3
ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming
ASUS £200
With the price dropping
and the previous
Z370-based model
starting to disappear from
vendors, ASUS’ Strix Z390-I
Gaming moves into the top spot
for the boutique ITX segment.
Despite its diminutive size and
paucity of upgrade options, the
ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming
provides excellent performance
and value. Boasting stable 5GHz
overclocks using several memory
speeds, including 3600MHz with
tweaking, its single PCIe x16 slot
pushed top-shelf graphics cards
to speeds that matched or
exceeded most Z390 ATX boards
during testing.
The smallest Strix has a
lengthy features list, with noshortcomings despite the tiny
form factor, including dual PCIe
Gen3 x4 M.2 slots, Intel v219
Ethernet, upgraded Intel 9560
2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and an
ALC1220A audio codec
supported by isolated circuitry
and headphone amps. Despite
the dense set of features, the
Strix Z390-I’s clean design makes
for quick system assembly and
configuration, although the
previous generation sported a
less bulky design – an important
consideration for ITXrigbuilding.DualM.2slot
OneM.2slotis underthe
motherboard
NewI/Oportshieldis bulkyVERDICTSPECSCHIPSET:Z390/MEMORY:(2)DIMM,32GB,DDR4-4500/PCIESLOTS:(1)X16/VIDEOPORTS:HDMI2.0/USB
PORTS:(7)REARIO,(1)FRONTIO,(4)INTERNAL/STORAGE:(2)M.2,(4)SATA/NETWORK:ETHERNET,866MBPS802.11AC
4
Aorus AX370 Gaming 5
GIGABYTE £114
Gigabyte’s Aorus
AX370 Gaming 5 got
the nod early on for
showing up on time and being
stable from Ryzen’s start, and it
remains an impressive midrange
AM4 effort. While others have
largely caught up now, Gigabyte
sorted out the platform ahead of
the competition, delivering a
motherboard that proves an easy
partner during the build process
and providing a slick experience
comparable to assembling a Z170
or Z270 system.
Overclocking isn’t a top
priority for Aorus gaming
motherboards, or Ryzen in
general. The Ryzen 7 1700X used
in testing could only manage
around 4GHz, but at stock clocksthe 1700X’s higher IPC and eight
cores pull comfortably away from
Intel’s more expensive 6-core
counterparts. If you’re on a
budget and don’t mind using an
older platform, the AX370
Gaming 5 is more than sufficient
for most AM4 gaming builds.
It does lack some of the
features, like WiFi and Bluetooth
compatibility, so you should
decide whether or not the saving
you make on your mobo would be
lost adding in connectivity with
separate components.StableBIOSandmemorysupport
32 Gb/sM.2andU.2connectors
NoWi-FiorBluetooth
SingleM.2slotVERDICTSPECS CHIPSET: X370 / MEMORY: (4) DIMM, 64GB, DDR4-3200 / PCIE SLOTS: X16, X16 (X8), X16 (X4), (2) X1 / VIDEO
PORTS: HDMI / USB PORTS: (10) REAR IO, (9) INTERNAL / STORAGE: (2) M.2, (6) SATA / NETWORK: ETHERNET, 1.73GBPS3