Intel Z370 Motherboard Roundup

This roundup of Intel Z370 Coffee Lake motherboards pulls from our in-depth reviews, and includes recommendations for gaming, value & overall performance.

Intel's Z370 was designed to support Coffee Lake processors, which have more cores than their Kaby Lake predecessors. Z370's featureset is essentially identical to Z270, and both chipsets are designed for the LGA1151 socket, but Z370 utilizes an updated power design to ensure stability for the more powerful CPUs. This change in power regulation, however, prevents Skylake and Kaby Lake processors from working on Z370 motherboards, despite sharing the same socket design.

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Intel Z370 Motherboards

11/30/2017 Update: original publication; we'll be updating this article every time we review an Intel Z370 motherboard.

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Because Coffee Lake processors have more cores and require more power, the need for a strong power delivery system has also proportionally increased. Our reviews of some Z370 motherboards have shown temps on voltage regulators are significantly higher than on Z270 motherboards. If a board lacks proper cooling, it could cause thermal throttling on high-end Coffee Lake processors.

Memory support will also be a key spec to watch on Z370 motherboards. Z370's memory support is essentially the same as its predecessor, but with six cores and 12 threads, the amount of bandwidth available to each core has been reduced. The additional cores more than make up for any negative impacts this may have, but selecting a motherboard that supports DDR4 at high frequencies will help to ensure your system works at peak efficiency.

EATX Intel Z370 Motherboards

MSI Z370 Godlike Gaming

Pros

• Triple Gigabit Ethernet Plus Wi-Fi Support Killer xTend Technology
• High-end audio pathway to ¼” I/O-panel headphone jack
• Triple CPU-fed PCIe slots
• Triple M.2, plus U.2
• Includes PCIe to dual M.2 adapter
• Includes Rainbow RGB strip
• Includes internal, and-on USB front-panel hub
• Includes three thermistor leads for temperature monitoring of offboard devices
• Includes both standard and short SATA cables

Cons

• Shared pathways prevent several features from being used simultaneously Very costly

Verdict

Overloaded with features, the Z370 Godlike Gaming could be the ultimate Z370 motherboard, at a price. Whether that price is worthy depends on which features you’re willing to give up, in order to retain the features you need.

Review

$499.99Newegg

MORE: AMD X370 Motherboard Roundup

ATX Intel Z370 Motherboards

Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 7

Pros

• Great overclocking
• Enhanced-quality audio components
• Dual USB 3.1 Gen 2 controllers with front-panel header
• Triple M.2 slots
• Excellent fan header configuration
• Enhanced on-board lighting plus two D-LED and two RGBW headers

Cons

• Moderately expensive for its feature set
• Poor efficiency for non-overclockers

Verdict

The Z370 has the features and overclocking to please most enthusiasts, at a price that will appeal primarily to show-system builders.

Review

$249.99Newegg

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ASRock Z370 Taichi

Pros

• Great feature set for the price
• Good overall performance
• Well-developed software suite
• Great layout with minimum shared resources

Cons

• Power hungry at full load
• Hot at full AVX load
• Mediocre overclocking

Verdict

The Z370 Taichi performs well and has great features for its price. Unfortunately, poor overclocking for this price class paired with poor efficiency and excess heat will make the board unattractive to many enthusiasts.

Review

$229.99Newegg

MORE: Intel Z270 Motherboard Roundup