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Software And Firmware
Asus Dual Intelligent Processors 5 software requires users to run its 5-Way Optimization test prior to enabling certain functions. Included power saving defaults override several firmware settings upon installation, so users looking to save energy under low loads will want to do a software walk-through after installation.
An automatic tuning algorithm produces a 5.0 GHz two-core overclock that drops to 4.9 GHz when three or four cores are moderately to heavily loaded. The reported 1.375V setting corresponds to a 1.392V max reading in CPU-Z, followed by a drop to 1.360V and then 1.312V, when our Prime95 stability test starts dropping threads.
Manual overclocking is also possible, including CPU Load-Line Calibration (aka core voltage droop compensation).
Asus TurboApp helps users set application priorities.
Several power management profiles are available, though enabling the “Global Setting” for our CPU’s integrated power-saving features provided the best mix of high performance under high load, and reduced energy consumption at idle.
Fans can be set to both pre-programmed and manually configured thermal response profiles.
Other menus access drive optimization and Asus software updates.
As a member of Asus’s ROG series, the Strix Z270E Gaming includes the firm’s ROG GameFirst IV network prioritization suite.
ROG Sonic Radar III provides an overlay map of the location of noises, which could be useful in locating your gaming opponents.
ROG Sonic Studio III provides several familiar audio tweaks, such as volume leveling and 3D audio synthesis.
Asus Aura LED provides a greater range of settings than those of most competitors, and the eight LEDs of the I/O panel cover can be programmed to strobe as a time-delayed series.
Strix Z270E Gaming firmware opens to its EZ-Mode interface by default, where users can make a few adjustments such as enabling XMP and adjusting fans. Pressing the F6 key brings up the fan menu where operating modes can be switched between PWM and voltage-based control, and users can choose between programed or custom temperature-based slopes.
Selecting F7 from the keyboard brings up the Z270E Gaming’s advanced menu, where Ai Tweaker was able to set our CPU to a stable 4.80 GHz at 1.30V (core) and our DRAM to a stable DDR4-3847 at 1.35V measured. The measured DIMM voltage came at the board’s 1.3398V setting, where the board reported only 1.312V. The difference between set voltage and measured voltage is only around 14 mV, which is slightly less than the offset most of Asus’ competitors use to achieve high memory data rates (via overclocking) and/or enhanced compatibility.
A flurry of memory timing adjustments allow memory fanatics to tweak until their heart’s content, while additional menus such as Digi+ Power Control provide overclockers with the all-important load-line compensation setting needed to keep voltage levels consistent under heavy loads.
Asus provides the Z270E Gaming with enough unused onboard flash to store up to eight custom firmware configurations as overclocking profiles. These can also be exported to a USB flash drive.
While I didn’t find a complete Aura LED configuration menu in firmware, the Z270E Gaming does have a place to turn the lights off within its Advanced menu.
