Z27O Motherboards
GROUP TEST
Not that the result is quite to our liking. It’s smart
and premium-looking but we prefer the darker
shades of the Asus Code. It is packed with features,
though. Two M.2 slots, buttons for power,
overclocking, eco mode, turbo mode and XMP
mode, a POST readout display, excellent hybrid fan
headers, strip lighting headers and much more.
Connectivity is also excellent. There are six USB
Type-A ports of various sorts, USB Type-C, two
gigabit Ethernet ports and quality surround sound.
It’s a different story when it comes to the UEFI. It
was the only board on test that had a problem with
mouse movement. We also struggled with manual
overclocking, instead resorting to the quick
“upgrade” options, which managed to push the
CPU to 4.8GHz but not 5GHz. We’re sure this board
could do better, but it shouldn’t be such a struggle.
Also, it had by far the most aggressive non-
overclocked settings, bumping the CPU
to 1.32V at stock speed, when every
other board hovered around 1.2V.(^12)
GIGABYTE Z270X-GAMING 7
http://www.gigabyte.com £215
Something we’re less keen on is the backplate IO,
which has just four USB 3.0 ports, no USB type-C
and too many legacy video connections – who
needs DVI, HDMI and VGA on a board like this?
Otherwise the Extreme4 has a good all round
selection of features with a layout that’s easy to
work with. The two M.2 slots are easy to reach while
all the fan headers and other connections are
conveniently arranged around the edges. Some of
the on-PCB labelling of those features is a bit hard
to read but you can get by.
What’s more, the UEFI of this motherboard is
great. It’s nothing too fancy but it’s logically laid out
and easy to get overclocking.
Not that we quite reached our target of 5GHz for
overclocking. The CPU wouldn’t go beyond 4.9GHz
through basic multiplier and Vcore adjustment. It
was also quite power-hungry once overclocked.
Overall, though, this board offers
plenty and is well worth considering, if
rear IO isn’t your biggest priority.
ASROCK Z270 EXTREME4
http://www.asrock.com £160
This is a fully featured, powerful motherboard that comes
with a few quirks but largely delivers. There’s certainly little
missing in terms of design. A matt PCB? Check. RGB lighting?
Check. IO shrouding? Check. Full colour coordination? Check.
This is one of the cheaper boards in this test but packs plenty
of features and performance. Styling isn’t its strong suit, but it’s
a step up from the Pro4 thanks to a matt finish to its PCB, more
extensive plastic shrouding and RGB lighting.
83 % 80 %
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