ASRock 100-Series Motherboards Overwhelm Computex 2015 Coverage

Nobody appeared better-prepared for Intel's upcoming 6th-generation CPU launch than ASRock, with a total of six Z170 models on display and a few B's and H's in the mix. The Z-models include advanced features, such as USB 3.1 on all but the low-cost Pro4.

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Header Cell - Column 0	Z170 Extreme7	Z170 Extreme6	Z170 Extreme4	Z170 Pro4
Form Factor	ATX	ATX	ATX	ATX
Expansion Slots	4x x16*, 2x x1, 1x Mini	3x x16*, 3x x1	3x x16*, 3x x1	2x x16*, 3x x1
Memory Slots	4x DDR4	4x DDR4	4x DDR4	2x DDR3
Storage	3x 32 Gb/s 10x 6 Gb/s (6 for SATA-E)	1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)	1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)	1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)
Rear USB	USB 3.1 A+C, 4x 3.0, 2x 2.0	2x USB 3.1, 6x 3.0	2x USB 3.1, 4x 3.0	6x USB 3.0
Video	DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI	DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI	DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI	DVI-D, HDMI
Audio	5 Analog, 1 Optical	5 Analog, 1 Optical	6 Analog	6 Analog
Network	2x Gig-E	1x Gig-E	1x Gig-E	1x Gig-E
*unspecified lane count	Row 8 - Cell 1	Row 8 - Cell 2	Row 8 - Cell 3	Row 8 - Cell 4

Top models including the Z170 Extreme7 provide top features such as triple 32 Gb/s M.2 connectors, which implies that additional parts such as third-party PCIe bridges are in play. Unlike its competitors, ASRock targets gamers with an optimized feature set at reduced cost. The Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6 topped a list that also includes the Wi-Fi-enhanced Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac and lower-model Fatal1ty H170 Performance.

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Header Cell - Column 0	Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6	Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac	Fatal1ty H170 Performance
Form Factor	ATX	Mini ITX	ATX
Expansion Slots	3x x16*, 3x x1	1x x16, 1x Mini PCIe	2x x16*, 3x x1
Memory Slots	4x DDR4	2x DDR4	4x DDR4
Storage	1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)	1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)	1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)
Rear USB	USB 3.1 A+C, 6x USB 3.0	2x USB 3.1, 6x 3.0	USB 3.1 A+C, 4x 3.0, 2x 2.0
Video	DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort	2x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort
Audio	5 Analog, 1 Optical	3 Analog, 1 Optical	5 Analog, 1 Optical
Network	1x Gig-E	1x Gig-E	1x Gig-E
*unspecified lane count	Row 8 - Cell 1	Row 8 - Cell 2	Row 8 - Cell 3

ASRock even had something on the budget menu for LGA 1151 business system builders in the B150M-HDS/D3 and H110M-HDS/D3. Both of these boards are one slot shorter than the Micro ATX standard, but they still bear that name because people have long forgotten Flex-ATX.

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Header Cell - Column 0	B150M-HDS/D3	H110M-HDS/D3
Form Factor	Micro ATX	Mini ITX
Expansion Slots	1x x16, 2x x1	1x x16, 2x x1
Memory Slots	2x DDR3	2x DDR3
Storage	6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E)	4x 6 Gb/s
Rear USB	4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0	2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
Video	DVI-D, HDMI	DVI-D, HDMI
Audio	3 Analog	3 Analog
Network	1x Gig-E	1x Gig-E
*unspecified lane count	Row 8 - Cell 1	Row 8 - Cell 2

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Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.

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25 Comments Comment from the forums

g-unit1111

Interesting, with Z170 using DDR4 does that mean that current DDR4 prices will drop? I can't imagine the average gamer wanting to pay the premiums on DDR4 now.
Reply
Crashman

16015335 said:
Interesting, with Z170 using DDR4 does that mean that current DDR4 prices will drop? I can't imagine the average gamer wanting to pay the premiums on DDR4 now.
You'll notice that some cheaper boards have DDR3 support, and some of Biostar's boards have both. We've been told the memory controller supports both, but if you look at non-overclocking boards you'll see a lot of talk about DDR3L. I'm not sure if the new processor can handle 1.65V as easily as the old ones did and wouldn't be surprised if Intel announces a lower voltage limit (else the warranty is void).

And about the non-server (non-ECC unbuffered) DDR3L thing: Originally specified for SODIMMs, we saw the same specs pop up on long DIMMs THREE YEARS AGO (we even did a roundup two years ago), yet more-recently we've been told this is a new specification for long DIMMs. To make the transition, most manufacturers have discountinued their previous DDR3L long-DIMMs and are just now re-introducing new DDR3L long-DIMMs while pretending that this is a new standard.

You know how I feel about lies. On the other hand, it's possible that prior DDR3L long-DIMMs were using SODIMM SPD values, and that JEDEC updated the standard for long DIMMs more recently. IF these manufacturers aren't lying, they're at least telling half-truths by omitting the "nonstandard" DDR3L long-DIMMs from their product history.

Getting back to DDR4, it's already been dropping in price. It now comes at less than 50% price-premium over DDR3, where once it was 200% more-expensive. I expect it to be somewhat pricier than DDR3 until the volume of DDR3 drops. And volume drops will occur more slowly since the new CPU supports both.

Reply
Ghoul

Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac says 4x DDR4 in the table but only 2 in the pic
Reply
psychic_quark

Specs for "Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac" are listed wrong, You can't just cram 4x DDR4 and 3x PCI-E x16 in a mini-ITX FF :D
Reply
Brian_R170

The specs for the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac are definitely wrong. It clearly does not have 3x x16*, 3x x1 Expansion Slots or 4x DDR4 Memory slots, or 8x 6Gb/s SATA ports for Storage.
Reply
Crashman

16015469 said:
Specs for "Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac" are listed wrong, You can't just cram 4x DDR4 and 3x PCI-E x16 in a mini-ITX FF :D
You know what this means? IT MEANS THERE'S A FULL ATX BOARD IN ONE OF THE CHARTS SOMEWHERE WITH MINI ITX SPECS! Unless I already fixed that one...

Oh, and thanks. If you spot the other one, please tell. It might be in another article :)
Reply
g-unit1111

16015453 said:
Getting back to DDR4, it's already been dropping in price. It now comes at less than 50% price-premium over DDR3, where once it was 200% more-expensive. I expect it to be somewhat pricier than DDR3 until the volume of DDR3 drops. And volume drops will occur more slowly since the new CPU supports both.

When I was upgrading my system I wanted to go X99 and get a 5820K and an Asus X99 Deluxe, but once I saw how expensive DDR4 was at first, I was like "No thanks!". Now that the prices are lower I may reconsider it in the next year or two.

Reply
DarkSable

EDIT: you guys already got it! :)
Reply
Shneiky

Yes I am that shallow as to care how a motherboard looks.

Big kudos to ASrock. They got their design together. After the nicely designed Z77, x79 and Z87, the full 90 chipsets were looking like encased in cheap plastic designed with 1990's cheap China toys as an inspiration Well, Asrock boards are pretteh again.

Though, why does the Extreme6 have Fatal1ty's name on it? Being a fan of E6 as a nice price / performance points, but I do not want that name on any board I have. Guess its E7 or most likely E4 for me.
Reply
Crashman

16015765 said:
Yes I am that shallow as to care how a motherboard looks.

Big kudos to ASrock. They got their design together. After the nicely designed Z77, x79 and Z87, the full 90 chipsets were looking like encased in cheap plastic designed with 1990's cheap China toys as an inspiration Well, Asrock boards are pretteh again.

Though, why does the Extreme6 have Fatal1ty's name on it? Being a fan of E6 as a nice price / performance points, but I do not want that name on any board I have. Guess its E7 or most likely E4 for me.
Remembering that these boards aren't released yet, there are two possibilities: 1: ASRock designed the board as a Fatal1ty model and decided later to change it to an E6 (that just means using a different NIC, right?). 2: ASRock is trying to get more mileage from the brand. If the first is true, you can expect the label to be dropped from production boards. If the second is true, you can expect the label to appear on more production models.

Funny thing, when ASRock announced Fatal1ty marketing on motherboards, I said "I remember what happened to the last brand that did that" :p

Reply

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