Asus - Prime Z270-a Atx Lga1151 Motherboard Review

Introduction

Asus is one of the leading motherboard manufacturers in the world. Many an enthusiast keep a shut center on them whenever a new motherboard technology surfaces. Of class with the release of Kaby Lake and the Z270 chipset, those enthusiasts were scouring the web trying to just sneak peeks of the new Asus motherboards. They weren't disappointed equally the new Prime number line surfaced.

Prime is the new name for Asus' mainstream motherboards. Previously their mainstream motherboards didn't accept a conventional name, but with the release of Z270, that has changed. Prime motherboards have a much more than conventional look compared to their ROG – Republic of Gamers, Tuf, and Pro Gamer lines. That's non to say they don't back a punch though.

Our test subject is the Prime Z270-A, the current flagship of the Prime line. It offers everything you'd expect in an Asus motherboard. In that location is support for both 6^th and 7th Generation Intel Core processors. The four DDR4 memory slots retention that tin can handle up to 64GB and at speed all the way upwardly to 3866Mhz. In that location's dual Turbo Thou.two connectivity with transfer speeds up to 32 Gb/s with support for Intel Optane engineering science. 6 SATA ports offering fifty-fifty more than storage options. There are USB 3.1 front console connectors forth with 2 USB 3.1 rear ports. The Intel i219V bit provides loftier quality network connectivity Yes, all the hardware bases are covered.

Asus didn't terminate in that location with the Prime Z270-A though. 5-Manner Optimization past Dual Intelligent Processors 5 provides whole system optimization with a single click. 5X Protection Iii offers SafeSlot Core fortified PCI-E slots, LANGuard LAN protection, overvoltage, stainless steel I/O, and and DIGI+ VRM: viii Stage digital power pattern.  Asus' also added their ain Aura Sync RGB lighting system with Lighting control, RGB strip header and lighting effects synchronization with uniform Asus ROG products. On tiptop of all that, a full software suite and robust overclocking features are also included. That's quite a bit to go excited about.

ASUS's take on the Prime Z270-A

ASUS Prime number is the next evolution of the ASUS motherboard, born of a pedigree that stretches dorsum to 1989. Our team of world-class engineers are passionate about empowering everyone to savor the benefits of customization and tuning, and the driving force backside the development of Prime is to make avant-garde enthusiast controls easily attainable — maximizing functioning, stability and compatibility for the very best DIY PC experiences. Simply stated: information technology'south fourth dimension for Prime.

Ane-click Overclock and Cooling

One click takes care of all that circuitous tuning. ASUS v-Fashion Optimization makes your PC smart. It dynamically optimizes essential aspects of your system based on real-time usage — so you lot get superb CPU performance, everyday energy savings, ultra-stable digital power, absurd and tranquility fans, and at present networking and sound settings that are tailored to your apps. In brusk, 5-Mode ASUS Optimization ensures that your PC is perfect for gaming, amusement and productivity!

Fan Xpert 4

ASUS Prime number Z270-A features the almost comprehensive fan controls ever, configurable via Fan Xpert 4 and UEFI BIOS.

Multiple temperature sources

Each header monitors and reacts to three thermal sensors that tin at present as well sense temperature on ASUS graphics cards.

All-in-one water-cooling set up

Full control of PWM or DC water pumps, perfect for both custom and self-contained cooling setups.

4-pin PWM/DC fan

Every onboard header supports car-detection of PWM or DC fans.

High-amp fan support

A defended fan header that can supply up to 3 Amps, for loftier-speed high-current fans.

Smart protection

A dedicated integrated circuit protects each fan header from over-temperature and overcurrent.

Automobile-Tuning Mode

Scans all fan parameters with a single click.

Extreme Quiet Fashion

Reduces all fan speeds to below the default minimum, for extra-tranquillity operation and power savings during light loads.

OC Blueprint – ASUS PRO Clock Technology

A defended base of operations-clock generator designed for 7th Generation Intel® processors allows overclocked base of operations clock frequencies up to or beyond 425MHz*. This custom solution works in tandem with the ASUS TurboV processing unit of measurement to enhance voltage and base-clock overclocking control — providing an exciting new way to boost performance to extreme heights.

DDR4 Overclocking Force in Numbers

Third-generation ASUS T-Topology allows retention frequencies that are higher than ever — to 3866MHz and beyond. Refined manufacturing ensures ultra-consequent quality and minimal crosstalk betwixt custom trace paths, so you'll enjoy the thrill of overclocking DDR4 with time-aligned signaling for superior stability and compatibility.

SLI HB bridge (2-WAY-M)

The new ASUS SLI HB bridge doubles the bachelor transfer bandwidth to provide silky-smooth environs gaming. Compatible with NVIDIA® Titan X, GeForce GTX 1080 and GeForce GTX 1070 graphics cards, SLI HB bridge is your fast track to gaming greatness.

Native Thousand.ii/NVMe PCIe RAID Support for Lightning Fast Storage Speed

Non satisfied with single-storage device read/write speeds? So join the fast lane and build a RAID 0 array using ii PCIe storage drives to savor data transfers at lightning speeds!

Intel Optane Memory Fix

Intel® Optane™ Memory* is a revolutionary (non-volatile memory) technology supported past Prime 200-serial motherboards. Intel Optane Memory modules accelerate attached storage to reduce boot and load times, so everything feels faster and more than responsive.

Speed Upwards with Onboard M.2 Up to 32Gb/s

With x4 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 bandwidth, 1000.two supports up to 32Gb/s data-transfer speeds. Information technology is the perfect option for an operating arrangement or application bulldoze, making your whole PC or professional apps work as fast as possible.

10Gb/s USB 3.ane Onboard

With backward-compatible USB 3.ane Blazon-A and reversible USB 3.ane Blazon-C ports, yous'll experience ultimate connection flexibility and blazing data-transfer speeds of upwardly to 10Gb/due south (twice as fast as standard USB 3.0).

ThunderboltEX 3 for Blistering Speeds and USB-C Connectivity

Prime Z270-A supports the ThunderboltEX 3 card for breathtaking bi-directional Thunderbolt™ 3 transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, 4x USB speeds, 2x video bandwidth; and for reversible USB three.1 Blazon-C compatibility equally well every bit high-powered 36W charging!

Media-acclaimed UEFI BIOS

The smoothest, slickest mouse-controlled graphical BIOS has been improved to make it even more appealing. Whether yous're a PC novice or a seasoned overclocker, EZ and Advanced modes help you find your way, chop-chop and hands.

ASUS Aura Sync engineering for distinctive lighting effects

Aura Sync takes RGB lighting beyond the checkbox, combining and controlling the LEDs of your Aureola-enabled products from a single application — then you tin achieve perfect, synchronized lighting harmony. Aura lets you sync light effects across your graphics card, Prime number Z270-A motherboard, and an e'er-growing portfolio of Aura-enabled products.

ASUS Aura lighting control

A well-tuned system deserves a matching aesthetic. ASUS Aura offers total RGB lighting control with a variety of functional presets for built-in RGB LEDs besides as LED strips connected to the onboard 4-pin RGB headers — all of which can be synced with an ever-growing portfolio of Aureola Sync-capable ASUS hardware.

Realtek codec and unique design features for pristine, powerful audio

ASUS Prime number Z270-A utilizes a unique sound codec designed in shut collaboration with Realtek — the Realtek S1220A. Information technology also features an unprecedented 120dB signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo line-out and a 113dB SNR for the line-in, providing pristine audio quality. Additionally, a new impedance-sensing circuit automatically adjusts gain to ensure the optimal volume range for your headphones.

Intel Ethernet

Prime Z270-A features the very latest Intel® Ethernet for faster, smoother gaming. Intel'due south LAN has the serious double advantage of reducing CPU overhead and offer exceptionally high TCP and UDP throughput. This significantly reduces the processor's workload, then there's more power for your game!

Turbo LAN

Turbo LAN with cFosSpeed traffic-shaping technology adds even more than lag-reducing support and an intuitive user interface. It allows yous to lower lag with no practiced noesis — by up to 1.45x! If yous're a tweaker, utilise Avant-garde way for hardcore controls. Existent-fourth dimension speed monitor Grouping your ain favorite list Prepare priority to speed up for your application

SafeSlot

SafeSlot is the PCIe slot reinvented by ASUS and engineered to provide superior retention and shearing resistance. Manufactured in a single footstep using a new insert-molding process to integrate the slot with fortifying metal support for an inherently stronger design, the SafeSlot is then firmly anchored to the PCB through boosted solder points.

Built to Last

ASUS is the world's foremost motherboard manufacturer, renowned for our unique Blueprint Thinking approach. Our exhaustive testing exceeds industry standards, supported past high-quality components for exceptional real-earth protection. Our motherboards are proven to be compatible with more than 1,000 components and devices, and each new model undergoes a minimum of 8,000 hours of strict validation. ASUS gives you the peace of listen of knowing that your motherboard is fit for all environments and applications. By choosing ASUS, you lot also gain the freedom to select outstanding component options, for problem-complimentary DIY experiences.

Make it your own

ASUS is the beginning motherboard manufacturer to support 3D printing, making it piece of cake to customize your motherboard's appearance and improve system performance with a range of printable parts.

Exclusive 3D mount for piece of cake installation

Dedicated 3D mounts on the motherboard makes plumbing fixtures 3D-printed parts piece of cake. Using the same screws as K.2 drives and standard motherboard mounting holes, you can hands add nameplates, cablevision covers, or an M.2 fan holder in a matter of moments.

Intel® Z270 Chipset

The Intel® Z270 is a single-chipset design that supports 7th Generation and sixth Generation Intel LGA1151 Core™ i7/Core i5/Core i3/Pentium®/Celeron® processors. It provides improved operation by utilizing series point-to-indicate links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. Additionally, the Z270 provides a maximum of 10 USB iii.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbps ports, and 32Gb/s Yard.2 and PCIe 3.0 lane speed back up, for faster data retrieval. Intel Z270 besides supports integrated graphics, and then you'll enjoy the very latest in graphics functioning.

Set for 7th Generation and 6th Generation Intel LGA1151 Core i7/Cadre i5/Core i3/Pentium/Celeron processors

The ASUS Prime number Z270-A motherboard supports 7th Generation and 6th Generation Intel Cadre™ i7/Cadre i5/Core i3/Pentium®/Celeron® processors in the LGA1151 parcel. Integrated graphics, retentiveness and PCI Express controllers support onboard graphics output with defended chipsets, two-channel (4-DIMM) DDR4 retention and sixteen PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes for great performance.

That is just a highlight of the Prime Z270-A's many features. Permit us take a look at the product specifications.

Features and Specifications

• CPU

Intel® Socket 1151 for 7^th/half-dozen^th Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Cadre™ i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® fourteen nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Heave Technology ii.0

• Chipset

Intel® Z270

• Retentivity

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3866(O.C.)/3733(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2133 MHz Not-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Aqueduct Retentivity Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Contour (XMP)

• Graphics

Integrated Graphics Processor- Intel® Hard disk drive Graphics back up
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI-D/DisplayPort ports
– Supports HDMI one.4b with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 2560 x 1600 @ sixty Hz
– Supports DVI-D with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
– Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 4096 x 2304 @ 24 Hz
Maximum shared memory of 1024 MB
Supports upward to iii displays simultaneously
DP one.2 Multi-Stream Send compliant, supports DP 1.2 monitor daisy chain upwardly to 3 displays

• Multi-GPU Back up

Supports NVIDIA® 2-Mode SLI™ Engineering
Supports AMD 3-Style CrossFireX™ Technology

• Expansion Slots

2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8)
1 ten PCIe iii.0/ii.0 x16 (max at x4 style)
4 x PCIe 3.0/two.0 x1

• Storage

1 x M.two Socket iii, with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices back up (SATA mode & X4 PCIE way)
1 x M.two Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE mode merely)
six 10 SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Intel® Rapid Storage Engineering 15 back up
Supports Intel® Smart Response Applied science
Intel® Optane™ Retentiveness Ready

• LAN

Intel® I219V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
ASUS Turbo LAN Utility
ASUS LAN Guard

• Sound

Realtek® ALC S1220A viii-Aqueduct High Definition Sound CODEC featuring Crystal Sound iii
– Impedance sense for front end and rear headphone outputs
– Internal sound Amplifier to enhance the highest quality sound for headphone and speakers
– Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel MIC Jack-retasking
– Loftier quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input (Line-in)
– Front panel sound connector (AAFP)
– Supports upwards to 32-Bit/192kHz playback
– DTS Connect
– DTS Headphone:Ten
– Sound Shielding: Ensures precision analog/digital separation and greatly reduced multi-lateral interference
– Dedicated sound PCB layers: Separate layers for left and correct channels to guard the quality of the sensitive audio signals
– Premium Japanese-made audio capacitors: Provide warm, natural and immersive sound with exceptional clarity and fidelity
– Unique de-pop circuit: Reduces starting time-upwardly popping noise to audio outputs
– EMI protection cover to forbid electrical noise to affect the amplifier quality
– Ability pre-regulator: Reduces ability input noise to ensure consistent functioning
Separate layer for left and right track, ensuring both audio deliver equal quality

• USB Ports

ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :
ane x USB three.1 port(s) (1 at back panel, teal bluish, Blazon-A, Support 3A ability output)
ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :
one x USB 3.i port(s) (one at back panel, , Type-C, Support 3A power output)
Intel® Z270 Chipset :
6 x USB 3.0 port(due south) (four at back console, , ii at mid-board)
Intel® Z270 Chipset :
half dozen x USB 2.0 port(s) (half-dozen at mid-board)

Special Features

OC Design – ASUS PRO Clock Engineering
– Full BCLK range for extreme overclocking functioning
5-Way Optimization past Dual Intelligent Processors 5
– Whole system optimization with a unmarried click! 5-Way Optimization tuning cardinal perfectly consolidates TPU, EPU, DIGI+ Power Control, Fan Xpert 4, and Turbo App together, providing meliorate CPU performance, efficient power saving, precise digital ability control, whole system cooling and even tailor your own app usages.
ASUS 5X Protection Iii :
– ASUS SafeSlot Core: Fortified PCIe Slot prevents damage
– ASUS LANGuard: Protects confronting LAN surges, lightning strikes and static-electricity discharges!
– ASUS Overvoltage Protection: Earth-class excursion-protecting power blueprint
– ASUS Stainless-Steel Dorsum I/O: 3X corrosion-resistance for greater durability!
– ASUS DIGI+ VRM: 8 Phase digital power design
ASUS TPU :
– Auto Tuning
– GPU Heave
ASUS EPU :
– EPU
Aureola :
– Aura Lighting Command
– Aura RGB Strip Headers
– Aura Lighting Effects Synchronization with compatible ASUS ROG devices
ASUS Exclusive Features :
– MemOK!
– AI Suite three
– Ai Charger
– Turbo LAN
– Crystal Sound 3
– EZ XMP ASUS Exclusive Features
– PC Cleaner
File Transfer
– Cloud GO!
– File Transfer
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution :
– Stylish Fanless Design Estrus-sink solution
– ASUS Fan Xpert 4
ASUS EZ DIY :
– Precision Tweaker ii
– ASUS O.C. Tuner
– ASUS O.C. Profile
– ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
– ASUS EZ Flash 3
– ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Manner
– Multi-linguistic communication BIOS
CPU Installation Tool
– 3-stride simplicity and condom
ASUS Q-Design :
– ASUS Q-Shield
– ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
– ASUS Q-Slot
– ASUS Q-DIMM
– ASUS Q-Connector
Special Retentiveness O.C. Design
Overclocking Protection :
– ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Turbo APP

• Dorsum I/O Ports

one x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
1 10 DVI-D
1 x DisplayPort
1 10 HDMI
one x LAN (RJ45) port(south)
1 x USB iii.1 Blazon-A
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C
iv x USB 3.0
ane x Optical S/PDIF out
5 x Audio jack(s)

• Internal I/O Ports

1 x USB three.0 connector(southward) back up(south) additional 2 USB iii.0 port(s) (19-pin)
3 x USB two.0 connector(s) support(s) boosted 6 USB 2.0 port(s)
ane x M.2 Socket iii with M Fundamental, blazon 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices back up (SATA mode & X4 PCIE mode)
1 x M.two Socket 3 with Thousand Fundamental, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE way only)
6 ten SATA 6Gb/southward connector(south)
1 x CPU Fan connector(south) (1 x 4 -pin)
1 ten CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (ane x 4 -pin)
2 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (ii 10 4 -pin)
i x Thunderbolt header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(due south)
1 x EZ XMP switch
1 x Front console sound connector(southward) (AAFP)
one x System panel(s) (Q-Connector) (Chassis intrusion header is inbuilt)
1 10 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector
1 x MemOK! button(s)
ane x CPU OV
ane x Power-on push button(s)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
i x fourteen-ane pin TPM connector
1 ten COM port header
i x High AMP Fan header (4-pivot)
1 x T_Sensor Connector
i x AIO PUMP Header
2 10 3D Mount screw port(s)

• Accessories

User'due south transmission
ASUS Q-Shield
iii x SATA 6Gb/southward cable(s)
one x Thousand.2 Screw Package
1 x CPU installation tool
1 ten Supporting DVD
1 x SLI HB Span(2-Way-Thousand)
1 x Q-connector(s) (one in 1)

• BIOS

128 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 3.0, ACPI six.0, Multi-language BIOS,
ASUS EZ Wink iii, CrashFree BIOS 3, F11 EZ Tuning Wizard, F6 Qfan Control, F3 My Favorites, Concluding Modified log,
F12 PrintScreen, and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory data.

• Manageability

WfM 2.0, DMI 3.0, WOL by PME, PXE

• Operating Arrangement

Windows® 10 64-bit
Windows® eight.1 64-bit
Windows® 7 32-bit
Windows® 7 64-bit

• Form Gene

ATX Course Cistron
12.0 inch x ix.vi inch ( 30.5 cm 10 24.4 cm )

Up next a Closer Await

Packaging and Unboxing

The ASUS Prime Z270-A comes in a night greyness, almost black box with blue highlights in the background. The Prime Z270-A is featured predominately. Quite a few of the key features are highlighted as well; most notably Aura Sync, 5-Optimization, and USB 3.1.

The rear of the box carries over the color scheme from the front. Again the Prime Z270-A is shown, this time with specific highlights pointed out. There is likewise the basic specifications listed and an explanation of some its more unique features.

The Prime Z270-A is tucked away in an antistatic bag and framed by a paper-thin tray.

Under the cardboard tray reside all the accessories.

ASUS has included a User Guide, a driver/utility disk, and a coupon for 20% off a set up of Cablemod cables.

There is also a Thousand.ii screw package, a CPU Installation Tool, Asus' own Q-Connector and a 2-way SLI HB bridge.

Three SATA 6.0 Gb/s cables and the rear I/O shield are the final included accessories.

A Closer Look

The Prime Z270-A is part of Asus's Prime line-upwardly of motherboards. Asus has called to requite series names to each of its motherboard lines, with Prime added terminal. Prime number is Asus' mainstream motherboard line.

The white with silver highlight cosmetic blueprint looks clean and easy on the centre. The Prime Z270-A's appearance is very similar to the Z170-A is replaces, but eliminates the blue and has a bit more than sculptured look.

The back console of the Prime Z270-A does seem a bit sparse compared to a few of the high cease offering we've seen afterwards, but there are still plenty of connection options. There are two USB 3.1 ports, consisting of a Type-A  and Type-C designs. HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort provide video connections. A PS/2 keyboard/mouse port allows for legacy input device connectivity. There are 4 USB 3.0 ports. 5 audio jacks and a Optical S/PDIF out port provide options for sound. The single RJ-45 port provides Gigabit LAN and is driven the I219-V Intel chipset.

The lower rear of the motherboard contains few connectors and headers; including analog front panel audio, serial port, 4-pin RGB header, and TPM. The Crystal Sound fleck resides on the lower rear and to the right of it on the other side of the PCI-East 1x slot is a Thunderbolt connector and a thermal sensor connector.

The lower front of the motherboard contains most of the rest of front console connections. Here we find a USB 2.0, a USB 3.0, two more USB 2.0, the 4-pin chassis fan ii, and the front console. To a higher place those are the five-pivot external fan connector, the Clear RTC RAM jumper, and the EZ XMP switch. Besides located hither is the lower M.2 socket. This socket back up 2242/2260/2280 PCI-Due east storage drives and Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

The lower front end of the motherboard contains 6 SATA vi.0 connectors. In that location is no back up for SATA Limited. This isn't surprising though, as retail drives with this applied science never sufaced.

The upper front end of the motherboard has the 24 pin power connector, the diagnostic LED'due south, Retentiveness OK! Button, ability push button, and 4-pin chassis fan 1 connector. The four DDR4 DIMM slots back up dual aqueduct memory at speeds up to 3866 MHz.

Things are a bit snug around the CPU socket, which is not uncommon with mod motherboards. The 4-pin high amp fan and four-pin AIO pump connectors are nigh the lower left of the CPU socket. The 2d Grand.two socket can exist constitute her. This socket support 2242/2260/2280/22110 PCI-E or SATA storage drives and Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

System Configuration, BIOS, and Software are up next.

System Configuration, BIOS, and Software

System Configuration

• ASUS Prime Z270-A
• Intel Core i7 6700K Processor
• Kingston HyperX Fury 2666MHz DRR4 Memory
• PowerColor Radeon R9 285 TurboDuo Graphics Card
• Crucial M550 256GB Solid State Drive
• Spotswood Pocket-size Tech Station
• XFX PRO850W XXX Edition 850w Silver Power Supply

Drivers

• Radeon Crimson sixteen.four.ane

CPU Cooling:

• Swiftech H320 X2 Prestige AIO

Testing Operating System:

• Microsoft Windows 10 Dwelling house

Full general Organisation Benchmarks:

• PCMark 8
• Super Pi

CPU Benchmarks:

• Fritz Chess
• Handbrake
• Cinebench R15
• 7-Zip

Memory Benchmarks:

• AIDA64 Engineer
• Passmark Performance Test 8.0
• SiSoft Sandra

Storage Benchmarks:

• ATTO Deejay Benchmark
• CrystalDiskMark 3.0
• AS SSD
• Passmark Performance Test 8.0

Game Benchmarks:

• 3Dmark
• Bioshock: Infinite
• Metro: Concluding Light
• Thief
• Tomb Raider

BIOS

The Prime Z270-A BIOS has quite a few screens and settings, far also numerous to display all of them hither, so we will just take a wait at the nuts. The screens are fairly self-explanatory.

There'southward a reason Asus has received then many awards for its BIOS design. The Prime Z270-A BIOS is an absolute pleasance to wait at and to work with. Later on a scrap of familiarization, I plant it piece of cake to navigate a very intuitive. I never had a unmarried issue finder a single setting that I was looking for.

Software

ASUS packages the Prime Z270-A with a robust software suite. U.

ASUS Command Center ASUS Command Center. This is utility used for overclocking and tweaking inside the Windows environment.

Asus Aura controls the LED lighting furnishings of the motherboard. Information technology is likewise capable for controlling case lighting via a motherboard mounted RGB LED connector and Asus Aura certified components.

Asus Turbo LAN is used for network adjustments. Various profiles tin be made for prioritizing the user's programs.

EZ Update checks for software and driver updates.

WebStorage does exactly every bit the name implies, information technology allows the user to store files via the Web.

A Asusthemed edition of CPU-Z is as well packaged with the Prime Z270-A.

Now onto Performance Testing.

Functioning Testing

General Functioning Testing

All functioning testing was done with the i7 6700K clocked to 4.0 Ghz. The PowerColor Radeon R9 285 TurboDuo was clocked with +twenty MHz on the core and +25MHz on the memory. This was done to match the clocks of the Sapphire Dual-X R9 285 OC we've previously used for motherboard testing and to ensure consistency in the scoring. The Kingston HyperX Fury retentivity was ready to XMP Profile 1. Games where ran at a resolution of 1920 ten 1080 and higher settings enabled.

PCMark 8

"Use the PCMark eight Storage benchmark to test the functioning of SSDs, HDDs and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office and a selection of popular games. Yous tin can exam the system drive or whatever other recognized storage device, including local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark eight Storage benchmark highlights existent-world operation differences between storage devices."

Right out of the hole we run across the Prime Z270-A pull ahead of the competition. The Prime Z270-A appears to use a chip more than aggressive Turbo setting than the default Intel setting. The upshot is a bit more performance for the user.

Super PI Modded one.5

"In August 1995, the calculation of pi up to 4,294,960,000 decimal digits was succeeded past using a supercomputer at the Academy of Tokyo. The program was written by D.Takahashi in collaboration with Dr.Y.Kanada at the calculator center. This tape should exist the electric current world record. (Details are shown in the windows help.) This record-breaking plan was ported to personal computer environment such as Windows NT and Windows 95. In order to calculate 33.55 one thousand thousand digits, information technology takes inside iii days with a Pentium 90 MHz, 40 MB main memory and 340 MB available storage."

Scores fall towards the middle of the pack for Super Pi. Super Pi uses more than cores than PCMark 8 and the more than aggressive Turbo setting makes little difference here.

CPU Performance Testing

Handbrake

"HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs."

The workload video file is a ~half-dozen.27 GB, 3840 x 1714, 73.4 Mbps, 24fps, H.264, .mov video file that is transcoded to a ~1480 MB, 1920×858, ~17.i Mbps, 24fps, H.264, .mp4 video file. Transcoding is washed using Intel Quick Sync.

Handbrake is basically a repeat of Super Pi. Overall the scores are much tighter, with the Prime Z270-A merely 4 seconds behind the chart leader.

Fritz Chess

Fritz Chess is a criterion in which a fictitious game of chess is played. As each movement has to be calculated by the estimator, it is an excellent test of CPU musculus.

The Prime number Z270-A dominated Fritz Chess.

CINEBENCH R15

"CINEBENCH is a existent-earth cross platform examination suite that evaluates your computer's performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON's honor-winning blitheness software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively past studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content cosmos. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Atomic number 26 Human 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.

CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics operation across various systems and platforms (Windows and Os X). And best of all: Information technology'south completely free."

Some other strong showing.

7-Aught

The benchmark shows a rating in MIPS (million instructions per second). The rating value is calculated from the measured speed, and information technology is normalized with results of Intel Core 2 CPU with multi-threading option switched off. So if y'all have modern CPU from Intel or AMD, rating values in unmarried-thread mode must exist close to real CPU frequency. There are two tests, compression with LZMA method and decompression with LZMA method. In one case the total passes reaches 100, the score is taken.

seven-Zip really allows the CPU to stretch its legs, but simply if the motherboard is willing. The Asus Prime number Z270-A does but that.

Certainly, when it comes to work, the Asus Prime Z270-A is ready and quite capable.

Memory Performance Testing

AIDA64 Engineer Edition

"FinalWire Ltd. today appear the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme Edition one.50 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business Edition 1.l software, an essential network management solution for small and medium calibration enterprises. The new AIDA64 update implements AVX-optimized benchmarks for the upcoming Intel Sandy Bridge processors, adds a brand new video encoding benchmark, and supports the latest AMD and nVIDIA graphics processors."

AIDA 64 is an excellent judge of memory throughput. While the Prime number Z270-A sores eye of the pack in speed, information technology'due south summit the pack in low latency.

Passmark Functioning Test – Retention Mark – Threaded

"Fast, piece of cake to use, PC speed testing and benchmarking. PassMark PerformanceTest ™ allows you lot to considerately benchmark a PC using a diverseness of different speed tests and compare the results to other computers."

Passmark loves low latency retentiveness functioning and the score here bears that out.

SiSoft Sandra

"SiSoftware Sandra provides a robust bundle of diagnostic tools for testing your organization and teasing out its problems–or potential headaches."

SiSoft Sandra prefers absolute throughput performance over latency, then the Prime Z270-A falls towards the lower end of the chart.

Storage Testing

The Prime Z270-A features both standard SATA and Thou.2 storage connections, so both will be included here.

ATTO Disk Criterion

"Equally the manufacture'southward leading provider of high-functioning storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accustomed Disk Benchmark freeware utility to assist measure storage system performance. As i of the height tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies operation in hard drives, solid state drives, RAID arrays as well every bit connections to storage. Peak drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and exam every drive using the ATTO Deejay Benchmark"

SATA

G.ii

The storage bulldoze throughput is exactly what nosotros expected to see. At that place is no hiccups or other issues.

CrystalDiskMark 3.0

"CrystalDiskMark is designed to quickly examination the functioning of your hard drives. Currently, the plan allows to mensurate sequential and random read/write speeds."

SATA

Thou.ii

Over again, there are no surprises here. The Asus Prime Z270-A drive performance towards the top of what we've seen from the Z170 and Z270 chipsets, though the divergence is minor.

AS SSD

"Test the sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache. As SSD Benchmark reads/writes a 1 GByte file as well as randomly chosen 4K blocks. Additionally, information technology performs the tests using i or 64 threads and it determines the SSD'due south admission time.

Two extra criterion tests examine the drive'due south beliefs when (ane) copying a few big files, a lot of small-scale files and a mixture of file sizes past using cached re-create functions of your OS as well as (2) reading/writing data depending on the information's compressibility."

SATA

Thou.2

The Prime Z270-A returns scores in AS SSD that are a touch better than average.

SiSoft Sandra

"SiSoftware Sandra provides a robust package of diagnostic tools for testing your arrangement and teasing out its problems–or potential headaches."

SATA

Thousand.2

The examination results from Sandra were exactly what were expected. Drive speed is consistent across the entire storage media.

More often than not speaking, at that place isn't any real difference in drive operation when it comes to Intel based motherboards, when it comes to tiptop drive throughput. The Asus Prime Z270-A falls right in line with the other motherboards we've tested there, though it is only a flake better than average.

To the next page, gaming performance.

Performance Testing continued

Game Testing

3DMark – Firestrike

"The new 3DMark includes everything you demand to criterion your hardware. With 3 all new tests you lot can bench everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-terminate, multi-GPU gaming desktops. And it'due south not just for Windows. With 3DMark you lot can compare your scores with Android and iOS devices also. It's the nearly powerful and flexible 3DMark we've ever created.

Fire Strike is a showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for today'southward loftier-operation gaming PCs. It is our most aggressive and technical benchmark ever, featuring existent-time graphics rendered with detail and complication far across what is found in other benchmarks and games today"

Much like nosotros saw with the PCMark 8 score, the Asus Prime Z270-A comes out on top.

Bioshock: Infinite

"Indebted to the wrong people, with his life on the line, veteran of the U.South. Cavalry and now hired gun, Booker DeWitt has simply i opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since babyhood and locked upwardly in the flying metropolis of Columbia."

Bioshock: Space, developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games, is the tertiary iteration of the Bioshock franchise. It uses the extremely popular Unreal 3 game engine and is one of the best looking games of 2013.

The Prime Z270-A scores at the peak in Bioshock: Space.

Metro: Terminal Calorie-free

"Information technology Is the Year 2034. Below the ruins of mail-apocalyptic Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro, the remnants of mankind are besieged by deadly threats from exterior – and within. Mutants stalk the catacombs beneath the desolate surface, and hunt a midst the poisoned skies above."

Developed by 4A games and published by Deepsilver, Metro: Terminal Calorie-free uses the 4A game engine. At it'southward  highest settings, the 4A game engine is capable of bringing all but the most extreme gaming systems to  their knees.

The Asus returns a respectable, though average framerate in Metro: Terminal Calorie-free.

Thief

"Garrett, the Master Thief, steps out of the shadows into the Metropolis. In this treacherous identify, where the Businesswoman's Watch spreads a rising tide of fear and oppression, his skills are the only things he can trust. Even the well-nigh cautious citizens and their all-time-guarded possessions are non safe from his accomplish."

Thief was developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Foursquare ENIX, Eidos Interactive. The newest game in our benchmark suite, Thief is also one of the virtually demanding and has the highest recommended system requirements. Those heavy requirements allow it to use the Unreal 3 game engine to great effect. It also features AMD'due south Mantle API, also every bit Microsoft's common DirectX eleven API.

The divergence in framerates for Thief look minimal, with only a 1% spread betwixt the everyman and the highest. The Prime Z270-A lands right in the threescore.7-sixty.8 sweet spot.

Tomb Raider

"Tomb Raider explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a young adult female to a hardened survivor. Armed simply with raw instincts and the ability to push across the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold."

Tomb Raider was adult by Crystal Dynamics and published past Square ENIX, Eidos Interactive. It features a modified version of the Crystal game engine and was the first game to integrate AMD'southward TressFX 2.0, which adds pilus, fur and grass physics.

A framerate of 104 is just .3 frames lower than the leader hither. That'due south very good.

The Asus Prime Z270-A is more than capable when it comes to gaming performance. It consistently scored above average and twice leads the charts.

Overclocking

We've recently inverse how we test overclocking performance. With newer BIOS and software condign increasingly more capable of doing overclocking, it seem pertinent to also include those results.

Overclocking – BIOS

The Prime Z270-A BIOS offers simple CPU overclocking, power consumption tuning, and fan tuning via its EZ Tuning Wizard. Once clicked, EZ Tuning Wizard reboots and does its thing. The merely user input that'southward required is choosing the computer'south usage, choosing the cooling solution, and clicking side by side.

The BIOS automatically overclocked the CPU to 4.635 GHz (45 x 103 MHz). The 103 Mhz BCLK also meant that the memory was also overclocked to 2746 Mhz. CPU voltage is high when under 100% load, but perfectly fine the rest of the time.

Overclocking – Software

Asus' own Ai Suite 3 software took intendance of the overclocking duties here via its v-Manner Optimization program. At that place are a few selections when deciding how ambitious the user wants the overclock to exist. I chose the most aggressive of all the selections. An choice of per core aka Turbo or all core is available. I choose all cadre.

5-Way Optimization automatically overclocked the CPU to 4.7GHz (47 x 100 MHz ). Unlike the EZ Tuning Wizard overclock, information technology didn't change the BCLK, and then the memory clock was unaffected. Non only was the overall clock speed higher with the EZ Tuning Wizard, the CPU voltage was far more reasonable under load every bit well. Similar the EZ Tuning Sorcerer, five-Mode Optimization program also tuned the system power consumption profile and the fans. With the selection of per core versus all core a college single and dual cadre overclock might have been able to be accomplished.

Overclocking – Transmission

I started out configuring the i7 6700K at its default settings with the BIOS. In one case the default settings were in, it was now time to see how high I could push the CPU with our h2o cooling arrangement and have it even so be 100% stable. All cores and hyperthreading were still enabled. The retention was left at XMP default, the Line Load Calibration was changed from setting one to setting 7, EZ Arrangement Tuning (organization ability consumption profile) was set up to Performance, and the fans were ready to maximum.

5 GHz is an excellent clock for a sub $200 motherboard. The voltage is a fleck loftier at 1.5v, simply with some finer tuning, a bit more reasonable voltage should be able to be attained. Interestingly, the settings I used were identical for what Ai Suite 3's 5-Way Optimization used, with the exception of a college voltage to achieve the higher clock.

Out of the 3 solutions, manual overclocking wins, just only if yous're adept at overclocking and you desire to attain the highest results. Ai Suite 3'due south v-Mode Optimization is likely the best solution for nearly people, so to its ease and I was quite happy with the results. The BIOS' EZ Tuning Wizard would be my concluding selection. It did a fine task and even overclocked the memory as well, just the CPU voltage was as well higher for my gustation.

Allow u.s.a. conclude this review on the adjacent folio.

Final Thoughts and Determination

The Asus Prime Z270-A is a slap-up well-rounded motherboard. The Prime number Z270-A showed better than average results throughout our battery of tests. Futuremark'southward PCMark 8 and 3Dmark loved it, giving the best scores we've seen and then far from a Intel Z serial motherboard. Overclocking was spot-on for what we  await in this price range. I was quite impressed by the 5-Way Optimization'due south overclocking ability. Its setting choices were spot on to my own, with the exception of my choice of a college voltage limit and thus a higher multiplier. This is the best automatic overclocking software I've used to date.

The white with silver highlight color scheme has a elegant await and the sculptured I/O comprehend makes it look very polished. The Aureola Sync RGB lighting makes information technology easy to match the default case lighting or you tin can add a RGB strip to for a truly customized whole case lighting effects. In that location are also Aureola compatible Asus ROG products to put your system completely over the top.

Asus seems to accept paid extra attention in making sure that the Prime number Z270-A is a intuitive as possible. Whether information technology was the BIOS, software, or the motherboard itself; nix seemed out of place or hard to notice. The only time II needed to consult the manual was to find out what the CPU-OV jumpers was next to the 8-pin CPU connector.

The same thoughtfulness that appears in those as well extends to the motherboard layout as well. Not a single switch, header, or jack seems to be poorly placed. I am a petty lost every bit to the layout of the SATA ports however. That certainly wouldn't deter me from purchasing it though.

The ASUS Prime number Z270-A is listed for $144.99 (regularly $154.99) on Newegg at the time of this review and Asus backs upwardly the Prime number Z270-A with a 3 year linited warranty. That's a deal I'd be hard pressed to pass upwardly.

Likes

• Understated Color Scheme
• Excellent UEFI BIOS Pattern
• Very Skilful Overclocking Ability for the Price
• Well Idea-out Features and Utilities
• RGB LED Lighting with Case Lighting Control
• Very Reasonable Price

Dislikes

• None

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Source: https://proclockers.com/asus-prime-z270-a-review/

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