Z170 motherboard quality

[captain_adf 16]

Friends,

 

If all goes well over the next 2 months, I will have sufficient budget for a new build for P3D and FSX.  I'm fairly well convinced to get an i7-6700k and either a 970 or 980.  But I'd like to save the video card debate for a different discussion.  My main struggle lately is deciding on a motherboard.  I've used many ASUS boards in the past and my current FS build features a ROG Maximus VI Impact, a nice mini-itx MB that has performed rather well.

 

For the new build, I'm not limiting myself to any form factor:  so full ATX or micro-ATX would be fine as I will choose a case after makig a decision about the motherboard.  The problem is I see an alarming amount of negative feedback for all Z170 motherboards, even the top of the line ASUS Hero, Formula, and Deluxe.  I don't know if this is merely a consequence of their popularity, or if it is a signal that their quality is slipping.  My requirements:  I just want a rock solid, stable, reliable board that is well suited for P3D/FSX.  No SLI, and just a moderate overclock (if that).

 

How worried should I be about these bad reviews?  Is anything basically a lottery and just have to chance it and hope I get a good board?

 

[fakeflyer737 992]

My setup is ASUS z170 Pro Gaming 6700K 4.7ghz ASUS 980TI STRIX and GSkill 3200mhz DDR4 CL15 and I couldnt be happier, no problems with anything at all. 

[skully 1,045]

Same here Andrew, looks like a lot of Z170 boards of all brands are reported DOA. 

Hopefully the one you order will be in good shape, if not then they'll have to keep sending you one until you get a good one.

Reading these tails of woe from customers can be stressful..

 

I'm specing out a build also that's real close to what you have Ron. 

Have you posted any FS performance feedback with that rig?

 

 

I'm going with:

i6700k 4 gig Skylake Unlocked

Asus Z170 Maximus Hero VIII Hero Alpha

Asus Strix 980 GTX Ti

16gb Ripjaw 3200 DDR4 ram

Crucial MX200 500gb SSD

Power supply- undetermined

 

Pulling my hair out over a cooling solution which will determine what case I use.

[westman 257]

The fastest Asus MoBo for flightsimming with single gpu is without any doubts the Impact VIII.

The main reason it's the memory magnment , only 2 slots very close to the cpu.

The quality is great , I swap the Hero VIII for a Impact with sucsess.

Gone be a very nice system with moderate OC on the cpu and you can run the fastest mems out there with XMP settings up to +4000mhz about 200-300mhz higher than 4slots mobos.

 

Have 2 flight sim PC.s for P3D V3.2 with single Gpu , one 5960X @4.7ghz with extreme V Mobo and the second 6700K @5.0ghz 4000mhz cl16 men's on a Impact VIII, that's my fastest sim PC.

My personal opinion is that you get more out for less money if you go for a Skylake based system,

It can turnaround with the upcoming Broadwell-E after computex we now.

[martin-w 3,235]

Friends,

 

If all goes well over the next 2 months, I will have sufficient budget for a new build for P3D and FSX.  I'm fairly well convinced to get an i7-6700k and either a 970 or 980.  But I'd like to save the video card debate for a different discussion.  My main struggle lately is deciding on a motherboard.  I've used many ASUS boards in the past and my current FS build features a ROG Maximus VI Impact, a nice mini-itx MB that has performed rather well.

 

For the new build, I'm not limiting myself to any form factor:  so full ATX or micro-ATX would be fine as I will choose a case after makig a decision about the motherboard.  The problem is I see an alarming amount of negative feedback for all Z170 motherboards, even the top of the line ASUS Hero, Formula, and Deluxe.  I don't know if this is merely a consequence of their popularity, or if it is a signal that their quality is slipping.  My requirements:  I just want a rock solid, stable, reliable board that is well suited for P3D/FSX.  No SLI, and just a moderate overclock (if that).

 

How worried should I be about these bad reviews?  Is anything basically a lottery and just have to chance it and hope I get a good board?

 

 

 

Hi,

 

I was originally going for the Asus Z170 Deleuxe but at the last minute used my common sense, realised I didn't need the majority of the features and opted for the Z170-A. I'm kind of glad I did, as it seems some Deluxe owners have had issues.

 

To be honest, I don't believe the quality of Asus products is slipping at all. I would say what you have witnessed on the internet is pretty typical when a new CPU architecture is released. Namely, as it's a new architecture, there are the usual BIOS bugs to contend with.

 

Not unusual at all for this to occur, it's very common for a multitude of bugs to be present that need fixing and overclocking performance tweaking to be required.

 

The good news is that the Z170-A seems to be less affected by this phenomenon than the other motherboard variants from Asus. I would hypothesise that it may be down to the complexity of the board. I would guess that the more complex that boards are the more likely they are to require BIOS tweaking, and the less complex boards not so much. Same with any technology I would say.

 

The other point of course is that Skylake has been out for a while now, so I suspect that most of these BIOS issues have been resolved. So my advice is to pay attention to the date that these motherboard complaints were posted. Then in regard to the motherboard you opt for, check to see if the specific issues have now been resolved.

 

 

 

Pulling my hair out over a cooling solution which will determine what case I use.

 

 

Briefly, so as not to side track the OP's topic...

 

It would depend if you are a fan of closed loop AIO water coolers, or prefer big tower coolers. Once that decision is made the rest should be easy.

 

For big tower coolers, the Noctua NH-D15S is the way to go... No pump to fail, zero chance of leaks, awesome cooling and quiet. Very good RAM compatibility now too. Pretty much the D15 now perfected.

 

 

For closed loop coolers, my choice would be Corsair H110i... Nice big radiator, so lots of surface area. Big fans so should be reasonably quiet for an AIO.

[fakeflyer737 992]

Same here Andrew, looks like a lot of Z170 boards of all brands are reported DOA. 

Hopefully the one you order will be in good shape, if not then they'll have to keep sending you one until you get a good one.

Reading these tails of woe from customers can be stressful..

 

I'm specing out a build also that's real close to what you have Ron. 

Have you posted any FS performance feedback with that rig?

 

 

I'm going with:

i6700k 4 gig Skylake Unlocked

Asus Z170 Maximus Hero VIII Hero Alpha

Asus Strix 980 GTX Ti

16gb Ripjaw 3200 DDR4 ram

Crucial MX200 500gb SSD

Power supply- undetermined

 

Pulling my hair out over a cooling solution which will determine what case I use.

 

 

Looks at the Corsair H110i...it keeps the 6700k temps belows 65C all the time and it looks cool too. I purchased a CorsAir case to go with it. 

[jbcallender 53]

I recently bought a Asrock Z170 Gaming 7+ an di ma very satsfied.  Price point was somewhat less than a comparable Gigabyte or Asus board.  It has oodles of SATA ports, three - count em - three m.2 ports.  Four full PCIE slots.  I put an I7-6700K in it and I am completely satisfies.

 

Jeff

[captain_adf 16]

The fastest Asus MoBo for flightsimming with single gpu is without any doubts the Impact VIII.

 

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that before. I'd expected the mini-itx to be a compromise. I have an older gen Impact and it is a solid board, but very cramped. I could barely manage to get a low profile noctua cooler on top of it.

 

What would be a good case and cooler for the Impact VIII? I have my eye on the new Noctua D15S, but I fear that would crush this small board, no? Especially with the daughter cards required to hang on top of it.

 

Is there a mini itx case that will fit a 970 or 980?

[fakeflyer737 992]

Well be careful if you go MiniATX because then you'll probably buy a smaller case and then try and stick GPU like 980TI and no have enough room....I made this exact mistake. I now have a huge case and my GPU just about fits

[fppilot 4,371]

When I built my new system last fall I at first got caught up on ratings on various web sites. Then when I got more focused I noticed a significant difference in rear panel outputs. Since the reviews were all over the place I made my decision from among the major brands and chose the one that provided the best match for convenient I/O for me.  Just saying.....

 

Has worked out to exceed my expectations.

[westman 257]

Hi

The Fractal Design Core 500 fit the D15s and a 980 Ti Matrix Platinum, then they have i slightly bigger Nano S.

 

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX is a bigger one but very nice

 

Hardware canucks have reviews on the tube.

[skully 1,045]

Thank you for the suggestions Ron and Martin!

I went with the Fractal Design Define S with Window case (plenty of room for the big cooler radiator) and Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT.

Andrew, I will let you know how the mobo checks out.

[captain_adf 16]

 

 

The Fractal Design Core 500 fit the D15s and a 980 Ti Matrix Platinum, then they have i slightly bigger Nano S.

 

If I go with a mini-itx, the Design Core 500 will definitely be my top choice for case... amazing to be able to fit all that into just 19 liters!!

 

Frank, your Gigabyte motherboard is reviewed very highly as well and I will check it out. ASRock too is a worthy contender.  Thanks everyone for the input!

[martin-w 3,235]

Not so keen on mini-itx. Yes you can build quite a powerful system these days, but cooling will always be compromised in such a confined space. We serious enthusiasts should go big in my opinion. 

 

I went for the stunning [but expensive] Lian Li X510.

[skully 1,045]

Friends,

 

If all goes well over the next 2 months, I will have sufficient budget for a new build for P3D and FSX.  I'm fairly well convinced to get an i7-6700k and either a 970 or 980.  But I'd like to save the video card debate for a different discussion.  My main struggle lately is deciding on a motherboard.  I've used many ASUS boards in the past and my current FS build features a ROG Maximus VI Impact, a nice mini-itx MB that has performed rather well.

 

For the new build, I'm not limiting myself to any form factor:  so full ATX or micro-ATX would be fine as I will choose a case after makig a decision about the motherboard.  The problem is I see an alarming amount of negative feedback for all Z170 motherboards, even the top of the line ASUS Hero, Formula, and Deluxe.  I don't know if this is merely a consequence of their popularity, or if it is a signal that their quality is slipping.  My requirements:  I just want a rock solid, stable, reliable board that is well suited for P3D/FSX.  No SLI, and just a moderate overclock (if that).

 

How worried should I be about these bad reviews?  Is anything basically a lottery and just have to chance it and hope I get a good board?

 

Andrew, I'm happy to report that my Asus Z170 Maximus Hero VIII Hero Alpha booted with no issues and is purring like a kitten.

The bios screens are amazing in their functionality and must be seen to be believed.

I competed the build yesterday and everything went smoothly.

 

Here are the components I settled on:

 

Windows 10

Fractal Design Define S w/Window case

i6700k 4 gb Skylake Unlocked

Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT CPU Cooler

Asus Z170 Maximus Hero VIII Hero Alpha

Zotac Amp! Extreme 980 GTX Ti

16gb Ripjaw 3200 DDR4 RAM

Crucial MX200 500gb SSD

Cooler Master Gold 750W PS

 

P3D default flight w/ default sim settings and stock system settings- 240 FPS   

​When I get everything installed into P3D it will probably be 22FPS..