AORUS Z370 Ultra Gaming Review
With the new Intel Coffee lake release, we are receiving quite a number of Intel Z370 chipset motherboards many of which are specifically designed for overclocking or that combine features which both overclockers, enthusiasts and gamers in mind, but today we are taking a look at an AORUS solution oriented toward value high end gaming build. The AORUS Z370 Ultra Gaming motherboard a feature packed full ATX board supporting new Coffee lake processors, fastest DDR-4 RAMs out there, Digital RGB LED support, Dual M.2, 120dB SNR ALC1220, Intel Gaming LAN, Front USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C & Rear USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, Smart Fan 5 and more.
Now let's see what this new Intel Z370 chipset based AORUS gaming board have for us.
Features
- Supports 8th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors
- Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
- Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
- ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-Câ„¢ and Type-A
- Front USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-Câ„¢ Header
- Multi-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durableâ„¢ Design
- ALC1220 120dB SNR HD Audio with Smart Headphone AMP and WIMA audio capacitors
- Intel GbE LAN Gaming Network with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator Software
- RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Digital LED Light Show design, support digital LED & RGB LED strips
- Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
- Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
- Dual Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA interface
- USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage
- Anti-Sulfur Resistors Design
- Ultra Durableâ„¢ 25KV ESD and 15KV Surge LAN Protection
- Lightning-Fast Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 AIC Support
- APP Center Including EasyTuneâ„¢ and Cloud Stationâ„¢ Utilities
Specifications
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CPU
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Support for 8th Generation
Intel® Core™ i7
processors/Intel® Core™
i5 processors/Intel® Core™
i3 processors in the LGA1151 package L3 cache varies with CPU(Please refer
"CPU Support List" for more information.)
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Chipset
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Intel® Z370
Express Chipset
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Memory
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4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory
Dual channel memory architecture
Support for DDR4 4000(O.C.) / 3866(O.C.) / 3800(O.C.) / 3733(O.C.) /
3666(O.C.) / 3600(O.C.) / 3466(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300(O.C.) /
3200(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666 / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules
Support for ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in
non-ECC mode)
Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules
Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)
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Onboard Graphics
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Integrated Graphics Processor-Intel® HD
Graphics support:
1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200@60 Hz
* The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096x2160@30 Hz
* Support for HDMI 1.4 version and HDCP 2.2.
Maximum shared memory of 1 GB
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Audio
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Realtek® ALC1220
codec
High Definition Audio
2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
Support for S/PDIF Out
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LAN
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Intel® GbE LAN
chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
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Expansion Slots
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1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
* For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is
to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)
* The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the
PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
* The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX1_2 and PCIEX1_3
slots. When the PCIEX1_2 or PCIEX1_3 slot is populated, the PCIEX4 slot will
operate at up to x1 mode.
3 x PCI Express x1 slots
(All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
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Storage Interface
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Chipset:
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe
x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G)
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe
x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_32G)
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
* Refer to "1-8 Internal Connectors," for the installation
notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors.
Intel® Optane™
Memory Ready
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Multi-Graphics Technology
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Support for NVIDIA® Quad-GPU
SLI™ and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™
technologies
Support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireâ„¢ and 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFireâ„¢
technologies
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USB
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Chipset+ASMedia® USB
3.1 Gen 2 Controller:
1 x USB Type-Câ„¢ port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red) on the back panel
Chipset:
1 x USB Type-Câ„¢ port with USB 3.1 Gen 1 support, available through
the internal USB header
6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available
through the internal USB header)
6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available
through the internal USB headers)
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Internal I/O Connectors
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1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 x CPU fan header
1 x water cooling CPU fan header
3 x system fan headers
1 x system fan/water cooling pump header
2 x digital LED strip headers
2 x digital LED strip power select jumpers
2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip headers
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
1 x S/PDIF Out header
1 x USB Type-Câ„¢ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 1 support
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 header
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
1 x Thunderboltâ„¢ add-in card connector
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x6 pin, for the
GC-TPM2.0_S module only)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
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Back Panel Connectors
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1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
1 x DVI-D port
1 x HDMI port
1 x USB Type-Câ„¢ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red)
4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x RJ-45 port
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line
In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller
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iTE® Controller Chip
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H/W Monitoring
Voltage detection
Temperature detection
Fan speed detection
Water cooling flow rate detection
Overheating warning
Fan fail warning
Fan speed control
* Whether the fan (pump) speed control function is supported will
depend on the fan (pump) you install.
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BIOS
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2 x 128 Mbit flash
Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS
Support for DualBIOSâ„¢
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
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Unique Features
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Support for APP Center
* Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model.
Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on
motherboard specifications.
3D OSD
@BIOS
AutoGreen
BIOS Setup
Color Temperature
Cloud Station
EasyTune
Easy RAID
Fast Boot
Game Boost
ON/OFF Charge
Platform Power Management
RGB Fusion
Smart Backup
Smart Keyboard
Smart TimeLock
Smart HUD
System Information Viewer
USB Blocker
USB DAC-UP 2
V-Tuner
Support for Q-Flash
Support for Xpress Install
Bundle Software
Norton® Internet
Security (OEM version)
cFosSpeed
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Operating System
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Support for Windows 10 64-bit
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Form Factor
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ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
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Package
Looking at the front of the box, we see AORUS logo with motherboard model no. in big at center of the box. At the rear of the box, we find that AORUS goes into great detail on the specifications of the motherboard
Inside the box
Looks
Board is a solid build on a black PCB with white line graphics over the PCB, giving whole board a great appearance and wild look.
Layout
Detailed layout of board.
1. Intel LGA1151 socket, supporting New Intel's 8th gen processors
2. 4 DIMM Dual channel DDR4 memory slots with Armor supporting max. 64GB at 2133MHz in normal and up to 4000MHz when OC.
3. ATX Power connector (24-pin EATXPWR)
4. ATX CPU Power Connector (8-pin ATX12V).
5. Back Panel Connectors : 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, 1 x DVI-D port, 1 x HDMI port, 1 x USB Type-Câ„¢ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red), 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports, 1 x RJ-45 port, 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector, 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
6. 7. 14.CPU fan connector, Water-pump-fan connector and 4 x system fan connectors
8. USB Type-Câ„¢ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 1 support and 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 header
9.
10. System Front panel Connector
11. 2 x USB 2.0 Connectors
12. 13. RGB LED strip extension cable headers and TPM Connector
15. Front panel Audio connector
16. 17. Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 connector
18. Expansion Slots : 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16), 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8), 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4), 3 x PCI Express x1 slots
Removing Heat-sinks
AORUS used dense aluminum heatsink in this board. Heatsinks base is having thermal pad installed. VRM heatsink are secured in place using screws and spacers.
Component Layout
Let's now see what all components AORUS have planned for this board.
1. 2. CPU voltage regulator circuit has ON Semiconductor NTMFS 4C06N and 4C10N Power MOSFETS each with combined stage limited to 69A controlled by Intersil ISL95866 Hybrid Digital Four Phase PWM Controller.
3. Single-Phase digital memory power supply section for DDR4 memories
4. 5. PTN336ODBS is PCIe-to-two-port USB 3.1 controllers and ASMedia ASM3142 single chip USB3.1 solution.
6. Intel Gigabit LAN solution.
7. The ITE IT8686E chip provides the super I/O functions, such as fan control and system monitoring
8. AORUS equipped this board with ALC 1220 120dB SNR HD Audio codec at the heart of the audio solution.
ALC 1220 120dB SNR HD Audio - The ALC1220 is a high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio Codec with up to 120dB SNR for crystal clear audio along with premium quality CHEMI-CON audio capacitors for a warmer sound.
A semi-transparent line on motherboard separates the whole audio section from the rest of the board in order to minimize interference. So listening under Stereo mode produces high audio quality with excellent dynamic range.
RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) suite is used for testing AORUS High Definition audio against Asus Xonar U7 External Sound card. You can see clearly the difference between Noise level, dynamic rang and Total harmonic distortion percentage produced by AORUS High Definition audio.
RMAA Asus Xonar U7
RMAA AORUS Audio
9. Intel Z370 Chipset.
10. AORUS uses MXIC MX 2SL12873F a capacity of 128 Mb for storing UEFI BIOS.
11. ITE 8295 microcontroller used for RBG LED control and other functions.
12. Array of NXP LD4083B PCI-e switch chips.
Testing
CPU | Intel Core i7 8700K |
Board | AORUS Z370 Ultra Gaming |
RAM | 2 X 8GB Vengeance LPX DDR4 3600Mhz |
HDD | Seagate 2TB FireCuda SSHD |
SSD | Corsair Force GT 240 SSD |
Cooler | Corsair H100i GTX AIO |
GFX | AORUS RX 570 |
PSU | Corsair RM650X |
BIOS
Bundled Softwares
Benchmarks
Overclocking
At this extreme overclocking, CPU do sometime hits 100C, but that is just due to TIM used by Intel on these chips. Waiting for some liquid metal and delid kit to arrive, sure these crazy temps will come under control then. Will update you more on this.
Power Consumption
Wattage reading as per displayed by APC Pro 1000VA (Model no. BR1000G-IN) UPS.
Pros
- Nice Features
- Good value for money
- Decent Audio
- Great RGB support
Cons
Conclusion
AORUS has done a great job in designing this board. At a price tag of Rs.17300(approx.), this board offers more than any other product in this range and segment. The board delivers solid and consistent performance throughout our testing.
Intel new Coffee lake processors are most significantly forward since a few generations ago. For those who might have not upgraded since a while, the AORUS Z370 Ultra Gaming motherboard is might something that you should consider. AMD Ryzen is a great buyer, but if you want better memory support and more of in a single core performance with Intel's 8th Generation processors this board is most suitable
and is worthy of our PC TeK Reviews VALUE Award.
Manufacturers Info
Site Link
Thanks.