Motherboard

X99 holds a relatively exclusive status in the PC market, even among DIY builders and enthusiasts, since the entry costs to the platform are higher in a variety of areas. ASRock addresses this price-limitation directly with the new X99 Taichi – a motherboard that promises a mid-range feature-set for an …

Just last week both MSI and Asus announced that they would be rolling out BIOS updates for their current Z100-series motherboards to introduce support for Intel’s upcoming Kaby Lake processors. If you an MSI user and have already installed the Kaby Lake update, then you may want to keep an …

MSI has been keenly expanding its range of X99 motherboards, particularly gaming-oriented varieties, in reaction to Intel’s Broadwell-E CPUs for LGA 2011-3. Prospective X99 buyers now have a formidable number of options to choose from in the wider X99 marketplace, as well as from within MSI’s own range. One of …

Intel’s Kaby Lake CPUs are coming up in early 2017 and according to recent reports, they may end up being a tad more powerful than initially predicted compared to Skylake. With that in mind, some of you already on the Z170 platform may think about upgrading and thanks to a …

With ‘Racing Super 5’ styling, the Biostar Z170GT7 mainboard includes both USB Type C and 32Gb/s M.2 for fast data transfer as well as Vivid LED DJ which allows for on-board colour customisation – guaranteeing that you’ll be able to get your rig’s internals to match your system’s overall palette. We have one …

Since the launch of Intel’s Broadwell-E CPU family for the X99 platform KitGuru has seen and tested a of variety refreshed motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. However, no assessment of new X99 motherboards would be complete without examining what ASRock has to offer. The ASRock motherboard on test today …

Today is a big day for AMD, not only is the company coming out with its new seventh generation of APUs but it is also launching the new AM4 platform, bringing along support for DDR4, next generation I/O standards and of course, the upcoming Zen processors, which will be arriving …

Intel’s next-gen CPU architecture, Kaby Lake, is expected at some point in the coming months but for now Skylake remains the prominent choice for PC builders.  Z170 continues to be the flagship chipset for Intel’s mainstream CPUs until it is replaced by Intel’s 200-Series chipset with Kaby Lake. It is …

Gigabyte has taken the Broadwell-E launch as an opportunity to update its X99 motherboard line-up. Today we will be examining the X99-Ultra Gaming – a feature-rich motherboard with premium offerings which include multiple PCIe storage interfaces, Intel USB 3.1, and user-customisable RGB lighting. Alongside the new LGA 2011-3 socket that …

Founded in 2006, Asus is celebrating 10 years of creating gaming-orientated enthusiast hardware through its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. And what better way to celebrate a 10-year anniversary than with a special edition of the company’s flagship motherboard? An enhanced version of the Rampage V Extreme, the Rampage V …

Intel’s Broadwell-E processors are now out in the wild, which means this is also the perfect time for some exciting new motherboard launches. This week, ASRock has announced that its new Taichi and Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7 motherboards are now available, both of which are stable and feature-rich offerings. The …

MSI’s Godlike Gaming X99 motherboard first made an appearance mid last year with a striking design and a brazen claim to X99 motherboard superiority. Positioned against the ASUS Rampage V Extreme, now the Rampage V Edition 10, the Godlike Gaming motherboard is MSI’s no holds barred X99 implementation. The refreshed …

With Intel’s new range of Broadwell-E enthusiast grade CPUs now available, including the 10-core Core i7 6950X, it’s only fitting that motherboard vendors have refreshed ageing X99 portfolios. ASUS was quick off the mark releasing the X99-A II, X99-DELUXE II, Rampage V Edition 10 and ROG STRIX X99 Gaming. The …

KitGuru has seen a lot of evidence that new HEDT CPUs from Intel could be around the corner, under the name of Broadwell-E, including leaked benchmark results and a fumble from motherboard vendor ASRock. ASUS seems to be preparing for the launch of this new Intel CPU by refreshing its …

It seems that several motherboard makers are preparing for the upcoming launch of Intel’s Broadwell-E CPUs, as Asus has become the latest to unveil their new line-up of X99 Signature and ROG Strix motherboards. There are several new models joining the Asus enthusiast-grade line-up including the: ASUS Signature X99-Deluxe II, …

Back at CES this year, MSI announced the X99A GODLIKE GAMING Carbon Edition motherboard, it’s top-tier model built for Intel’s enthusiast-grade CPUs. After a few months of waiting, this feature-packed board is now available here in the UK, just in time for the impending arrival of Intel’s Broadwell-E line-up that …

MSI has delivered a bold and uniquely styled range of gaming motherboards for the Z170 platform since it’s launch, the XPower Gaming Titanium and Gaming M7 are two excellent examples that we’ve tested here at KitGuru. Yet those motherboards are relatively expensive for any buyer looking for an affordable entry …

Gigabyte’s Z170-Gaming K3 motherboard plays along nicely with that idea, costing just £95 which makes it the most affordable Gaming branded Z170 motherboard in the UK. Yet, you may still be pleasantly surprised by how much you get for your money with the Z170-Gaming K3 – few sacrifices have been made to reach such an aggressive price point.

There are an extraordinary number of Z170 motherboards currently available to buy, of which a substantial proportion of these directly target the growing PC Gaming market. While it is true that Gaming motherboards tend to be more expensive than non-Gaming counterparts, due to the extra design work and features implemented …

Retailing just under £110, MSI’s Z170A SLI Plus is targeting Skylake users with an eye on SLI support for their graphics subsystem. With the Z170A SLI Plus motherboard’s use of an Intel NIC and largely black colour scheme, MSI is aiming to perk the interest of mainstream users who may …

If you’ve been planning on making the jump to Intel’s Skylake platform or even the X99 chipset, then chances are you’re planning to spend a fair bit on a new motherboard. Fortunately, right now MSI is running a cashback promotion, which should help lessen the burden on your wallet when …

Last year, Intel unveiled its new 5×5 platform in an effort to create even smaller, yet upgradeable systems with full support for LGA based CPUs and a feature rich I/O all while being 29 percent smaller than Mini-ITX. Now, it looks like ASRock is set to adopt the new platform …

Building a new PC can be expensive so shopping around and saving money where you can is always great news. Today, ASUS is launching a new cash back scheme for those looking to pick up one of its X99, Z170 or Z97 motherboards between today and the 17th of April …

ASRock has really upped its game over the last few years. A decade ago, the company was most successful at the budget end of the market. But that image has long gone. Recently, we looked at a decidedly high-end X99 chipset board in the shape of the ASRock X99 WS-E/10G. …

Earlier this year, Intel issued a microcode update to motherboard manufacturers to close the loophole that allowed customers to overclock their locked, non-K series Intel Skylake CPUs. However, it looks like ASRock has found a way around this, re-enabling the BCLK overclocking option once again on two of its new …

Hitting the mid-high end market hard is the Supermicro C7Z170-SQ. Taking inspiration from the past and adding modern components is sure to rock the competition with server grade components, high-speed M.2 and USB-C 3.1 included.  Perched precariously at £210, the Supermicro C7Z170-SQ looks to be the motherboard that has been …

It seems like the AM3+ platform has been around forever, yet competitive value options on the CPU side mean that motherboard vendors are still battling for a slice of the pie with 970 and 990FX offerings. How do you make a chipset approaching its 5th birthday valid in 2016? Gigabyte …

Motherboards aimed at professional usage have quite different requirements to those aimed at consumer activities like gaming. For a start, whilst gamers are swiftly moving onto the Z170 chipset and Intel Skylake procesors, because quad-core is usually enough, workstations have generally stuck with X99 and Haswell E processors, due to …

Right now, the mini-ITX scene is extremely popular for gamers and enthusiasts. A combined effort by component manufacturers has seen greater emphasis being put on innovative mini-ITX cases, short graphics cards, and more confined cooling solutions. And let’s not forget the system builders deploying small form-factor (SFF) offerings such as …

Today, EVGA officially introduced its latest motherboard, the Z170 Classified K, boasting next-generation features, support for extremely high-speed RAM, USB 3.1 and 4-way SLI.  On top of that, EVGA has made some changes to board layout and equipped it with the latest GUI BIOS that focusses on functionality for enthusiasts. …