ASRock Unveils Intel Z370 Motherboard Line

Ron Perillo / 7 years ago

Intel has already launched their 8th generation “Coffee Lake” Core processors and although they fit inside the LGA1151 socket, users will need a new motherboard. These new motherboards sport the Z370 chipset featuring improved VRM to handle six-core CPUs. For their part, ASRock is ready with five of their Z370 motherboards offering a variety of feature options across a wide range of pricing. ASRock is announcing the Z370 Taichi, Z370 Professional Gaming i7, Z370 Extreme 4, Z370 Killer SLI/ac, Z370 SLI and Z370 Pro 4 ready for an October 5 availability.

ASRock Z370 Motherboard Features

Aside from the improved power phase design, ASRock is outfitting front USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C headers on some of their new boards. This allows users with new cases take advantage of having the 10 Gbps transfer capability right on the front panel. There is also a Type-C port available in the rear of course, through an ASM3142 USB 3.1 Gen2 controller.

The Z370 chipset also brings multiple M.2 drive support as well as support for Intel Optane technology. The high-end Z370 Professional Gaming i7 even gets three M.2 slots for the ultimate in storage performance. ASRock also offers 10Gb/s Base-T ethernet via Aquantia AQtion client controller for blazing fast wired network connectivity.

For those who like an eye-candy, ASRock also has plenty of RGB LED options onboard, as well as off-board via RGB LED headers. The Z370 Extreme 4 for example has LEDs on the PCH heatsink, IO cover and audio subsystem. Plus, a 4-pin RGB LED header at the bottom edge. Users can then control and synchronize these LEDs via the ASRock RGB LED software. Change the style, the mode, the color and the speed, right on the desktop.

For more mainstream gaming use, the Z370 Killer SLI/Killer SLI AC and Z370 Pro4 are also available. These offer a more practical, function-rich feature set and forgoes much of the eye-candy. They are still quite formidable however, sporting 10-phase power design with 45A chokes, Nichicon 12K black caps and dual M.2 PCIe x4 support.