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Hardware Gigabyte Z170N-Gaming 5 Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Combatus, 1 Sep 2016.

  1. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

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  2. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    Bit of a pain how so many motherboards are shipping with basically no USB ports on the rear IO. I know that fast ones are good and all, but it's just a bit of a pain having to use hubs all the time.
     
  3. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Nice, another good Z170 mITX board.. Still looks like the Asus Z170i Pro Gaming is the best option for me, but it's nice to have another good choice available.

    I still think that most of the Z170 mITX boards incorporate at least one dodgy design choice, though, so there's still a space in the market for the perfect Z170 mITX!
     
  4. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I went through this process a few weeks ago, before I got the Asus Z170i Pro Gaming. Most of the others had limited m.2 capability, whereas the Pro Gaming was a little light on SATA ports, but I'm using m.2 for OS and a single storage drive - the rest of my storage is in my server.

    I don't get the need for masses of SATA peripherals on a mini ITX board - any more than two or three and you're doing it wrong, IMO - so it was perfect. In comparison, the Gigabyte looks a little light on USB ports at the back, which is a bigger compromise, I think.

    Oh, mine doesn't have a type c connector - how will I survive? :lol:
     
  5. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    imo type-C connectors would be better served on a case front panel right now... other than some new phones and a couple of peripherals targeted at the Macbook, there aren't that many type-c things out there atm, and none are the kinda things i wanna be rummaging at the back of the case to plug in...

    right now on-board Type-C is just a marketing gimmick, 'our boards have it!... you'll likely never use it but our boards have it!'
     
  6. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

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    The ASRock Fatalwhatever Z170 ITX board seems to be the best of the crop at the moment: full length (2280) m.2 slot, 6x SATA ports, 8x USB ports (with a mix of 6x USB 3 and 2x USB 3.1, one of which is Type C). It;s also the only Z170 board I am aware of with HDMI 2.0 on-board, so if you want one for HTPC use without a discrete GPU that pretty much makes it the choice by default.
     
  7. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    Best mini ITX board ever is/was the Asus Maximus VII Impact. Loads of USB ports, good amount of SATA slots, M.2, etc, etc.
     
  8. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Aye, imo 4 SATA ports is more than enough for mITX (especially if you embrace the future and bin off that optical drive, and if you're using the M.2 port). Also agree that skimping on the USB ports is a bit of a pain - although it's easily rectified by using a hub, that sort of defeats the purpose of having everything in the one tiny enclosure :D

    USB C is currently a nice-to-have, rather than an essential, but in an ideal world you'd have one just in case you needed it in the future :)

    For me, if I were buying a Z170 mITX board today, it's a toss-up between the ASUS Z170i ProGaming and the ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming-ITX/ac. I struggle to see the point in paying over the odds for the Asus Maximus VIII Impact - to me it doesn't nearly justify the 50% price hike over the Z170i PG, and I can't get my head around using U.2 rather than M.2. Let's not mention the EVGA mITX offering that doesn't even have a proper M.2 connector. Lame!
     
  9. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I think it's little more than a box tick at the moment, at least for the vast majority of people.

    I laughed when I saw the price of the Max VIII and the EVGA Stinger - I do like Asrock boards, in fact I prefer them over Asus, but I couldn't see what made the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac worth the extra £30 over the Z170i Pro Gaming - If onboard HDMI 2.0 matters to you, why buy a Z170? Save £50 and get a H170.
     
  10. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Completely agree re: H170 vs Z170. As for the price premium on the AsRock, it's obviously because if you're going to buy a board with the word "Gaming" in the name then you'll definitely want it to be endorsed by Johnathan Wendel :rolleyes:
     
  11. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    As an owner of both a Stinger and an Impact, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Stinger is pretty but lacks any sort of function from this generation, I only got it because it was the only available board in the UK at the time. That the Impact has no on board m.2 port is a joke IMO. The only reason I picked one up was because it was needed for the next day and was the only ITX board in stock on Amazon with prime delivery (no M.2 drive in the build so didn't need the port). Don't get me wrong, it's a nice board that was easy enough to build with (despite some poor SATA port placement) but I'm not exactly raving about it.
     
  12. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

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    The extra £30 for the ASRock (though at launch I think they were about even) was worth it for me for the extra 2x USB 3 ports (the Asus still has 2x USB 2 ports hanging out at the back) and having all the fan headers as PWM rather than voltage-control. Rift + 2x cameras + Vive eats up 4x USB3 ports alone, so the Asus would leave no ports left for a USB 3 hub for other devices.
     
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