The ASRock Z270 Supercarrier Motherboard Review: 4-way SLI and 5 Gigabit Ethernet on Kaby Lake
by E. Fylladitakis on September 29, 2017 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ASRock
- SLI
- Aquantia
- Z270
Gaming Performance
The issue of FCLK settings might play a big role here. At launch, the default setting for the communication buffer between the CPU and PCIe stack was 800 MHz, even though Intel suggested 1000 MHz, but this was because of firmware limitations from Intel. Since then, there is firmware to enable 1000 MHz, and most motherboard manufacturers have this - but it is unclear if the motherboard will default to 1000 MHz and it might vary from BIOS version to BIOS version. As we test at default settings, our numbers are only ever snapshots in time, but it leads to some interesting differences in discrete GPU performance.
Total War: Attila
The Total War franchise moves on to Attila, another The Creative Assembly development, and is a stand-alone strategy title set in 395AD where the main storyline lets the gamer take control of the leader of the Huns in order to conquer parts of the world. Graphically the game can render hundreds/thousands of units on screen at once, all with their individual actions and can put some of the big cards to task.
For low-end graphics, we test at 720p with performance settings, recording the average frame rate. With mid and high range graphics, we test at 1080p with the quality setting. In both circumstances, unlimited video memory is enabled and the in-game scripted benchmark is used.
GRID: Autosport
No graphics tests are complete without some input from Codemasters and the EGO engine, which means for this round of testing we point towards GRID: Autosport, the next iteration in the GRID and racing genre. As with our previous racing testing, each update to the engine aims to add in effects, reflections, detail, and realism, with Codemasters making ‘authenticity’ a main focal point for this version.
GRID’s benchmark mode is very flexible and, as a result, we created a test race using a shortened version of the Red Bull Ring with twelve cars doing two laps. The car is focus starts last and is quite fast, but usually finishes second or third. For low-end graphics, we test at 1080p medium settings, whereas mid and high-end graphics get the full 1080p maximum. Both the average and minimum frame rates are recorded.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
50 Comments
View All Comments
Dr. Swag - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
You guys are reviewing so many z270 boards all of a sudden, but it feels a bit like a waste with z370 just around the corner, just saying.shabby - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Ya it's kinda funny how the z270 I'll suffer eof so quickly... classic intel.shabby - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Derp eolddriver - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
It has 5 gbit lan... cuz the poor platform doesn't have enough lanes to drive more...Timing is understandable, orders from intel hq came to push as much eol products as possible now, because pretty soon they will sell at a significant discount.
saratoga4 - Saturday, September 30, 2017 - link
DMI 3.0 is 32 GBit/s, so 5Gbit ethernet can easily go on the chipset PCIe switch. Which goes to show just how far behind everything else wired ethernet has fallen.Wwhat - Thursday, October 5, 2017 - link
You are right, the tech world really needs to massively go to higher because 1gb internet is all over the place now and they can't go higher because the average consumer would have issues plugging that into existing networking equipment.I suppose they could include a modem with USB-C connector instead of LAN, but you can't assume every USB-C device actually has USB3.0 or higher speeds, sigh.
Plus many want their own router so it would be nice if routers on the market now were a bit forwards looking and did more than 1gbit.
And meanwhile LTE and such reach 1gbit when in fact data prices are such that Joe Average has no use for more than 50mbit or so.
The whole thing seems poorly thought out.
Notmyusualid - Sunday, October 8, 2017 - link
More 'ddriver BS' - 5Gb/s LAN is seen as a cost-effective alternative to 10Gb/s NICs, that are still expensive to buy / implement.There is tons more connectivity from the DMI than is required by all the NICs on this board - as stated by others.
Please seek professional psychological help.
SharpEars - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
That's right, I want to invest >$200 in a soon to be obsolete motherboard.Gothmoth - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
you may not but anandtech likes to get all this intel money they spend on PR.Morawka - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Hey i just sold my z89 Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard on ebay for $300, it's not that far of a stretch. a man needs what a man needs.