Worrying about what Z170 board to buy

[usairways56 42]

Hey everyone, I could use some recommendations and/or testimonies about Z170 motherboards.

 

I've been planning on ordering an ASUS Z170-A soon (school ends in 2 weeks). I keep track of price changes pretty often and I read quite a few reviews just to make sure I don't miss out on any information. I get a bit uncomfortable with the reviews on Amazon and Newegg, because it seems to me that there are a noticeable amount of DOA boards and BIOS problems not just from last year, but even in very recent reviews. Are there still issues with these boards that aren't getting corrected, or am I getting a false perception and there really aren't many problems?

 

I will be overclocking a 6600k with 16gb G.Skill Ripjaws (undecided what speed to buy yet). All I really need feature-wise is 5 fan headers, would like 3x SATA 6.0gbps, and 5 back-panel usb ports. Is the ASUS Z170-A a good choice still, and anyone with a similar setup? I'm also open to any other input, thanks!

[Biggles2010 343]

I was just reading earlier today a very favourable report on the Asus Z170-A on the Anandtech website. It's worth having a look at their motherboard reviews if you haven't already done so.

 

With customer reviews, bear in mind that people are much more likely to go into print if they find a problem with a board than if they don't have any issues. I also notice that negative reviews are often non specific, or just ignorant, like blaming the board because the user chose the wrong memory or needed to update the BIOS.

 

If any particular board, or any other major component, has recurring problems, it soon gets highlighted in the specialist media and technical websites. Genuine problems are quite rare. 

 

Motherboards sell in large numbers and most are fault free. Just make sure you buy from a reputable source, and If it proves faulty, it will be exchanged immediately under warranty. I have found Amazon to be pretty good, but be careful if you use their marketplace suppliers. Some of them seem to come and go. 

[martin-w 3,234]

I have the Z170-A ready for my Skylake build. Your post encouraged me to look at the reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Mostly 4 stars out of 5.

 

We have to remember though, that it's not unusual for a new platform to require plenty of BIOS updates. Quite a common occurrence. Looking at the Asus website, there have been several updates labelled as "improved system stability".

 

John has made some good points. Often people blame the board when it's their own fault for not researching sufficiently. 

 

When I finally get around to nailing my rig together, I'll be sure to let you know how I get on.

[usairways56 42]

Thanks for the replies and reassurance guys

 

 

I also notice that negative reviews are often non specific, or just ignorant, like blaming the board because the user chose the wrong memory or needed to update the BIOS.

 

I noticed that too. I've been checking compatibility and update lists and such, so hopefully it all goes smooth in that aspect.

 

I'm thinking about ordering the ASUS Z170-A and i5 6600k sometime in the next couple days so I can start building when I go home. I'll post back someday when I get around to putting it all together. Thanks again

[martin-w 3,234]

I should mention that the Z170-AR is also available. I think I'm right in saying that the difference is that the AR can handle PCIe RAID. One or two other minor differences also.

[swiesma 625]

I am also using the Z170-A by Asus and have no problems with it.

The price was fair compared to the "gaming" Mobos and I miss nothing.

 

Overclocking works fine.

[usairways56 42]

So.. I happened to come home for a weekend before finals week, I just needed a break. But anyways, I ran out to Microcenter and got the 6600k, couldn't resist, and ASUS Z170-A came in mail. I built the computer yesterday and I just started a test flight. I'm sitting at 4.6ghz, 1.3v, and maxing out my temps at 50 degrees with FSX:SE. 

 

I have Orbx FTX Global, REX Overdrive textures, Active Sky Next, FSDT KORD and Flightbeam KIAD, and my PMDG NGX installed. I'd say mid-range settings, autogen on "dense," and DX10 with Fixer. I'm getting a solid 45fps at the gate and all around KIAD, 60 when the mouse pointer goes away. I used to scrape up about 30 with similar settings on my 2500k system. Also, I have made no tweaks besides HIGHMEMFIX, and I notice nearly 100% of my stutters are gone. I'm sure installing FSX on an SSD this time helped with that, but man this is amazing. 

[martin-w 3,234]

That's great news Jim!  :smile:

 

How did you overclock, 5 way optimisation or the traditional manual way?

 

1.3 volts is pretty good at 4.6, are you going to nip it up a bit? 1.45 volts is the advised max according to Intel and Asus. Intel's Skylake spec sheet says 1.5 for absolute max, but that's ultra scary.

[westman 257]

1.35v-1.425 V Its ok , then with good custom loop 1.425-1.47v be aware of the temps.

Its a very tuff Cpu , strong memcontroller 1.45v 24/7 for mems no problem.

[usairways56 42]

Martin, I manually input 46 for the core ratio, and selected manual core voltage of 1.3v. I actually started with 4.5ghz at 1.25v stable, and decided to try 4.6. Got a blue screen first boot so bumped it up. I had read that a lot of people were in the mid 1.3's for 4.6ghz. I haven't touched anything else except XMP, and it seems to be stable so far with some stress testing and about 10 hours of FSX. I probably won't touch anything unless I run into another blue screen, or if you guys have any recommendations on settings to change.

 

I'm coming over from a 2500k at 4.5ghz that i had to manually offset OC, so I'm still kinda reading up on Skylake OC'ing. It seems much more simple, or at least the BIOS takes care of more. Is there anything else I should change in the bios?

[westman 257]

You have tons of settings dont think Its more easy than the SandyBridge.

 

For example i run bclk 150 multi 33 / uncore 33 1,34v HT on mem 3900mhz cl15-15-15-28-1T 1.47v 24/7 on Asus Impact

[Patriot3810 182]

i have a 6700k and i wouldn't push mine above 1.350v at 4.4ghz, i think i ended up with a dud when i bought it, linus tech tips said not to go above 1.4v at all,i would be afraid to go above 1.35 myself. i also have an m.2 on my board, i don't know if that effects my overclocking or not.

[usairways56 42]

You have tons of settings dont think Its more easy than the SandyBridge.

Maybe it's just that I haven't really delved into the Z170-A BIOS yet. When I had the 2500k on an ASUS Z68, to get it stable I had to mess with offset trial and error, changes in C1E and C6, manual LLC and PLL to name a few. With the Z170-A, all I did was change the core ratio and set a max voltage, and it's taking care of the rest. I agree there are many more options, and I'll be reading up about them, but I didn't have to configure nearly as much to get the 4.6ghz and have it be stable the 2nd try. Are there any changes besides core ratio and voltage that you would recommend? Or anyone in general?

[martin-w 3,234]

 

I'm coming over from a 2500k at 4.5ghz that i had to manually offset OC, so I'm still kinda reading up on Skylake OC'ing. It seems much more simple, or at least the BIOS takes care of more. Is there anything else I should change in the bios?

 

 

Personally Jim, I would keep it simple. If you happen to be an overclocking enthusiast, then yes, there are a multitude of settings you can play with, but not necessary for most.

 

Is your CPU Core/Cache voltage still manual? You might like to switch to adaptive when you are happy. No sense in wasting power when you don't have to. For a margin of error, it's typical to increase the border line voltage a fraction. 0.01 - 0.02 usually.

 

Good Asus tutorial here...

 

http://rog.asus.com/454262015/overclocking/guide-overclocking-core-i7-6700k-on-the-maximus-viii-extreme/

i have a 6700k and i wouldn't push mine above 1.350v at 4.4ghz, i think i ended up with a dud when i bought it, linus tech tips said not to go above 1.4v at all, i would be afraid to go above 1.35 myself. i also have an m.2 on my board, i don't know if that effects my overclocking or not.

 

Yes, well Linus does get things badly wrong on occasion. Just check out the thread in this forum, relating to his anti-de-lidding video.

 

1.45 is safe Brett, assuming the thermals are under control of course. You shouldn't worry about exceeding 1.35.

[swiesma 625]

When I go "adaptive mode" I always get freezes ;-(

 

No idea why. It only works in manual mode for voltage for me.