Conclusion
Introduction
It has been a year since Intel released their latest and greatest platform for mainstream desktop PCs. The 100-series platform was part of the 6th generation processor launch. Skylake brought with it a range of new feature support and performance updates. The 100-series products were the first to utilize features such as DDR4, M.2, PCI-e 3.0 SSDs and more.
Today, Intel officially launches the 200-series platform. Designed to support 7th generation processors that are codenamed Kaby Lake, 200-series offers new features and updates in the form of Intel Optane support. I think the most important thing is that the boards themselves would be far more attractive than the processor series as they are more feature-heavy and offer plenty of reasons for consumers to upgrade.
For this review, Gigabyte sent us their new AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard. From this day onward, Gigabyte will be using the AORUS branding on all of their products. AORUS is the gaming division / brand working under Gigabyte. They have previously been making gaming branded laptops and notebooks and would now be responsible for making gaming products such as motherboards.
Intel Z270 Express Chipset - The Top 200-Series PCH
The two chipsets that will be offered with the new Kaby Lake processors are Z270 and H270. Intel will be offering support for the Kaby Lake and Skylake processors on both 100-series and 200-series motherboards. This means that consumers can use their Skylake chips on a 200-series board or a Kaby Lake chip on a 100-series board.
The two new chips are marketed towards specific markets. The Z270 series is aimed at the consumer market while the H270 series is aimed at the consumer and corporate market. We will get on to the features of these chipset which is an update from the previous 100-series generation of products.
Intel Z270 and H270 PCH Features
Intel Z270 and Z170 offer the same CPU PCIe configuration support. They allow for 1 x 16, 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 config whereas the H270 and H170 chipset offers just 1 x 16 config. The total number of independent Display Port offered by the PCH are 3 and power up to four memory DIMMs in Dual Channel mode. The Z Series offers overclocking support while the H Series is restricted from such support. All chipsets offer Intel SmartSound tech but Intel AIB partners will be offering their own custom Audio codecs to power audio.
Moving on, the new 200-series has official support for Optane technology which is not available on 100-series products. Intel Rapid Storage technology is also pushed to 15 (was 14 on 100-series). Some other features in the new chipsets include Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 support, PCIe Storage Drive support, Smart Response Technology and I/O Port flexibility.
Intel has increased the number of high-speed I/O lanes to 30 on both 200-series chipsets. The Z170 had 26 while the H170 had 22 lanes. Total USB ports have remain the same at 14 (10 USB 3.0) for Z Series and 14 (8 USB 3.0) for H Series. All boards would have 6 SATA III 6 GB/s ports. Expansion slots would be powered by 24 PCI-e lanes on Z270 and 20 PCI-e lanes on H270. This is a slight increase over 20 PCI-e lanes on Z170 and 16 on H170.
The KBL-PCH will be able to support Mansion Beach (Optane SSD PCIe/NVMe Gen3 x4), Brighton Beach (Optane SSD PCIe/NVMe Gen3 x4) and Stony Beach (Optane Memory PCIe/NVMe Gen 3 x2 (m.2)) solutions. We covered this topic in more detail over here.
Intel 200-Series PCH Specifications:
| Chipset | Intel Z270 | Intel H270 | Intel Z170 | Intel H170 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SKU Focus Segment | Consumer | Consumer / Corporate | Consumer | Consumer / Corporate |
| CPU Support | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S |
| CPI PCI-e Configuration | 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 | 1 x 16 | 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 | 1 x 16 |
| Independent DisplayPort | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Memory DIMMs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Overclocking | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Intel SmartSound Technology | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Optane Technology | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Intel Rapid Storage Technology | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Intel Rapid Storage Technology From PCIe Storage Drive Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RAID 0,1,5,10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Smart Response Technology | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| I/O Port Flexibility | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum High Speed I/O Lanes | 30 | 30 | 26 | 22 |
| Total USB Ports (Max USB 3.0) | 14 (10) | 14 (8) | 14 (10) | 14 (8) |
| Max SATA 6 Gbps Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Max PCI-E 3.0 Lanes | 24 | 20 | 20 | 16 |
| Max Intel RST for PCIe Storage Ports (x2 M.2 or x4 M.2) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Intel LGA 1151 Socket - 6th Gen and 7th Gen CPU Support
As last year, the 200-series boards feature the LGA 1151 socket. The socket is built to support both 6th gen and 7th gen processors. This allows 200-series boards to support both Skylake and Kaby Lake processors, making it easier for previous gen owners to upgrade.
The LGA 1151 socket is also featured on the 100-Series chipset motherboards and will extend support to the new Kaby Lake processors. Motherboard vendors like Gigabyte have released latest firmware for 100 series motherboards to support Kaby Lake processors. The LGA 1151 has a total of 1151 contact pins for interfacing with Skylake and Kaby Lake processors. Following are all of the Kaby Lake processors that will be available at launch for 200-series platform:
Intel 7th Generation 'Kaby Lake' Desktop Lineup
| SKU Name | Cores/Threads | Core Clock | Boost Clock | L3 Cache | TDP | Socket | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i7-7700K | 4/8 | 4.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 8 MB | 91W | LGA1151 | $339 US |
| Core i7-7700 | 4/8 | 3.6 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 8 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $303 US |
| Core i7-7700T | 4/8 | 2.9 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 8 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $303 US |
| Core i5-7600K | 4/4 | 3.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 6 MB | 91W | LGA1151 | $242 US |
| Core i5-7600 | 4/4 | 3.5 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $213 US |
| Core i5-7600T | 4/4 | 2.8 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $213 US |
| Core i5-7500 | 4/4 | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $192 US |
| Core i5-7500T | 4/4 | 2.7 GHz | 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $192 US |
| Core i5-7400 | 4/4 | 3.0 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $182 US |
| Core i5-7400T | 4/4 | 2.4 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $182 US |
| Core i3-7350K | 2/4 | 4.2 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 60W | LGA 1151 | $168 US |
| Core i3-7320 | 2/4 | 4.1 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | TBD | LGA 1151 | $149 US |
| Core i3-7300 | 2/4 | 4.0 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 51W | LGA1151 | $138 US |
| Core i3-7300T | 2/4 | 3.5 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $138 US |
| Core i3-7100 | 2/4 | 3.9 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 51W | LGA 1151 | $117 US |
| Core i3-7100T | 2/4 | 3.4 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 35W | LGA 1151 | $117 US |
| Pentium G4620 | 2/4 | 3.7 GHz | N/A | 3 MB | 51W | LGA1151 | $86 US |
| Pentium G4600 | 2/4 | 3.6 GHz | N/A | 3 MB | 51W | LGA 1151 | $75 US |
| Pentium G4560 | 2/4 | 3.5 GHz | N/A | 3MB | 54W | LGA 1151 | $64 US |
| Pentium G3950 | 2/2 | 3.0 GHz | N/A | 2 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $52 US |
| Pentium G3930 | 2/2 | 2.9 GHz | N/A | 2 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $42 US |
Intel did one thing right with the new socket and that’s the socket positioning which allows older coolers and mounting brackets to remain compatible with the newer socket. So if you have a old LGA 1150 socket cooler that you wish to use with the new LGA 1151 socket, It could be done so, but do note that while the socket looks the same as LGA 1150 socket, the processors are incompatible due to different pin layout so you don’t want to try putting an Haswell processor into the LGA 1151 socket otherwise it would damage the pins permanently.
Cooler Compatibility With LGA 1151 Socket
While Haswell processors ship with their own boxed coolers and cooler makers providing retention brackets for LGA 1150 compatibility, it should be noted that Intel has stopped offering boxed coolers since Skylake and Kaby Lake processor generation and users have to look forward to retail coolers.
Intel does offer a separate boxed cooler but it will be a much better choice to get an AIB cooling solution since those offer better cooling performance. Older CPU coolers will remain compatible with the new socket and some manufacturers are provided updated retention brackets for the 1151 socket boards.
The Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard is feature loaded and has impressive out-of-the box looks. The team over at AORUS designed a gorgeous black and white motherboard that can be lit up with RGB Fusion technology to match your style and preferences. Features of the Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard are listed below
- Supports 7th/6th Generation Intel Core Processors
- Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, DIMMs
- Intel USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-C and Type-A
- 3-Way Graphics Support With Dual Armor and Ultra Durable Design
- Triple NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 Support
- NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 U.2 Connector
- Dual Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 SATA & SATA Interface
- Intel Optane Memory Ready
- Creative SoundCore 3D With SBX Pro Studio Audio Suite
- Killer E2500 Gaming Network + Intel Gigabit LAN
- USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage
- RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone LED Light Show design
- Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
- Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers
- 2 External Thermistors Headers With 2 Included Thermistors
- Extreme 40 GB/s Thunderbolt 3
- Gigabyte UEFI DualBIOS
- APP Center Including EasyTune and Cloud Station Utilities
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 Product Gallery:
AORUS Motherboards With RGB Fusion
The new RGB Fusion tech offers a multi-zone light show design. It can display up to 16.8 million colors in three light zones with four programmable sections and 8 different lightning effects. There's a single RGBW Light strip fan header along with Accent LED with interchangeable overlay. The application for RGB Fusion allows advanced mode for extreme customizability.
The three Light Zones include CPU Zone, Armor Zone and Audio Zone. All of these including the ACCENT LED overlay strip are fully customizable and add to the looks of this beautiful motherboard.
AORUS Motherboards With Smart Fan 5
There are 8 Fan/Water Pump connectors scattered around the board of which 7 include temperature sensors. There are also 2 external temperature sensors while all fan fin headers are upgraded to hybrid fan headers of which two headers support 24W Water Pumps. These headers include over-current protection and adjusted in the new smart fan 5 software that is featured in the BIOS.
AORUS Motherboards With Creative Sound Core 3D an AMP-UP AUDIO
AORUS has feature the world's first Quad-Core Audio processor, Creative Sound Core 3D on their new boards. It provides the power of a dedicated audio processor which the CPU can offload most of the work to. It is a total solution from Creative that comes in the form of both hardware and software, offering a richer experience to audiophiles.
Boards are bundled with the Creative SBX Pro Stuio suite to take full advantage of the audio processor. On the hardware side, we are looking at high-end audio capacitors and AMP-UP audio technology with upgradable OP-AMP. Users can choose and upgrade their own OP-AMP based on their listening preferences.
AORUS Motherboards With Killer E2500
On the network side, we are looking at the latest Killer E2500 Gaming network chip and Intel's Gigabit LAN. The Killer E2500 is a adpative Gigabit Ethernet controller which offers great gaming and media performance while the Intel Gigabit LAN networking chip helps reduce CPU overhead. The board packs a 1 year XSplit Gamecaster and Broadcaster premium license.
AORUS Motherboards With NVMe and M.2
Storage enthusiasts are getting a lot with this board in the form of M.2, U.2 and PCI0e storage. The board has support for triple NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 with rated Sequential Read speeds over 3.5 GB/s and Sequential Write speeds of over 2.8 GB/s. The U.2 connector for NVMe SSDs provides up to 32 GB/s over the PCI-Express bus. AORUS boards also ship dual M.2 slots that can support all M.2 types including the 110mm 22110 form factor.
The M.2 slot offers support for both PCIe and SATA interfaces for M.2 SSD devices and has Intel Optane memory support too.
AORUS Motherboards With Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 3 with 40 GB/s link is included on the new boards, offering twice the link speed of Thunderbolt 2. The link is available over the USB Type-C connector on the back of the I/O panel. The ports can also support other protocols such as DisplayPort 1.2 or USB 3.1 (backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0).
Users can also daisy chain multiple devices with up to 6 thunderbolt devices. Support for 4K resolution and Power Deliver 2.0 is also added to these boards.
AORUS Motherboards With Turbo B-Clock
AORUS boards house the Tubo B-Clock engine which is an advanced performance tuning IC. It allows users to change the BCLK frequency to any desired value. With the new linear range adjustment option of the tuning IC, ranges from 90 MHz to 500 MHz are possible which means that overclockers are not limited to the 5% ranges of traditional boards.
AORUS Motherboards With PCI-e and Memory Armor
AORUS motherboards have the latest ultra durable PCI-e armor which adds extra durability to the motherboard. The PCI-e slots are 1.7x stronger in shearing tests and up to 3.2X stronger in retention force test. This means that the PCI-e slots are bend proof to beefier graphics cards and can also keep the cards in place. The armor extends beyond the PCI-e slot and can even be found on the DIMM slots with anti-plate bending technology. It also houses the new RGB fusion lightning.
AORUS Motherboards With Black Solid Caps
Gigabyte boards are equipped with longer lasting Durable Black solid capacitors which have an endurance rating of over 10,000 hours. They have ultra-low ESR regardless of the CPU load. The CPU socket is also high-quality with 15u gold plated socket design that means corrosion won't be a problem for the pins. The PCB is made of anti-sulfur resistor design which prevents sulfur compounds in the air from penetrating onboard resistors giving the board a longer lifetime.
AORUS Motherboard Additional Feature Set:
The Gigabyte AORUS series motherboards come in the standard cardboard package with a orange and black color scheme. Gigabyte has historically used the orange color scheme for their products and that continues in their new AORUS gaming brand.
The back of the box contains all the marketing details along with product specifications. Most of the marketing tags have already been detailed by us in the "Features" section above. As can be seen, this board is loaded in features.
On the front of the board, we can see some key features for the motherboard. The Z270X-Gaming 7 features the 200-series Express chipset and supports Intel's 6th / 7th generation processors. The board also packs the RGB Fusion system, Sound Core audio system, Killer LAN, Thunderbolt and is VR-Ready.
The motherboard comes with several accessories such as the Manual, Driver DVD, LED AORUS stickers, a set of thermistors, a Gigabyte G-Connector, AORUS case badge, I/O panel, SATA cables, SLI-HB bridge and two soft cable ties.
Out of the box, the Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 is an extremely impressive boards. It has killer looks and a great set of features. The white and black color scheme really goes well with the board design. Let's take an even closer look at the board details.
The Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard is styled in white and black. This is the first product design by AORUS which offers a fresh new color and design scheme. The motherboard comes in the standard ATX form factor and there are a lots of features to talk about so let's get started.
The AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard is designed to offer best overclocking support to enthusiasts and be a feature rich product for gamers. AORUS has designed a protective cover for the motherboard that spans the entirety of the left section on the board. The PCB is of matte black color with white lines textured around the CPU socket.
The board uses the LGA 1151 socket to support Intel Core processors. The socket is compatible with both Intel 6th Gen (Skylake) and 7th Gen (Kaby Lake) processors. The socket has a protective cover out of box which can easily be removed when installing the processor.
The motherboard packs a 12 Phase Digital PWM supply which powers the socket. The PCB is outfitted with long lifespan, Durable Black solid state capacitors that have an endurance rating of over 10,000 hours. The powerful VRM design allows overclockers to get the most of this motherboard when overclocking Intel processors.
Next to the socket are four DDR4 DIMM slots which can support up to 64 GB (Dual Channel) memory. These slots are rated to support XMP profiles up to 4000 MHz. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation.
AORUS not only made the DIMM slots to support faster memory, but they also made it to look great. All four DIMM slots come with dual armor metal shielding. This adds more durability and can provide extra strength to your components if you forget to release the lock while replacing DIMMs. The shielding is of stainless steel and designed to prevent against PCB distortion and twist, plate bending and ESD interference. There are also lesser chances to bend the PCB when installing memory on the board.
You can also spot LED switches embedded between the DIMM slots. Three in total, these are part of the RGB Fusion system which can display up to 16.8 million colors and programmable through a built-in application that comes with the board.
The VRMs are covered by two sets of heatsinks with an aluminum shroud. These carry a white and silver color scheme with a black aluminum based base. The two heatsinks are interconnected through a heatpipe that will be used to dissipate heat effectively.
The AORUS cover on the I/O panel looks superb. There's no cooling mechanism involved with the cover as it's just for visuals and mostly hollow from the inside. But it does add to the overall looks of the product and that's it's main purpose over here.
The CPU is supplied power through a single 8-Pin power connector. This will feed the CPU with up to 150W of power. Most Intel CPU's will be shipping with TDP's under 100W but that changes when users overclock, that changes power limit based on applied voltages and clock speeds.
Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 3.0 x16, three PCI-Express 3.0 x1 and two M.2 slots. The board can support 3-Way multi-GPU (CrossfireX / SLI). The M.2 slots are rated to support NVMe PCI-e Gen3 x4 and Intel Optane series memory.
The supported types for the M.2 socket are 22110, 2280, 2260 and 2242. M.2 slots offer up to 32 GB/s link speed compared to just 6 GB/s on SATA 3 bus.
Just like the DIMM slots, the PCI-Express slots are fitted with ultra durable PCIe Armor. The new stainless steel shielding design reinforces the PCIe connectors to offer up to 1.7x strength in shearing tests and up to 3.2x stronger retention force. There are extra anchor points under the slots which can carry large graphics cards with ease.
Gigabyte also implemented their double locking bracket system which locks the card from both front and back side. This holds the card in place no matter how much load is being applied.
Turbo B-Clock can also be found on the motherboard. This IC enables overclockers to have the ability to change their BCLK frequency to a desired value of their choice. With the new linear range adjustment option, ranges from 90 MHz to 500 MHz are now possible. This means that overclockers are not limited to the 5% ranges of traditional straps.
The Z270 PCH is housed beneath a large heatsink with AORUS logo and label embedded on it. The cover has a white frame and a large metallic block that is finished in brushed black metal.
The board has the Gigabyte patented DualBIOS design which let's you load a secondary BIOS in case the first one goes bad. This is a safety features that comes in handy with overclocking.
Storage options include six SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 6 different storage devices at a single time. Additionally, you can also plug in three SATA-Express based devices to these ports.
A single U.2 slots is equipped which can support PCI-Express Gen3 (x4) storage devices. Intel 750 Series SSDs can be plugged in to this port although the board doesn't come with any U.2 connection cables. You can also connect up to 3 NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 (M.2+U.2+PCIe).
The Sound Core 3D system is designed to offer the best audio experience an on board system could provide. It has the world's first Quad-Core Audio processor, Creative Sound Core 3D on their new boards. It provides the power of a dedicated audio processor which the CPU can offload most of the work to. It is a total solution from Creative that comes in the form of both hardware and software, offering a richer experience to audiophiles.
Next to the DIMM slots are three switches to switch between OC mode, ECO mode and Power On / Off. There are also two buttons that allow memory and board diagnostic. The Turbo and XMP logos on the PCB light up under operation, depending upon their usage.
One of the interesting designs implemented on the AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard is the swappable overlay for Accent LED. This overlay complements the RGB Fusion technology in AORUS motherboard by adding more flare and style inside cases. It's an interesting design which really looks great when the board is running.
The I/O on the motherboard includes PS/2, Dual LAN (Intel Gigabit + Killer LAN) ports, USB 3.1 (Type-A + Type-C), dual USB DAC-UP 2 ports with adjustable voltage (Dedicated Power Design), three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0, Display Port 1.4 and a 7.1 channel high quality audio jack.
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X Gaming 7 Photo Gallery:
For testing, we used the latest Intel Core i7-7700K processor which we I had acquired with the help of a board manufacturer. The sample is retail ready and not an "ES" chip like the ones sent out by Intel to reviewers. Intel did not contact us or provided NDA for testing of their Kaby Lake processors. Our review is based purely on fact and precision. We also updated our test rig for the 200-series platform review which is listed in the table below:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 Test Setup:
| Processor | Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5930K Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-7700K Intel Core i7-6700K Intel Core i7-4790K Intel Core i7-4770K Intel Core i7-3770K Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i5-4690K Intel Core i5-3570K |
|---|---|
| Motherboard: | Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 8 w/Core i7-7700K Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 w/Core i7-7700K Gigabyte GA-X99-UD7 w/Core i7-5960X Gigabyte GA-X99-UD7 w/Core i7-5930K ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming w/Core i7-6700K ASUS X79 Deluxe w/Core i7-4960X Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC Force w/Core i7-4790K Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC Force w/Core i5-4690K Intel DZ87KLT-75K w/ Core i7-4770K Intel DX79SI LGA 2011 w/ Core i7-3960X ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 w/ Core i7-3770K ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 w/ Core i7-3570K ASUS Sabertooth P67 w/ Core i7-2600K |
| Power Supply: | Corsair RM 750X Gold Plus |
| Solid State Drive: | Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB) |
| Hard Disk: | Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200.12 |
| Memory: | G.SKILL Trident Z Series 16GB (2 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz Kingston HyperX 2400 MHz 10th Anniversary Edition Memory Kit (DDR3) |
| Case: | Corsair Graphite Series 780T Full Tower |
| Video Cards: | MSI GeForce GTX 1070 ARMOR OC |
| Cooling Solutions: | Cryorig R1 Ultimate |
| OS: | Windows 10 64-bit Anniversary Edition |
I would personally like to thank G.Skill for arranging a stunning DDR4 memory kit for this review. They shipped us with a TridentZ series memory (Black and White Color Combination). The memory kit comprises of 2 DIMMs that operate in dual channel mode, ideal for our Z270 board tests. The memory is clocked at 3600 MHz which is supported by the new motherboards since they support XMP profiles. Clock timing is set at 16 and the capacity is 16 GB for this specific kit.
We won't be focusing on Intel's Core i7-7700K architecture in this review since it is entirely the same chip as Skylake along with minor improvements. The Skylake / Kaby Lake architecture analysis can be seen in detail here.
Intel Core i7-7700K 4.9 GHz Overclock on AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7
Our Intel Core i7-7700K isn't a decent overclocker as it requires voltage over 1.35V for a decent clock speed bump. Here, we overclocked the chip to 4.9 GHz (bus speed = 100 MHz x 49.0 Multiplier) using a voltage of 1.387V. The results were stable after testing in Prime95 as a stability run.
X264 HD Encode Benchmark
This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark as the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
Cinebench R15
CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench is based on Maxon’s Cinema 4D. It is used to compare graphics as well as processor performance. We are using the CPU performance numbers for our comparison.
PCMark 8
PCMark 8 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 8 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
POV-Ray
The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray-tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.
3DMark 11 CPU Performance
DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. It was released on December 7, 2010. 3DMark 11 includes four Graphics tests – Deep Sea 1 & 2, High Temple 1 & 2 – for measuring GPU performance, a Physics test measuring CPU performance, and a Combined test targeting CPU and GPU performance.
3DMark Vantage CPU Performance
3DMark Vantage is a DirectX 10 video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.
WinRar
WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
SuperPI
Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
HandBrake
Intel Core i7-7700K – Battlefield 1
Battlefield 1 is the kind of game that doesn’t need any real introduction. The latest installment of the Battlefield series is as beautiful as anyone would expect and comes right out of the gate with full DX11 and DX12. EA and DICE did a fantastic job with their AAA WW1 shooter this time by implementing some key gaming technologies. We tested the game at 1440P using Ultra settings and DirectX 11 API.
Intel Core i7-7700K - GTA V
GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It's scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.
Intel Core i7-7700K - Ashes of The Singularity
Stardock's Ashes of the Singularity RTS title is a new take on the historic genre. The game incorporates several things that many pc gamers have been curious about and anxious to try for themselves such as Explicit Multi-Adapter Support and full Asynchronous Compute under DirectX 12 API. We tested the game at 1440P with 4x MSAA on Crazy Settings under DirectX 12.
Intel Core i7-7700K - Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 once again takes us on a hacking tour, but this time in the city of San Francisco. Using a very evolved version of the OPUS engine the developers should have a better grasp on things this go around than they did with Watch Dogs. The new engine incorporates several NVIDIA Gameworks technologies and is seen as one of the most graphics intensive titles to launch this year. We tested the game on a mix of Ultra and high settings at 1440P (Temporal Filtering Disabled).
Intel Core i7-7700K - Sid Meir's Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It's featured huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Intel Core i7-7700K - Rise of the Tomb Raider
The latest Rise of the Tomb Raider title gets lots of graphical enhancements added by Crystal Dynamics and Nixxes, including hardware tessellation, increased anisotropic filtering, additional dynamic foliage, increased LOD, additional PureHair strands, sun soft shadows, and improved bokeh DOF. We tested the game at 1440P under DirectX 12 API.
The Kaby Lake architecture is meant to improve overall system power consumption and add to the efficiency. In the case of the Core i7-7700K, we are looking at refined 14nm Plus process which allows Intel to gain improved clock speeds under the same power package.
With the frequency bump, the new chips do end up with higher power consumption both in idle and load states. When overclocked, the Core i7-7700K did went past the 400W barrier due to added power and voltage. We used a Phantek’s PH-TC14PE cooler to keep the chip cooled under stock and overclocked load and the result was a significant increase in the temperatures compared to Skylake generation.
There are two parts of this review, first one is the processor and the second is the motherboard. While the review mainly focused on the motherboard, the processor is something to talk about as they are an essential part of this yearly upgrade cycle that Intel is bringing to consumers.
Intel's Core i7-7700K Is Nothing To Get Excited About
Intel Kaby Lake series brings us the 7th generation processors in the mainstream market. They feature what Intel's calls their most optimized 14nm node, 14nm+. Intel also says that these processors bring performance improvements and support for higher clock speeds. Essentially, Kaby Lake are a better tuned Skylake uArch for the mainstream community.
But Kaby Lake isn't as exciting as it sounds. With Kaby Lake being one of the worst Intel launches when it comes to NDA. Majority of the tech sites have already tested the Core i7-7700K processor. Yes, it is faster compared to Core i7-6700K. But as a result of obtaining faster clocks, it runs hotter and sips more power.
It does what Intel promised, to deliver faster performance and higher clock speeds but it breaks the efficiency rating of Core processors which although doesn't matter a whole lot to the mainstream audience but is some thing that goes opposite to the principles defined by Intel. So yeah, you get that 10% faster performance than Core i7-6700K and you also get than 7% clock speed bump. In return, you get higher temperatures that are much worse when overclocking (The Core i7-7700K can do 5 GHz with ease provided you have a beast of a cooler) and with that clock bump, you get higher power consumption.
Lastly, there's no IPC increase. Kaby Lake is the same as Skylake with higher clock speeds to simply put it. And the worse thing is that it might be so for the next 2-3 generations. Upcoming Intel Core series such as Coffee Lake (Kaby Lake Refresh) and Cannonlake will be bringing no incremental IPC improvements and will add more cores for better performance throughput. So without further to say, Intel Core i7-7700K is without a doubt, the fastest mainstream chip in the market but it has too many drawbacks in terms of power and temperatures that make Skylake still look as the better option for gamers.
Farewell 100-Series, 200-Series Boards Are The Best Option For 6th and 7th Generation Core PC Builders
And there are many to select from. The Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 is the first board from AORUS and it has pleasantly surprised me. AORUS is doing a pretty good job in the laptop gaming department but this is the first time they will be designing boards for Gigabyte. The AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 packs it all, a great design, lots of features, good overclocking support, M.2 and Optane support, RGB LED system and costs under $250 US.
I was excited about this board when I first learned about the price of this board. It was actually after several days of testing that Gigabyte told me that this board was going to cost $239 US. I had previously thought of this board being priced closed to $300 US but it turned out that this was truly a remarkable product that was priced really well.
Coming to the design, the board has it all. Support for multiple GPUs, support for faster memory, support for faster storage and support for M.2 drives. The motherboard can easily push Skylake and Kaby Lake CPUs upto 5 GHz and the performance metrics look great. The premium components on this board along with the heatsink cooling is top-notch. My only complaint was no added-WiFi wireless connectivity but that's not much of a big deal. The integrated audio codec is high-end and allows users to add their own custom OP-AMP solutions.
One of the key visual features added to 200-series boards is RGB AURA systems. I have actually been a fan of decent RGB lightning and the ability to customize RGB through the Gigabyte RGB Fusion application is really fun and simple. For those who are not interested in their PCs being lit up like a Christmas tree, the system can be turned off entirely.
One of the things I am really looking forward to test with 200-series motherboards is Optane memory. Intel's 7th generation Core processors support Optane memory and I'll be really looking forward to running Optane based DIMMs on these boards. As for M.2 drive, this was my first experience with the new storage interface and it was a good one. M.2 is definitely the future as it delivers speeds much faster than regular SSDs. If you are building a new PC, make sure to get a M.2 SSD (NVMe).
Alright, so the last note of this review is that Kaby Lake is faster but it's not as great as we hoped for. On the other hand, the 200-series platform comes with lots of features that motherboard makers have implemented in their unique offerings. AORUS developed an amazing product lineup in their very first entry to the motherboard industry. The AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 motherboard is an all rounder with great specs, features and a design that is a complete stunner. At $240 US, the AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 is going to be the best option for Intel 6th and 7th generation PC builders.
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About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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