Z270 ITX. ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 GAMING vs Asus ROG Strix

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
Hello All,
New to this forum but not to PC's (not an expert but not a total noob). Been out of the loop for a couple years, majority was notebooks on a different forum, but looking to build a portable ITX machine with Kaby Lake and my Z270 options.

Mostly narrowed it down to the 2 listed above. (not against MSI, Gigabyte, or EVGA, but they just didn't seem to offer any "wow" factor. And there is no ITX Maximus this time).

Asus offers 2 - m.2 which is nice, usb3.1a/c and front header(which I won't use) 2 usb 3.0, and 4 usb 2.0

Asrock offers thunderbolt/3.1c in the same slot (probably won't use thunderbolt so its a wash)
6 usb3.0 ports

Both are 8 phase I believe, both have good reputation for overclocking (probably going to delid an i7 7700k)
Assuming I can get both for the same price, any other more technical reasons to choose one over the other?

Aside from specs, I have never really seen a direct comparison between the two from reviewers.
 
Solution
n0ns3ns3
I had no problems with MX-4 whatsoever. the longest run was about 3-4 years and i've seen no issues.
A single 1g syringe of conductonaut was enough for 2 CPU applications and a power mod on GTX 1070. ooh, and I wasted a bit until i learned how to use it properly :) still have something left in it.

regarding prime95, i use blend to stress the memory controller and ram. and custom with min/max = 1344 + in place + 20 mins for each run to test temperatures. it does excellent job at stressing the VRM for CPU.
Sort by date Sort by votes
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
I'd go with Asus as it really using top notch components. especially on the power delivery (VRM) side. not to mention better cooling on the Asus VRM.
there are many other little things like the automatic detection of the fan type (PWM or DC) on all headers, strong power delivery to those headers, FanXpert 4 that allows to control the fan speed based not only on CPU temperature. And for mini ITX, 2 M.2 slots are really good idea.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
Yeah, I am leaning toward Asus too the more I think about it.
It would be nice to have more USB 3.0 ports though.

I didn't know that Asus had better power delivery modules for the CPU than Asrock.

Is the Wifi card upgradeable on both of them?

I have heard m.2's get hot (shows how long I have been out of the loop since I haven't used them yet) If I put a storage/game drive and OS drive in the Asus board which would you put front and back? The front has a heatsink, but I don't know how much it is actually supposed to do.

Also not exactly motherbaord related but rather than create another thread;
the H75 AIO (given the size constraints of the SUGO SG13) was what I used on the last build. Is there anything notably superior?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
You have header to connect USB 3 ports on the front panel of the case.

The Wi-Fi card is kinda upgradeable on asus. not that you are supposed to do that, but you can if you really want to.

The SSD can get hot like any other electronic component under high continuous load. That especially true about high end NVMe drives like Samsung 960 since they reach incredible speeds. in order to keep them cool, you can have a good airflow in the case and/or something like this : https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=3660&XTCsid=jeo2tjm0jba5fve9ukjk2per0bnlfmvj

almost anything decent is superior to coolit/asetek crap sold/branded by corsair, nzxt, tt, arctic and others.
Examples would be Swiftech H140 X2, EK Predator 140 etc. The ultimate ITX thing that is taken to the limits would be clicking on the link in my signature. Despite overclocking it remains cool and quite even at 40C room temperature (shit happens were I live). Few days ago there was such a day, first this year, and I jumped on the opportunity to see what will happen if I run both prime95 and Unigine Heaven. While CPU reached over 80C, the GPU remained under 50C. Gaming produced much lower temperatures (CPU ~55C and 42-45C for GPU depending on the game). And all that with fans at ~1600-1700RPM for extreme load and ~1300-1400RPM for gaming. not dead silent, but very far from jet engine.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
Well, the Sugo SG13 doesn't have enough space for a full custom loop and reservoir and is limited to 120mm when using full sized GPU. Also with that case, the AIO becomes the primary exhaust for the system (the PSU can be mounted to pull air from inside the case as well, so pure negative air pressure system).

That is one of the reasons I am thinking of delidding to increase the heat extraction efficiency.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
According to description, it is compatible with 140mm front mounted rad. There are GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 mini cards. So you can use one of those two AiOs. moreover, both of them are expandable/customizeable. so in theory, you can add another 120 rad at the back. with 2 rads (140 + 120) you can add a GPU block and have a "custom loop". those AiOs are basically pre-assembled loops made from enthusiast grade components - no aluminum, no anemic pumps, decent fans, great blocks.
EK is preparing to release MLC which is supposed to be modular system that you can order different pre-filled with liquid components and connect them using QDC. that might give you an "expensive", but quick and easy to use solution. the results would be similar to what I described above.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
No room for a radiator at the back, and since I already have a GTX 1080 on hand, probably won't buy another one.
Hopefully with the delidding I won't have to worry too much about the temperatures. The current i7 I have only hits about 70c and the 1080 around 74c at stock settings under max load which are also in a Sugo SG13. So if I delid and get 4.8-5.0 on the skylake, I think a cheaper AIO should work as long as it moves enough air even with the inherent limitations.

Now I just need to find the Motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
not exactly how it works.
the rad is small and is aluminum. it needs huge delta (between coolant and air going through) to dissipate a lot of heat. guess it will need something like 10C delta to move ~100watts at high RPM (close to 2000). So let's say you have case temperature around 35C, +10C for the delta means coolant gets into ~50C, that means overclocked CPU can go into over 80C under full load and higher under stress.

BTW, you can mount the rad on the outside of the case.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
Well sure, but I suspect that the TIM is the greater bottle neck of heat transfer over the radiator, that will be exacerbated with overclocking as heat builds up between the CPU and the pump. With a Delid I am shifting the limitation back over to the radiator.

If I can pull off 75c at full load while overclocked to 4.8 or higher I will be satisfied (basically, the normal 7700k temp at stock), but time will tell.

If not the $45 I spent on the Kraken X31 isn't much. I can sell it for more than that.

If I was shooting to run 5+ Ghz all the time under creative loads then I would max out the radiator rather quickly even after a Delid

But if that were the case, I would not be building in one of the smallest ITX cases :)






 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
Time will tell indeed. And don't forget to share your results/progress :) I seriously doubt it will be below 80C, but who knows, may be I'm wrong. Don't forget to let the load run at least 15-20 min before you can write down max temp.
what are you going to use instead of original TIM after deliding ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
From the limited research I have done into the subject, the grizzly conductonaut (if I spelled it correctly) shows slight superiority to the Liquid ultra stuff, if only in application and longevity. So I will probably go with that.

Not sure what I will use between the IHS and the Pump though, anything non-liquid metal performs mostly the same. I may experiment a little, but probably Arctic Silver 5

Results will be a while in coming due to the piece at a time approach as I pull them off ebay etc when I find one in the price range.

That is how I afford to build systems.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
Good choice :)
at least we agree on something. I also use the conductonaut after delid. though went a bit further - i didn't put the IHS back at all. But it gave only couple degree difference. At the cost of going through hell to mount the cooler. I had times with 20-25C between coldest and hottest cores :(
Next time a disassemble the system, IHS goes back. most probably with liquid metal on both sides though MX-4 is doing excellent job.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

Spring1898

Prominent
Apr 24, 2017
61
0
660
I suspected there wouldn't be much difference with a straight delid. I am used to working with powerful business notebooks so no IHS's to worry about, but there is limited surface area contact with the heatsink. There are some people who tested liquid metals on notebook CPU's and GPU's, with decrease in temps less than 10c change under normal loads vs standard performance thermal pastes. Under Prime95 it was up to around 20c difference, but I always thought Prime to be unrealistic for everyday real world application.

It will be interesting to see how much of a difference using a liquid metal between the IHS and the cooler makes though. More expensive, but perhaps it is worth trying

I debated for a while over MX-4 vs AS-5. In most examples I saw MX-4 performed slightly better than AS-5 but only around 0.5c. And no test let AS-5 cure because it takes too long.
Not sure what your experience has been but I heard that MX-4 doesn't last as long as AS-5 which was another reason I didn't make the switch. I have left it on for years at a time without a noticeable change in temperatures.
I just hope the thermal grizzly lasts a long time so I can set it and leave it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

Illustrious
May 25, 2016
8,065
4
42,715
I had no problems with MX-4 whatsoever. the longest run was about 3-4 years and i've seen no issues.
A single 1g syringe of conductonaut was enough for 2 CPU applications and a power mod on GTX 1070. ooh, and I wasted a bit until i learned how to use it properly :) still have something left in it.

regarding prime95, i use blend to stress the memory controller and ram. and custom with min/max = 1344 + in place + 20 mins for each run to test temperatures. it does excellent job at stressing the VRM for CPU.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom