The ECS Z370-Lightsaber is a board that feels undefined. Its good-looking black theme is broken up by the uncovered silver bits of its rear I/O. Its best features, like the dual BIOS, an external clear CMOS button, and a fully featured POST code display, cater to enthusiast overclockers, but a dated BIOS and minimalist fan controls hold it back. It's a product trying to straddle the market, too feature rich to really be a budget board, but not with enough features to be a high-end board. Quite frankly, ECS needs to put some serious effort into their software and BIOS before they can expect the "Lightsaber" brand to garner any real following. Just having a solid hardware platform will not cut it.

In writing this review, I used a variation of the word "odd" no less than four separate times. The first in regards to the shiny golden box, which clashes with the matte black theme of the board. I believe a simple black box, perhaps with an "RGB" colored line mimicking the "LED Trace Path" that gives the board its name, would be a better choice. The second was in reference to the lack of color coding on the rear audio jacks. I'm all for keeping with a theme, but with four different colors of USB ports that argument doesn't really hold up. The next such reference was made in conjunction with its limited fan controls. It doesn't make sense for the software to control only three of the five fan headers; both CPU headers, but only one of the two system headers and not the "power fan" header. The lack of any USB Type-C ports on the rear I/O panel is what the last "odd" reference referred to; that "odd" feeling stuck with me throughout testing.

I don't know what to make of the ECS Z370-Lightsaber. I want to like it for its simple but attractive aesthetic and thoughtful user accommodations, but can't ignore its flaws and omitted features. The "Lightsaber" brand has some potential and ECS has the hardware capable to get it there. However, the software where a customer interacts with the product is seriously lacking. You wouldn't put a cheap steering wheel on a fast car, and you shouldn't bundle a sub-par interface with a premium motherboard. On paper, the ECS Z370-Lightsaber might be a capable board worth serious consideration, but at 180 US dollars, there are much more fully featured competitors.