Upgrade plan dilemma

[AndyDalis]

I'm attempting to figure out a new update plan for my PC, in light of Kaby Lake and Z270 just coming out. What would be the better combination of chipset (Z170 vs Z270) and CPU (Skylake vs Kaby Lake) for a gamer that uses mods like syrup on pancakes (the more the merrier).

 

[BadBoyGreek]

If cost isn't an issue, the most future proofing would obviously come from the combination of Z270 / Kaby Lake. The performance difference between Z170 / 270 and Skylake / Kaby Lake generations are negligible, so the real question comes down to costs and what you need for features.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The performance difference between Z270 / KL and Z170 / SL is ... like every other generation going all the way back to Sandy Bridge ... is minimal ... some would say minuscule. A SB build remains perfectly viable for gaming now 6 years later.

That being said, as there is little savings to be gained getting Z170 / SL Z270 / KL is the better choice.... also KL is much more over clockable than SL and the chipset offers several storage advantages.

 

[captaincharisma]

there is not really any difference in performance between a skylake and kaby lake CPU. the same is for the chipsets but the biggest problem with kaby lake is that it was never originally supported with Z170 chipsets so any Z170 motherboard would need a BIOS update for a kaby lake CPU to work and the odds are not good that it would have the latest BIOS to support kaby lake out of the box so if you're going for a kaby lake CPU its best to get a Z270 motherboard. if your getting skylake then it doesn't matter.

 

[AndyDalis]

If cost isn't an issue, the most future proofing would obviously come from the combination of Z270 / Kaby Lake. The performance difference between Z170 / 270 and Skylake / Kaby Lake generations are negligible, so the real question comes down to costs and what you need for features.

The only feature between Z270 and Z170 is Intel Optane support, correct? If so The question has been anwsered

 

[BadBoyGreek]

If cost isn't an issue, the most future proofing would obviously come from the combination of Z270 / Kaby Lake. The performance difference between Z170 / 270 and Skylake / Kaby Lake generations are negligible, so the real question comes down to costs and what you need for features.

The only feature between Z270 and Z170 is Intel Optane support, correct? If so The question has been anwsered

Possibly just that, and some of the usual refinements that tend to come with newer chipsets like additional new ports. IMO, not enough difference between the two chipsets that would compel me to go with Z270 over 170 if cost was the main factor.

Odds are, whether you go 170 or 270, you should be good for at least a few years.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The only feature between Z270 and Z170 is Intel Optane support, correct? If so The question has been anwsered

No.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z270-vs-Z170-What-is-the-Difference-877/

In addition to Optane support Z270 has an extra 2 PCI lanes allowing a greater variety of storage options

This may not sound like much, but a number of Z170 boards have issues of "if you use X port, it disables Y port". Four more PCI-E lanes should actually go a long way towards curbing this and also opens the door to multiple native M.2 slots. Until recently M.2 has seen relatively light adoption, but the new Samsung 960 EVO and Pro drives are much faster than standard SATA SSDs and are actually fairly cost competitive. We expect to start selling much higher numbers of M.2 drive in the near future so the possibility of multiple M.2 slots on a Z270 motherboard is very attractive.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that the launch of a new chipset also gives motherboard manufacturers like Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA, ASRock, and others the chance to make other improvements to their current product line. So while Z270 by itself isn't terribly exciting, we have already noticed some great improvements on actual Z270 motherboards such as increased adoption of Thunderbolt 3 (which hopefully will help resolve the driver and firmware issues Thunderbolt currently has on PC), reinforced PCI-E slots, and multiple M.2 slots. This still is not anything game changing and unlikely to warrant an upgrade from Z170 to Z270 on its own, but Z270 does still provide some small - but welcome - improvements so there is little reason not to use it if you are in the market for a new system.

As indicated above, and just about every where else .... while there's no reason to upgrade from Z170 to Z270, buying Z170 instead of Z270 is hard to justify given the small increase in price:

a) No Optane
b) Lost storage options
c) Lost chipset unrelated options
d) Less value for completed system (for resale or insurance loss). let's say that you pay $20 more for KL / Z290 over SL / Z170, the value of your "last generation system" w/ Z170 could be cupla hundred dollars less.