDR4 2133 non-ECC, Un-buffered SDRAM Memory Supports up to 3200+(OC) 4 X 288-pin DDR4 DIMM socket Support up to 64 GB* Intel® extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3/1.2 Memory Modules |
| EXPANSION SLOT | 3 X PCI Express X16 Gen 3.0 slot(s) (x8+ x8 + x4) 4 X PCI Express X 1 Gen 3.0slot(s) Supports AMD CrossFire™ Technology 1 X M.2 slot for SSD For 2242/2260/2280 SSD |
| Storage | 6 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb/s 1 X SATA Express Compatible with 2 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb/s port(s) RAID0, RAID1,RAID5, RAID 10 configuration |
| Audio | 8-Channel HD audio CODEC Realtek ALC1150 8-channel High Definition audio CODEC Onboard TI NE5532AP EAR Phone Amplifier IC |
| LAN | Killer E2400 Gigabit Fast Ethernet Controller Wake-On-LAN |
| USB | Support by Z170 Express Chipset 6 X USB3.0 port(s) up to 5Gb/s 8 X USB2.0 port(s) Up to 480 Mb/s Support by ASMedia ASM1142 Controler 2 X USB3.1 port(s) up to 10Gb/s |
| REAR PANEL I/O | 1 X PS/2 combo connector 1 X Audio port (Line-in,4x Line-out, Mic in) 1 X HDMI port(s) 1 X Display port 1 X Optical S/PDIF Out port(s) 2 X USB3.1 port(s) 6 X USB3.0 port(s) 4 X USB2.0 port(s) 1 X Clear_CMOS Button |
| CONNECTORS & HEADERS | 1 X 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 X 8-pin ATX 12V Power Connector 2 X 4-pin CPU_FAN connector 2 X 4-pin SYS_FAN connector 1 X Power on button 1 X Reset button 1 X Front Panel switch/LED header 1 X Front panel audio header 1 X Speaker header 1 X USB 3.0 header Support additional 2 USB ports 2 X USB 2.0 header Support additional 4 USB ports 8 X SATA III 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 X CLR_CMOS header 1 X 7S-LED Display 1 X Chassis intrusion header 1 X 80P Switch button 1 X Quick OC button 1 X BIOS set button 1 X ROM Backup button 1 X BIOS Update button |
| SYSTEM BIOS | º Supports M.I.B X Utility AMI BIOS with 64 MB SPI Flash ROM Supports M.I.B X Utility ACPI & DMI F7 hot key for boot up devices option Over-Clocking Graphic OC Support Dual Display Support ECS EZ BIOS Support GUI UEFI BIOS Plug and Play, STR (S3) / STD (S4) , Hardware monitor, Multi Boot Multi-Language BIOS Dual BIOS * Adjustable CPU Voltage * Memory Voltage Adjustable * Support CPU over-clocking function: Adjustable CPU Clock Multiplier |
| FORM FACTOR | ATX Form Factor 305mm x 244mm |
| OS Support | Windows 7 32-bit Windows 7 64-bit Windows 8.1 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit |
| Certifications | CE/FCC Certification WHCK Certification |
| Bundled Software | ECS Intelligent EZ Utility : eBLU, eDLU, eSF Free Bundle: CyberLink Media Suite |
Are we going to see Z270
Are we going to see Z270 working with Coffeelake but Z170 being magically incompatible?
“… justified with its
“… justified with its additional features and functionality compared wieh thier previous Z170-based product”
Wieh whier?
Fixed, thanks…
Fixed, thanks…
I’d like to see DPC latency
I’d like to see DPC latency tests, just like Anand does
Is it just me, or is the list
Is it just me, or is the list of Rear Panel I/O wrong? I only see 10 USB ports, but 12 are listed (2x 3.1, 6x 3.0, 4×2.0) and the network RJ-45 is not listed in the Rear Panel I/O.
Yeah, that does seem odd but
Yeah, that does seem odd but it is taken directly from ECS' webpage for the board…
Also, where the heck do you
Also, where the heck do you see a DVI port that you mention in the article ?
I only see DP and HDMI.
fixed, thanks…
fixed, thanks…
Too bad they’re going to get
Too bad they’re going to get sued by Disney over the name they’ve chosen.