EVGA Announces the Z170 Classified-K Motherboard

[btarunr]

The EVGA Z170 Classified K is engineered from the ground up for the hardcore gamer. Featuring a next generation Intel Z170 Express Chipset with DDR4 3600MHz+ memory support, this motherboard is built to dominate. Built in Killer Ethernet helps to prioritize and reduce network latency to keep you at the top of your game. Of course, with EVGA overclocking DNA, this board is built for overclocking with a robust VRM and hardware design that is built for speed.



New and Key Features:

• Intel Z170 Platform - The latest chipset from Intel giving excellent performance and efficiency.
• Killer E2400 NIC - Helps to prioritize and reduce network latency to keep you at the top of your game.
• USB 3.1 Support - The latest USB standard gives you the ultimate transfer performance.
• Built for Overclocking - Robust GUI BIOS focuses on functionality and gives you incredible overclocking performance.

For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[The Quim Reaper]

Would like to build a 'EVGA' themed rig sometime.

 

[Parn]

2x SATAe but no U.2 = waste of PCIe lanes & outdated

 

[PLAfiller]

2x SATAe but no U.2 = waste of PCIe lanes & outdated

U.2 might be the future, but it hasn't advanced that much in today's MB. As far as I have seen only a handful of MB has a U.2 slot.

 

[bogami]

PLX is not on so 2xSLI + Physx max .

 

[the54thvoid]

Would like to build a 'EVGA' themed rig sometime.

I also fancy this but EVGA only make Nvidia gfx cards so if Polaris (AMD) is good, it would mess with the theme.

 

[Chaitanya]

I don't understand why all the motherboard manufacturers keep giving that Killer NIC on gaming boards.

 

[zedn]

2x SATAe but no U.2 = waste of PCIe lanes & outdated

There are M.2 slots which I think is much better than U.2. It took them a long time to remove the cable from hard disks and make such a tiny slot on the motherboard so that you can assemble your 1TB ssd with only one screw. Why bother? U.2 is not even faster than M.2.

 

[Frick]

Every time I see an EVGA Classified motherboard a part of me hope it will be dual socket, but it never is.

 

[Beerbam]

Ah sad this board does not have a PLX PEX Switch like the Z170 Classified 4-Way.

There are 16 PCI express lanes from the CPU used for max. 3 Slots(8,4,4)
So the 2nd graphic card is using only 4 lanes and supported by the SLI brdige?

PE1 – x16, (x8 if PE2 or PE3 is used) lanes from CPU
PE2 – x8, (x4 if PE3 is used) lanes from CPU
PE3 – x4, 4 lanes from CPU
-------------------------
PE4 – x4, 4 lanes from PCH
PE5 – x1, 1 lane from PCH
PE6 – x1, 1 lane from PCH
-------------------------

So no way around to design your own board to get rid of those damned intel cpu delays when sending information from one pci express device to the other.

 

[Parn]

There are M.2 slots which I think is much better than U.2. It took them a long time to remove the cable from hard disks and make such a tiny slot on the motherboard so that you can assemble your 1TB ssd with only one screw. Why bother? U.2 is not even faster than M.2.

Every other Z170 board comes with M.2, so that doesn't make this EVGA board any better. However U.2 can only be found on a handful of high-end boards and is technically better than SATAe (max 4 PCIe lanes vs 2).

 

[PLAfiller]

I don't understand why all the motherboard manufacturers keep giving that Killer NIC on gaming boards.

Because it supposedly "arranges" your incoming/outgoing packages to be optimized for gaming and media. I can't speak from experience as I haven't owned a killer nic so far. But I'd definitely give it a spin if I could.

 

[PP Mguire]

Every other Z170 board comes with M.2, so that doesn't make this EVGA board any better. However U.2 can only be found on a handful of high-end boards and is technically better than SATAe (max 4 PCIe lanes vs 2).

And M.2 is gen 3 4x meaning what the other guy says is true. There's no point really in U.2 when we have M.2 with no cables.


For anybody who didn't watch their CES coverage this board is meant to be a cheaper option to the regular Classified by ditching the PLX chips. That is why they aren't present. It would be an utter fail if they price this the same just because it has a Killer NIC though.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

Hero Alpha is a better option if you want U.2.

This is a great board but really only see a added M.2 slot and memory that can go to 3600+ which is whatever great if you can afford 3600+ memory prices.

Oh and this is ATX not E-ATX (like the z170 classy) which is nice.

 

[Parn]

And M.2 is gen 3 4x meaning what the other guy says is true. There's no point really in U.2 when we have M.2 with no cables.


For anybody who didn't watch their CES coverage this board is meant to be a cheaper option to the regular Classified by ditching the PLX chips. That is why they aren't present. It would be an utter fail if they price this the same just because it has a Killer NIC though.

I was comparing U.2 to SATAe not M.2. BTW U.2 can also be either Gen3 x2 or x4, so M.2 is no better in terms of raw speed. U.2 drives are usually in 2.5" format and cooled better. Also in the future when there are more PCIe lanes available on a single board, it will be a lot easier to have multiple PCIe storages with U.2 as most ATX boards only have space for maybe maximum of 2 M.2 slots.

 

[PP Mguire]

I'm comparing the two as usability. Most want M.2 for a simple stick solution to get away from cables. If you need more drives it only makes sense to use SATA since more than likely it'll be for storage. As a person who wants fast large drives I prefer M.2 as a standard due to not needing any cables. U.2 in itself IMO is pretty janky with its current implementation. I'll change my stance if they ever replace SATAe ports with U.2 ports on the side of the board.

 

[Steven B]

Woah, wait a minute. The PCB isn't identical to the one shown at CES? The one shown at CES seems to have had extra dedicated rails for very minor voltages, where they moved? or removed for looks?

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Ah sad this board does not have a PLX PEX Switch like the Z170 Classified 4-Way.

There are 16 PCI express lanes from the CPU used for max. 3 Slots(8,4,4)
So the 2nd graphic card is using only 4 lanes and supported by the SLI brdige?

PE1 – x16, (x8 if PE2 or PE3 is used) lanes from CPU
PE2 – x8, (x4 if PE3 is used) lanes from CPU
PE3 – x4, 4 lanes from CPU
-------------------------
PE4 – x4, 4 lanes from PCH
PE5 – x1, 1 lane from PCH
PE6 – x1, 1 lane from PCH
-------------------------

So no way around to design your own board to get rid of those damned intel cpu delays when sending information from one pci express device to the other.

If you are going to run more than 2 GPUs, you should be looking at x99, not Z170

 

[Beerbam]

If you are going to run more than 2 GPUs, you should be looking at x99, not Z170

I connect a lot of FPGA/s,Asics,GPU's etc. in ever changing combinations and now I need to change it to GEN3 and >= 48lanes/5 devices (4+CPU)

I was only interested in it as it popped up in my search routines that it has a PEX Chip.
Should be corrected by now with most databases.
This week the Supermicro C7Z170-OCE popped up with a low price tag and
PEX, but this time I will just wait 1 week if it's true or not

And yes the 4way is the only usable on the market for me, but at that price point/limited availability (in my case) I would stick to my old school technology.
Till now each Generation got a cheap Mainboard with a good Bios and the relevant stuff is on an extender Board connected the way I need it.
For the new one the only relevant chip (Bios/driver supported) is a PEX.
One Time high costs depending on how much damage is done till the board is stable but it can be used over several Generations of Mainboards.