One of the best z370 motherboard for gaming will open an interesting puzzle to address, especially with Intel Coffee Lake processors. These have a bit of a way to operate two sides of the coin, even paired with the best graphics cards, since they can tangibly increase clock speeds and core counts, but are only compatible with chipsets of the 300 series. This means that the decision to get one or not and what your benefits would be for you and your machine may be less than obvious. However, to help you make an informed decision and, in general, make it a little easier, this guide to the best Z370 motherboard for gaming should help you on your way.
As time goes by, the good news is that the best Z370 motherboards have become increasingly affordable, so your chances of getting good value for money have never been greater. In addition to the price, one of the best Z370 motherboards will give you a good amount of features and more “horsepower” for your money and will give you a fine component that will adapt to a construction update or a new one.
The motherboard forms the basis of each PC compilation. Determine how much and what type of hardware you can put on your new computer. From the type of CPU to the amount of RAM, choosing the correct motherboard is essential to have the finished product you want.
When it comes to Z370 motherboards, they are the highest-end motherboards for Intel’s eighth and ninth generation Coffee Lake processors and are the only motherboards that allow them to overclock.
The best Z370 motherboard for gaming offer ultra-fast processing, support for Optane memory and versatile I / O options. They are designed with Intel’s 8th generation Coffee Lake processors in mind and feature all the latest hardware for maximum efficiency and unmatched power. To that end, this article guides you through the best options in the market and gives you an idea of the best Z370 motherboard technology. Without further ado, let’s start.
The best Z370 motherboards generally offer a lot of benefits, ranging from ultra-fast processing to Optane memory, and a versatile I / O panel. In addition, thanks to the introduction of Intel’s 9th generation CPUs (and their companion Z390), the Z370 motherboards now show some of the best gains in the motherboard market.
For that reason, we thought it was natural to create this article of the best Z370 motherboard currently available. So, without wasting any more time, let’s take a look and take a first look at the best Z370 motherboards for 2020.
Best z370 Motherboard for Gaming in 2020 – Which You Should Buy?
We have selected this list of the top 5 Z370 motherboards to help you find the perfect combination for your PC configuration. To help you find the best Z370 motherboard that suits your needs, we have put together our best options and included a guide below to arm you with the knowledge to make an informed decision.
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How We Choose
Your motherboard is the base of your PC components, so it must be up to the task. There are several things to keep in mind when choosing the right motherboard for your needs, and we are very particular about the products we choose to recommend.
First, we look at the budget. You should make sure you get the best performance for your money, no matter what price you are working on. This means that we only choose motherboards with quality features, such as multiple PCIe slots and built-in overclocking capability.
Speaking of overclocking, we know how much our readers enjoy making the most of their compilations. That is why we put the ability to overclocking as one of our requirements when choosing the best motherboards.
We are also continually updating our recommendations, to make sure we include the best options available, so keep checking for more information.
How We Test
We test each motherboard that we recommend by placing it in one of our compilations and running benchmarking tests with it. We combine it with different components to get an excellent overall picture of its performance.
We also test them to facilitate the construction and smoothness of the overall construction process. We want to make sure that, whether it’s your first or fifth construction, your motherboard won’t let you down or make things difficult.
Review of the best z370 Motherboard for Gaming
Do you like games with the latest hardware? Perhaps you appreciate stellar performance and superior flexibility? 2020 has arrived and we have the answer for you!
#1 ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero
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The last Asus Hero board is the ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC). It is a mixed victory for Asus, winning the category but beating the most expensive Formula Maximus of consideration as a top-of-the-line top choice for Z370. You will have difficulty finding a reason to go beyond the Maximus X Hero when setting up a Coffee Lake platform. The small bumps in speed, features or fashion provided by the expensive Z370 cards are hard to justify since X299 is the true Intel high-end platform. This year’s model adds Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO to the network combination, although non-wireless versions are also available if you want to save a few dollars.
Overclocking remains the first in its class, with stable 5.1GHz water-cooled overclocks on the i7-8700K accessible only with slight voltage changes. VRM temperatures, a problem with many of the first Z370 board designs, are not a problem here. Memory support in several test DIMMs up to 3600MHz was impeccable, with timing settings only necessary when DDR4 is registered beyond the specifications. The performance was equally impressive with reference numbers that reflect the rapid overclocks held by the Hero, placing it in league with boards that cost a third more. The board includes a good selection of controls mounted on the board, such as the reset and power buttons, a POST code display, a clear BIOS switch and a memory reset button.
As for fashion, the Hero does not vary much from its previous iterations of metallic gray, adding more heat sink jewels in the center of the motherboard over one of the 32-fold double M.2 slots on the plate along with the backlit RGB lighting that accompanies it. The pre-installed covers and backplates for the I / O panel facilitate installation, give a superior feel and the color combos are neutral enough to work with most components. Also new in Maximus X Hero is an addressable RGB header, which allows compatible RGB strips to show multicolored patterns instead of solid colors.
#2 GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS
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Gigabyte is not as flashy as the other top-tier motherboard manufacturers, but the Aorus Z370 Gaming 5 exceeds its mid-range weight class. With a price much lower than $ 200, the Gaming 5 offers triple slots M.2, Intel Wi-Fi and Ethernet, a full RGB treatment with multiple headers and ALC 1220 audio. The overall performance is not the typical strength of the Aorus line, which achieves a balance of features and style along with the pursuit of absolute numbers, however, Gaming 5 fits well in that area.
The board has a 10-phase CPU power delivery, dual BIOS and memory support of up to 4133MHz theoretical. The tests reveal more modest limits, but kits 3466 and 3600 G. Skill and Corsair DDR4 were run without incident. The processor speeds are equally impressive, almost exceeding the 5 GHz barrier. Gigabyte cuts some corners, as with the Wi-Fi 1×1 802.11ac, and there are no power buttons mounted, overclocking switches or other controls, although the reading of the POST code is present. This motherboard wants to spend the day playing in a pretty box with a window instead of playing all day in a workbench. For most players, this is not a problem.
If you are planning a tight construction, keep in mind: the protection and style of the Z370 Gaming 5 suffer from some bulky areas, such as the AMP UP audio section, which can cause problems when placing some larger video cards. There have also been reports of loose VRM shielding by users in support groups and elsewhere, although this was not the case for the sample tested here, so be aware of the quality of construction before the end of the period of return.
#3 Asus ROG Strix Z370
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Since the Z270, the Asus ITX Strix entry has slipped ahead of ASRock’s Killer ITX offer to win first place in this boutique segment. Despite its tiny size and lack of upgrade options, the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming offers excellent performance and value. With stable 5 GHz overclocks that use multiple memory speeds, including 3600 MHz with settings, its single PCIe x16 slot pushed a GTX 1080 Ti at speeds that matched or exceeded most of the Z370 ATX boards during testing, getting a score better than their size and price class suggest.
The feature list is extensive, with a full range of USB 2 and 3 ports, including USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and a USB 3.1 Gen2 front panel socket. Asus softens the blow of the only ITX PCIE and two DIMM slots by providing an M.2 slot under the chipset heatsink with a second on the back of the board, allowing some upgrade potential that generally It is not in this form factor. Both M.2 slots support transfer speeds of 32 Gb / s. The networks are also strong, with Intel v219 Ethernet paired together with an Intel 8265 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi module, and the audio gets the full Z370 ROG SupremeFX treatment, with an ALC1220A codec compatible with isolated circuits and headphone amplifiers.
#4 MSI Gaming Pro Carbon
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When set to build the smallest possible custom PC, there is really only one option when it comes to the motherboard’s form factor: mITX. If you want to take advantage of the features offered by an Intel Z370 motherboard, we suggest the MSI Gaming Pro Carbon.
This small mITX motherboard actually manages to squeeze an incredible amount of functionality and features despite its tiny size. Looking first at the drawbacks, of course, being a smaller motherboard means that less hardware will fit in general. Unlike the larger ATX boards we’ve seen so far, this smaller board has only two RAM slots and a single PCIe expansion slot that runs on 16 lanes.
With the negatives out of the way, let’s see what this motherboard has. For starters, you get integrated WiFi and Bluetooth networks so you don’t have to worry about not having 1x PCIe slots. With the antennas included, the signal strength is also very good.
In addition, this motherboard has tons of built-in I/O, including a PS/2 connector, a USB Type-C port and a total of five more USB ports of the Type A variety. This small motherboard even has room for an M drive .2, which easily makes it the best Z370 plate on the market for constructions the size of a pint.
#5 GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS
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Finally, we come to our budget offer, the ASUS Z370-P II. Yes, I know, another ASUS motherboard to add to the list. They simply seem to have the Z370 market eliminated at this time with high quality and affordable offers.
This motherboard comes with high-quality features like dual M.2 slots, Fan Xpert 4, Intel Optane memory support and 5x protection III. In addition, the two x16 PCI-e lanes create the perfect environment for CrossfireX dual GPUs.
By comparing this board with the high-end offers, you can certainly see where sacrifices have been made to keep the price of the Z370-P II low. The design is a bit bland and has almost no external protective shields or heat sinks. That said, it comes with four X4 PCI-e lanes for further expansion and support of 4000MHz memory speed.
The I/O back panel is quite basic and offers the usual display ports, USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, and LAN ports. As for the budget, the entry-level Z370 goes, this is up to par in both construction quality and features.
How to choose the best Z370 motherboard for your needs
Motherboards are complex pieces of hardware that ultimately determine the number of things about how your final PC will work. With respect to Z370 motherboards, they allow you to use any of the eighth and ninth generation Coffee Lake CPUs from Intel. The Z370 chipset is the highest that is offered and is the only way to overclock CPUs “k” SKU.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important things to consider when buying a new motherboard to make sure you are choosing the best motherboard for your needs.
RAM slots
Random Access Memory, or RAM, functions as the “short-term memory” of your computer. It works at very high speeds compared to slower forms of storage, such as hard drives, and is used to store short-term data that the CPU will need fast access in the near future. What makes RAM not suitable for long-term storage is its small capacity and volatility (which means that everything that was stored in RAM is gone when RAM no longer has a constant supply of energy that is is supplying you).
RAM takes the form of thin modules that simply connect to the DIMM slots on your motherboard. Different motherboards often have different numbers of these DIMM slots. Almost all motherboards on our list have four RAM slots and can accommodate up to 64 GB of system memory. The only exception to this is the MSI Gaming Pro Carbon that sacrifices two of these slots and half the RAM capacity for a smaller form factor.
Expansion slots
Depending on the hardware you plan to place on your computer, expansion slots may be the most important thing to consider. The motherboards come with different numbers and types of PCIe slots in them.
These are standardized slots in which you can connect a variety of things, including graphics cards, WiFi cards, and sound cards. There are two main types of PCIe slots, which are 16x and 1x. The larger of these two, 16x, is intended to have more powerful expansion cards such as GPUs connected, while the 1x slots contain elements such as WiFi or Bluetooth receivers.
However, it is important to note that some 16x slot machines do not really work at 16x speeds. For example, in the Gigabyte D3, two of the PCIe 16x form factor slots only work at 4x speeds, which means that the equipment in them communicates with the CPU much more slowly than a true 16x slot would.
Storage
In regards to the motherboard, there are two types of storage to search for M.2 and SATA.
- M.2 units are a newer technology and take the form of thin PCBs that almost look like chewing gum. These units connect directly to the motherboard and have direct communication with the CPU, which makes them extremely fast.
- SATA, on the other hand, is how more traditional storage devices, such as hard drives, connect to the motherboard. Memory using SATA connectors is much slower, but it is also usually cheaper.
Return I/O
The last thing we would like to play is the I / O again. This refers to all the ports and connections that can be found on the back of the computer when the motherboard is installed in a case. Back I / O determines how many and what type of devices can be connected to the back of your PC.
One of the things you will find in the subsequent I / O are video outputs such as HDMI and Displayport. While this is less important for those who plan to use a graphics card, since in this case, you will connect your monitors to the GPU output, you should monitor it if you plan to connect your monitors directly to the integrated graphics.
Also, here you can find things like USB and PS / 2 ports. Depending on what type of devices you plan to connect to your system, make sure you have many available USB ports. Those who rely frequently on transferring files to and from flash drives can make sure there are a lot of super-fast USB 3.1 or 3.0 ports on their system, while those who only plan to use a keyboard and mouse may only need a few USB 2.0 ports.
Price
Like most hardware components, price is an enormously important area to consider. Fortunately, prices do not fluctuate too much when it comes to Z370 motherboards. That said, there is a difference between entry-level and high-end offers.
As you will soon see, choosing a Z370 for around $ 100 is not something peculiar. Since the chipset is now some years old and the Z390 boards have replaced it, the Z370 shows the excellent value for money. That said, you can still accumulate a tasty invoice if you choose one of the high-end products.
Why choose a Z370?
Many people will opt for the Z370 over something different for several reasons. First, it is Intel.
Although we are currently in the midst of a major war over CPU dominance between AMD and Intel, Intel still sells the majority of CPUs worldwide. So, naturally, that makes the Z370 one of the most popular boards.
Second, many people are more than happy to build a new PC with an eighth-generation Intel CPU. I mean, the 8600K had great success and still shows fantastic performance. If you are looking for the best investment for your money, the Z370 is definitely the way to go.
The third is the price. Like all things in life, when a product is surpassed by a better-performing version of itself (also known as the next generation), the older model generally has a reduced price, since it is not very up-to-date. The Z370 presents some of the best values at the moment and still has excellent performance.
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Conclusion
It is always a difficult process to choose which motherboard is suitable for your needs. Even more so when the motherboard in question has such a uniform price on many of the entry-level/midrange options. However, we have taken everything into consideration and have concluded that the above mentions are by far the best and most up-to-date options in their respective categories.
So what motherboard do you think shows the best features and value? For me, I think it has the best TUF games since it has almost everything you want from a quality motherboard.
Why don’t you tell us what you thought in the comments section below, or better yet, jump into our community and start a thread, expressing your opinions to the masses?
Hopefully, this guide has made choosing the best Z370 motherboard for gaming much easier. If you have any questions about motherboards in general, leave us a question below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
