14 DAY TRIAL // The flow of companies preparing for Skylake's 6th-generation CPUs from Intel gets complemented by a strong offer from ASRock.
Ready to stand out against offers by Biostar, MSI and ASUS, ASRock comes with an offer of six Z170 models on display. The Z-models include advanced features like USB 3.1 on all motherboards except the low-cost Pro4. According to Tom's Hardware's sources, the new specs look like this:
| Z170 Extreme7 | Z170 Extreme6 | Z170 Extreme4 | Z170 Pro4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX | ATX | ATX |
| Expansion Slots | 4x x16*, 2x x1, 1x Mini | 3x x16*, 3x x1 | 3x x16*, 3x x1 | 2x x16*, 3x x1 |
| Memory Slots | 4x DDR4 | 4x DDR4 | 4x DDR4 | 2x DDR3 |
| Storage | 3x 32 Gb/s 10x 6 Gb/s (6 for SATA-E) |
1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
| Rear USB | USB 3.1 A+C, 4x 3.0, 2x 2.0 | 2x USB 3.1, 6x 3.0 | 2x USB 3.1, 4x 3.0 | 6x USB 3.0 |
| Video | DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI | DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI | DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI | DVI-D, HDMI |
| Audio | 5 Analog, 1 Optical | 5 Analog, 1 Optical | 6 Analog | 6 Analog |
| Network | 2x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E |
The single the M.2 connector might be the only thing worth investing in the Pro4 model, as the Extreme series will offer much better LGA 1151 chipset integration. Lacking DDR4 availability on a Z170 motherboard seems absurd as bottlenecking is guaranteed, but for low budget Skylake aficionados, it could mean a stopgap solution until a proper Z170 is taken into consideration.
Gamers have it good
However, for a gaming-oriented motherboard, ASRock offered the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6 and the Wi-Fi-enhanced Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac. The budget gaming model, the Fatal1ty H170 Performance will have everything the top gaming model will have, minus one PCIe slot and minus two SATA connectors. The Performance is indeed the best bargain for a budget Z170 chipset motherboard compared to the higher-end Pro4 model.
| Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6 | Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac | Fatal1ty H170 Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form Factor | ATX | Mini ITX | ATX |
| Expansion Slots | 3x x16*, 3x x1 | 1x x16, 1x Mini PCIe | 2x x16*, 3x x1 |
| Memory Slots | 4x DDR4 | 2x DDR4 | 4x DDR4 |
| Storage | 1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
1x 32 Gb/s 8x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
1x 32 Gb/s 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) |
| Rear USB | USB 3.1 A+C, 6x USB 3.0 | 2x USB 3.1, 6x 3.0 | USB 3.1 A+C, 4x 3.0, 2x 2.0 |
| Video | DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort | 2x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort |
| Audio | 5 Analog, 1 Optical | 3 Analog, 1 Optical | 5 Analog, 1 Optical |
| Network | 1x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E |
| B150M-HDS/D3 | H110M-HDS/D3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Form Factor | Micro ATX | Mini ITX |
| Expansion Slots | 1x x16, 2x x1 | 1x x16, 2x x1 |
| Memory Slots | 2x DDR3 | 2x DDR3 |
| Storage | 6x 6 Gb/s (2 for SATA-E) | 4x 6 Gb/s |
| Rear USB | 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 | 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0 |
| Video | DVI-D, HDMI | DVI-D, HDMI |
| Audio | 3 Analog | 3 Analog |
| Network | 1x Gig-E | 1x Gig-E |
