Asus ROG Strix Z370-G Gaming WI-FI AC Review: Top Micro-ATX Z370 Performance
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How We Test
We stacked the Z370-G Gaming against another Micro-ATX Z370 board, ASRock's Z370M Pro4. Realizing that the difference in features and price would make such a limited comparison pointless, we also included two ATX boards with similar feature sets, the MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming.
Sound | Integrated HD audio |
Network | Integrated gigabit networking |
Graphics Driver | GeForce 382.53 |
During the Intel X299 launch, we upgraded our test bed to handle the tremendous heat the Intel Core i9-7900X produces. The award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid cooler system serves the same purpose for the newer, lower-heat Core i7-8700K. Cooler Master’s HAF-XB provides an optimal layout for blowing the S24’s fans sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator.
Comparison Products
All four competing boards have a broader range of overclocking settings than any production hardware can realistically use, which should lead us into a highly competitive overclocking race!
Benchmark Settings
Synthetic Benchmarks & Settings | |
PCMark 8 | Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft) |
3DMark 13 | Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets |
SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth |
DiskSPD | 4K Random Read, 4K Random Write128K Sequential Read, 128K Sequential Write |
Cinebench R15 | Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark |
CompuBench | Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing |
Application Tests & Settings | |
LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s) |
HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x265 mp4 |
Blender | Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark |
7-Zip | Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9" |
Adobe After Effects CC | Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine |
Adobe Photoshop CC | Release 2015.5.0, 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy) |
Adobe InDesign CC | Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine |
Adobe Illustrator | Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine |
Game Tests & Settings | |
Ashes of the Singularity | Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920 x 1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920 x 1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA |
F1 2015 | 2015 Season, Abu Dhabi track, RainMedium Preset, no AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF |
Metro: Last Light Redux | Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920 x 1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920 x 1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF |
The Talos Principle | Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF |
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Lutfij For the sake of relevance, Asus have two versions of the board:Reply
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-G-GAMING/
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-G-GAMING-WI-FI-AC/
The one you have and ultimately reviewed is the latter version which should be mentioned in the title. -
Crashman 21311202 said:For the sake of relevance, Asus have two versions of the board:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-G-GAMING/
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-G-GAMING-WI-FI-AC/
The one you have and ultimately reviewed is the latter version which should be mentioned in the title.
Thanks! It doesn't help that the Amazon link leaves out the parenthesized portion but sells the Wi-Fi board, or that Asus goes both ways in its description :D -
stuffwhy Aren't these vertical m.2 slots problematic and potentially hazardous? Or is there something I don't know?Reply -
Crashman
Well, if your drive cage overhangs the board it could be a problem. I can't think of any hazards though.21311820 said:Aren't these vertical m.2 slots problematic and potentially hazardous? Or is there something I don't know?
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shinto Water pump header amp rating is upto 2 amps as mentioned in the manual (paper version).Reply -
Crashman
Thanks Shinto. I didn't find anything elsewhere :)21314377 said:Water pump header amp rating is upto 2 amps as mentioned in the manual (paper version). -
stdragon 21312079 said:
Well, if your drive cage overhangs the board it could be a problem. I can't think of any hazards though.21311820 said:Aren't these vertical m.2 slots problematic and potentially hazardous? Or is there something I don't know?
Oh, I can! If not careful, a pulled cable could wrap around and snap it or damage the socket. It's the stupidest and most irresponsible design!
If you must, you can in theory get an M.2 slot extension ribbon cable and relocate the NVMe drive. But they're over $60. No way, that money is better spent on another MB with two M.2 slots that lay flat like normal. -
Crashman
Sometimes a manufacturer has to make space somewhere. When the option is upright or none, upright is "more options".21314612 said:21312079 said:
Well, if your drive cage overhangs the board it could be a problem. I can't think of any hazards though.21311820 said:Aren't these vertical m.2 slots problematic and potentially hazardous? Or is there something I don't know?
Oh, I can! If not careful, a pulled cable could wrap around and snap it or damage the socket. It's the stupidest and most irresponsible design!
If you must, you can in theory get an M.2 slot extension ribbon cable and relocate the NVMe drive. But they're over $60. No way, that money is better spent on another MB with two M.2 slots that lay flat like normal.