# Z270 or Z370 mobo?



## ktn21 (Oct 9, 2017)

Hello,




I work at the local Television network as a video editor, so I like to bring work home very often. I was planning on buying a new M.2 PCIe NVMe, so I could have some really fast workflow when editing, importing, exporting and rendering stuff.
But apparently my motherboard is ~4 years old (ASRock H87 Pro4, LGA1150, i7 4790k, DDR3 16GB) and it dosen't support M.2 SSD. So I thought I would just buy a new motherboard. Then I discovered that the LGA1150 is pretty much a dying breed right now. So there wouldn't be a point for me to buy a new mobo from that platform again. It would be a wiser move for me to upgrade to LGA1151 or so on.

So my question is:

1) Should I upgrade my motherboard to LGA1151 *Z270* or *Z370*?
(I would have to buy a new CPU anyways and the new Coffee Lake i7 8700k, that just came out seems like a pretty good thing for editing and also gaming. But as I heard, the Z370 mobo isn't backwards compatible, would the Z370 platform be a dead end after a year or so, with no upgrade path in the future and what do you think, would the Z370 work with the next line of CPUs in the future?!)


2) What kind of DDR4 RAM should be used with the new Coffee Lake i7 8700k CPU? ( I was thinking about 16GB 8+8 at 3000 mhz, for example: http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/vengea...0mhz-c15-memory-kit-white-cmk16gx4m2b3000c15w )





My rig:
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4790K (CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4
Memory: Crucial DDR3 8GB 1600MHz (2x)
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce EVGA GTX 1080 FTW
Hard Disk(s): Samsung 850 EVO Series 250GB SSD/ Hitachi Deskstar P7K2000GB
Monitor: Samsung 49"KU6400 UHD 4K
Power Supply: Corsair RMi Series™ RM750i
Software: Windows 7 64x Ultimate


Thank you in advance!
Chris M


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## Cybrnook2002 (Oct 9, 2017)

No idea, any answer to your question would be purely speculative.

It just boils down to if you buy Z270, you can ONLY get Skylake or Kabylake processors, not upward compatible with CL. I see you run Windows 7, and of those only the skylake (ex: 6700k) is officially support on windows 7 , so you can still get windows updates. Kabylake is not supported, so M$ will shut off windows updates. You can "hack" that, but pretty janky to have to do that (and shady on M$ and Intel for doing this anyways).

if you get Z370, it will only work with Coffeelake and is NOT downwards compatible to KL or SL. CPU's are all backordered for now, and boards are only just starting to come out. (No windows 7 support).

So really 4 core vs 6 core, with higher potentially in the future. There will always be something better....

Memory wise, I also use DDR4 3000 and it's fine, no big gain or loss.


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## Flaky (Oct 9, 2017)

Please don't use counter-informative term "M.2 SSD", as it tells nothing. There are *M.2 SATA* SSDs, and *M.2 PCIe NVMe* SSDs. As you're mentioning exceptional performance, you're probably speaking of the latter.

Z370 will be as dead as your current platform. Doesn't matter 
If you can afford, then get Z370 and a hex-core.

But... is the plan of getting NVMe SSD the only reason you want to swap almost everything in PC? 
There are Z87/Z97 motherboards on which you'll get NVMe drives running at full speed.


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## StrayKAT (Oct 9, 2017)

These both have limited lifespan in their own way (270 moreso). I'm a 270 owner, but if you're starting from scratch, I wouldn't recommend it. To me, it seems like x299 has a longer future than either.


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## hapkiman (Oct 9, 2017)

If you are starting a new build, then yes a Z370 board is the way to go, along with a i7 8700k processor.  The i7 8700k seems to be very capable for "editing, importing, exporting and rendering stuff" as you stated, and will be good to go for years.

You'll also want at least 32GB of fast DDR4 RAM as well (3000 or 3200MHz).  Those tasks you mentioned will use the RAM.  16GB will cut you short.

BTW LGA1150 has been a dead end socket for quite a while now.  It's not just becoming a "dying breed."  It's _*way*_ past that.

*So to answer your questions specifically:
*
1) Yes get a Z370 board and pair it with a i7 8700k.  ASUS or MSI are great brands.  And install your OS onto the M.2, you'll thank me later.  You need Windows 10 as well.  Wave bye-bye to Win 7.  It was great, but it's done.

2) Corsair makes great RAM, and yes 3000MHz or faster will be fine (these Z370 boards support RAM even faster but it gets pricey real fast).  But 16GB will not be enough for video editing and rendering.  32GB is a minimum for that.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 14, 2017)

OP, I know this might seem like a weird question but, based on your needs, have you considered maybe a Ryzen Threadripper and an X399 board?


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## bonehead123 (Oct 14, 2017)

Regardless of what you get NOW, it will be outdated within 6 months to a year, assuming of course that the current pace of tech advancement continues as it has for the past few years 

However, do not refrain from upgrading now if you feel the need, because if you get the rig that suits your needs, it will continue to do so at least until the next "BIG THING" comes out, and probably for a while after that...

bottom line:  a properly equipped Z370-Lake or X399 TR rig should serve you well for a couple of years...regardless of what comes out after it...


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## RejZoR (Oct 14, 2017)

StrayKAT said:


> These both have limited lifespan in their own way (270 moreso). I'm a 270 owner, but if you're starting from scratch, I wouldn't recommend it. To me, it seems like x299 has a longer future than either.



Then again, going with X299 and sticking a crappy quad core in it or even 6 core for that matter is just silly. In that case rather get Z370 and i7 8700K and call it a day. I mean, if you go with X299 you better go big, otherwise it's pointless. It didn't used to be like this when X99 only meant you going big since you couldn't on consumer (non HEDT) platform...


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## Liquid Cool (Oct 14, 2017)

If it was my pc in those specs you're listing.  I wouldn't upgrade anything.

,

Liquid Cool


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## puma99dk| (Oct 14, 2017)

@ktn21 if u ain't hungry for new hardware keep what u have no need for upgrading.

Remember Intel's Tick and Tock system, with this said yes Intel reused their LGA1151 socket for Coffe Lake doesn't mean that u can reuse the older boards with the new cpu's sadly or vice versa.


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## hat (Oct 14, 2017)

If you need cpu power, get the 8700k or x299. If you just want a faster drive, there are plenty of pcie expansion cards that will support fast m.2 nvme drives or even straight up pcie ssd drives.


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## EarthDog (Oct 14, 2017)

I wonder if the op is going to reply, or just 'thanks' everything...


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## StrayKAT (Oct 14, 2017)

RejZoR said:


> Then again, going with X299 and sticking a crappy quad core in it or even 6 core for that matter is just silly. In that case rather get Z370 and i7 8700K and call it a day. I mean, if you go with X299 you better go big, otherwise it's pointless. It didn't used to be like this when X99 only meant you going big since you couldn't on consumer (non HEDT) platform...



I'd rather do that, and then upgrade to i9 when prices slash in half. Just knowing the option is there is nice. It's better than my 270, which I just bought. It's already a dead end and not even a year old.


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## RealNeil (Oct 14, 2017)

X99 is still pretty viable too. My six-core i7-6850 chews through folding at home work-units pretty quickly.
My Ryzen eight core R1700X does well too.
Either platform will do video rendering and all of your other tasks much faster than the 4790K does. They are getting to be affordable too.


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## peche (Oct 18, 2017)

ktn21 said:


> I work at the local Television network as a video editor, so I like to bring work home very often. I was planning on buying a new M.2 PCIe NVMe, so I could have some really fast workflow when editing, importing, exporting and rendering stuff.
> But apparently my motherboard is ~4 years old (ASRock H87 Pro4, LGA1150, i7 4790k, DDR3 16GB) and it dosen't support M.2 SSD. So I thought I would just buy a new motherboard. Then I discovered that the LGA1150 is pretty much a dying breed right now. So there wouldn't be a point for me to buy a new mobo from that platform again. It would be a wiser move for me to upgrade to LGA1151 or so on.


Z97 board are able to use M.2 SSD directly in the board, no PCI adapters.... you can just get a new Z97 board and keep all you already have, also upgrading to W10 is way better!

Regards.


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## Flaky (Oct 18, 2017)

M.2 slot on most Z97 motherboards is a crap PCIe gen2 x2 one. That means a ~800MB/s cap for NVMe SSDs.

The optimal solution is a Z87/Z97 motherboard that splits CPUs PCIe lanes (also known as SLI capable) what allows up to 3 NVMe drives running at full speed.
Asrock Z97 Extreme6 does exactly that with first M.2 slot. On others a simple PCIe -> M.2 adapter will do the trick.


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## EarthDog (Oct 18, 2017)

A board doesnt have to be SLI capable to split lanes afaik..

Or have m.2 lanes from the cpu


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## Flaky (Oct 18, 2017)

Doesn't have to, but most do have SLI cert. I know it's not the same, but for non-technical person "SLI capable" means something. "CPU PCIe bifurcation" does not 
So I prefer to stick to easier term as it's correct for most cases.


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## EarthDog (Oct 19, 2017)

But it has nothing at all to do with it. Need to check manuals to be sure. Many of them have breakdowns of all connectivity in a handy diagram within the manual.


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## Flaky (Oct 19, 2017)

On modern mainstream platforms (115x, FM2(+), AM4) you can't get a x8 link from chipset (at least x8 is a SLI requirement). 
So, If you have SLI support, then the motherboard either bifurcates, or has PLX (less common).


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## EarthDog (Oct 19, 2017)

The motherboard splits the 16  lanes from the CPU to x8/x8 on many (not all) boards. Then there is x4 left from the chipset.


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## Jetster (Oct 19, 2017)

I wouldn't upgrade just for NMVe. It's nice but I've been edditing for years without it and have it now. It's not worth the upgrade. If you must go Z370 and W10


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