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Whats the best motherboard choice in the Asus Z370 range for just gaming?
Asus Z370 range
- Thread starter springy1989
- Start date
Depends on the overclocking you intend on doing. If you're running stock, I think all of the boards will give you a good experience. If you're looking at overclocking, you start to worry about the quality of the VRM, the heatsinks, the capabilities of the IMT, etc.
The Apex isn't available yet, but it always seems to be the board of choice for the best overclocks, both with ambient cooling or LN2. I think 8Pack was saying he reckoned the Apex IMT would handle XMP at 4000Mhz+ no problem with good timings, and that's not always the case on most other boards. The VRM heatsink on the Skylake-X Apex board was practically the only one that was of any use whatsoever for the platform, so I like the board a lot. It seems like its best in class, and engineered specifically for OC performance, without just being a case of bloating the board with whatever, like some more expensive offerings can be.
Right now the QVLs for most places suggest the Maximus Hero, which also happens to be the most expensive available at this early stage - whilst that's the best you'll get right now, its a good board but not the best possible you could get if you waited for the full release and were looking at OCing, and similarly, if you weren't OCing, there's cheaper options that would suit you fine. I always feel like the Hero is a middle of the line that doesn't really fill the needs of anyone in particular.
So if you're not too concerned about getting the best clocks, any of the boards available now will suit you fine, just play by your budget. If you are, then either get the Hero if you can't wait, or wait for the Apex if you can.
The Apex isn't available yet, but it always seems to be the board of choice for the best overclocks, both with ambient cooling or LN2. I think 8Pack was saying he reckoned the Apex IMT would handle XMP at 4000Mhz+ no problem with good timings, and that's not always the case on most other boards. The VRM heatsink on the Skylake-X Apex board was practically the only one that was of any use whatsoever for the platform, so I like the board a lot. It seems like its best in class, and engineered specifically for OC performance, without just being a case of bloating the board with whatever, like some more expensive offerings can be.
Right now the QVLs for most places suggest the Maximus Hero, which also happens to be the most expensive available at this early stage - whilst that's the best you'll get right now, its a good board but not the best possible you could get if you waited for the full release and were looking at OCing, and similarly, if you weren't OCing, there's cheaper options that would suit you fine. I always feel like the Hero is a middle of the line that doesn't really fill the needs of anyone in particular.
So if you're not too concerned about getting the best clocks, any of the boards available now will suit you fine, just play by your budget. If you are, then either get the Hero if you can't wait, or wait for the Apex if you can.
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Hi Springy, we have a handy guide here: http://edgeup.asus.com/2017/z370-motherboard-guide-coffee-lake/
It depends what you want from your motherboard in regards to overclocking, size, memory performance etc... A safe bet is the ROG Strix range but if you want more potential for overclocking and all round usage, the Maximus X Hero is always a popular choice.
Good luck with the build
Bill @ ROG UK
It depends what you want from your motherboard in regards to overclocking, size, memory performance etc... A safe bet is the ROG Strix range but if you want more potential for overclocking and all round usage, the Maximus X Hero is always a popular choice.
Good luck with the build
Bill @ ROG UK
Hi Springy, we have a handy guide here: http://edgeup.asus.com/2017/z370-motherboard-guide-coffee-lake/
It depends what you want from your motherboard in regards to overclocking, size, memory performance etc... A safe bet is the ROG Strix range but if you want more potential for overclocking and all round usage, the Maximus X Hero is always a popular choice.
Good luck with the build
Bill @ ROG UK
Hi Bill,
Lots of us chasing dates on the Apex and Formula - any ideas? Also interested in knowing if the VRM and mounting is identical to the Z270 equivalent Apex so existing EK Monoblocks would also be compatible...
Cheers
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Hey folks, sorry for the late response. The Z370 Apex should be available now and the Z370-G is incoming as well as the formula, these are all on our second wave of board launches and will be available before the end of the year. The Z370-G and Apex should arrive in stock before the end of November at the latest.
Whats up Will, I've already got an Apex but cannot for the life of me figure out how you get the OS to recognise two M.2 drives in the ROG DIMM.2 card. Any pointers at all? Recognises one fine but not the second if I add it, is there some magic software?
Hi Will,
Apologies to high jack this thread, I'm in the market to buy a Z370G and stick into Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mATX. I've got the case LED Strips but have since found out the header to plug in these strips isn't on the mobo.
Perhaps a stupid question but how would these connect.
Apologies to high jack this thread, I'm in the market to buy a Z370G and stick into Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mATX. I've got the case LED Strips but have since found out the header to plug in these strips isn't on the mobo.
Perhaps a stupid question but how would these connect.
They don't unfortunately, you'll have to control them via the the button on the case or find some other kind of compatible controller if one exists.
No idea why Asus decided to omit the RGB header on this specific board and none of the others in the range, it's baffling especially for a fairly high-end mATX product. I've got the WiFi AC version and was similarly disappointed; I did find out about the lack of RGB support prior to purchasing it, but I'd pretty-much already made my mind up by that point anyway. It was tempting to go with the MSI equivalent just to make a point but with the cashback offer Asus were running, it made no sense to cut my nose off to spite my face.