z170: Pro Gaming vs A-series

TehPenguin

Honorable
May 12, 2016
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Sooooooooo, this has been a frequent question and I've read quite a few forum threads about it and even visited some comparison tables, like this one, but I cannot make much sense out of it.

As far as I understand the Pro Gaming has a better on board sound card and dedicated software and the z170-A has a PCI slot.

Is this really all? I plan on building a gaming rig that will double as a render machine.
I'll be overclocking the i7-6700k and ram in a gtx1080 together with 32gb RAM.

Is there really a difference apart from aesthetics? (red Pro Gaming/white z170-A).
 
Solution
The Z170 PRO Gaming definitely has better audio and usb 3.1 performance, but the Z170-A shows better CPU/RAM/iGPU performance..

very cool comparison table by the way, I was astonished to see that they are actual test-results, not some static spec-comparison..

If I were in your place, I would choose the ASUS MAXIMUS RANGER -- better than both the Pro Gaming and the Z170-A..

http://us.hardware.info/comparisontable/products/316435-316437-316948

US.HARDWARE.INFO has included the MAXIMUS RANGER in almost all their Recommended PC builds..

http://us.hardware.info/pcbuyersguide/1034/4k-gaming-pc---april-2016

Anurag20

Reputable
May 10, 2016
262
0
4,960
The Z170 PRO Gaming definitely has better audio and usb 3.1 performance, but the Z170-A shows better CPU/RAM/iGPU performance..

very cool comparison table by the way, I was astonished to see that they are actual test-results, not some static spec-comparison..

If I were in your place, I would choose the ASUS MAXIMUS RANGER -- better than both the Pro Gaming and the Z170-A..

http://us.hardware.info/comparisontable/products/316435-316437-316948

US.HARDWARE.INFO has included the MAXIMUS RANGER in almost all their Recommended PC builds..

http://us.hardware.info/pcbuyersguide/1034/4k-gaming-pc---april-2016

 
Solution