EVGA released a new motherboard that will slide in between its Z170 Classified and Z170 FTW boards.
The EVGA Z170 Classified K is similar to its existing motherboards in several ways. Like the Z170 Classified, the Classified K features an improved power design with two International Rectifier IR35201 6+2 digital PWM chips connected to several power phases, which are cooled by large VRM heatsinks and a metal heat pipe.
The Classified K actually improves over the Z170 Classified in terms of storage connections. It gains an additional M.2 Key M relative to the Z170 Classified. Thanks to a Marvell 88SE9235 SATA controller that connects to the PCH via two PCI-E lanes and provides up to four SATA-III (6 Gbps) ports, the Classified K also has an additional two SATA connections.
As the Z170 Classified K is set as a lower-end motherboard and has a few extra connections that the Z170 Classified lacks, EVGA did have to cut back in a few areas. The cooling isn’t quite as well developed as the Z170 Classified, and the Z170 Classified also has a better audio configuration. The Z170 Classified uses higher-end Creative Sound Core3D with a quad-core DSP connected to a pair of specialized capacitors common on high-end audio products, whereas the Classified K relies on a Realtek ALC1150 chipset with lower-end capacitors.
Another area that the Classified K falls behind the Z170 Classified a little is its NICs. The Z170 Classified relied on Intel i219 and i210 Gigabit NICs, whereas the Classified K swaps the i210 for a Killer E2400 NIC.
The USB connections haven’t changed much, and the Classified K contains an ASMedia ASM1142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) controller just like the Z170 Classified, but the Classified K switches the USB 3.1 Gen 2 connections from being internal headers to two Type-A ports on the back I/O panel.
EVGA Z170 Classified K | |
---|---|
Socket | LGA 1151 |
Chipset | Z170 |
Memory Support | 4 x DDR4 DIMMs Up To 3600 MHz 64 GB |
SATA | 6 SATA-III (Intel Z170 Chipset)2 SATA-III (Marvell 88SE9235)2 SATA Express (Intel Z170 Chipset) |
USB | 2 x USB 2.0 (Intel Z170 Chipset)8 x USB 3.0 (Intel Z170 Chipset)2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (ASMedia ASM1142) |
Audio | Realtek ALC1150 |
PCI-E/M.2 | 4 x PCI-E x161 x PCI-E x41 x PCI-E x12 x M.2 Key M1 x M.2 Key E |
NICs | 1 x Intel i219v1 x Killer E2400 |
MSRP | $289.99 |
The EVGA Z170 Classified K is available now for $289.99, more than $100 less than the EVGA Z170 Classified.
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