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The previous generation of LGA1151 motherboards from ASUS included several “gaming” models, which stood out among others with the Pro Gaming designation. Now, with the advent of a new galaxy of chipsets from Intel, the company’s specialists decided to separate such products into a separate segment, assigning them the designation ROG Strix. Nominally, they are still included in the hierarchy of the Republic of Gamers, however, the main bias in these models is not made on overclocking abilities (extended UEFI capabilities, diagnostic indicators and all kinds of buttons, switches or sensors on the board), but on the software and hardware component, one way or another associated with increased user requirements for the formation of the necessary atmosphere when working with a PC. Simply put, against the background of conventional boards, the difference will be in the sound and network nodes, and the proprietary AURA RGB lighting is also fully implemented here.
Features of the Intel H270 relative to the older hub in the line are the impossibility of overclocking (increasing multipliers) for the CPU and RAM, and it is also impossible to distribute PCI-E lines from the CPU to form bundles from a pair of video adapters (NVIDIA SLI). The number of supported USB 3.0 ports has also been slightly reduced. You can see the full comparison table in the MSI B250M Mortar review.
It turns out that the model under consideration will be of interest to those who need a full-format motherboard without overclocking support, but with bright properties in the peripheral component. Two huge radiators are responsible for the trouble-free regular operation of the CPU.
Of the additional microcircuits, there is a latest generation USB controller, thanks to which there are a pair of sockets on the back, one of which is symmetrical type C. The set of possibilities can be studied in the following table:
| Model | ASUS ROG Strix H270F Gaming |
|---|---|
| Official product page on the Web | asus.com |
| Chipset | Intel H270 |
| Processor socket | Socket 1151 |
| Processors | Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium, Celeron (Skylake-S, Kaby Lake-S) |
| Memory | 4 DIMM DDR4 SDRAM 2133/2400, 64 GB maximum |
| PCI slots | 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 (x4) 4 x PCI Express 3.0 x1 |
| M.2 | 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x4 (Key M, 2242/2260/2280/22110) 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x4 (Key M, 2242/2260/2280) |
| Integrated video core (in the processor) | Intel HD 510/530/610/630 |
| Video connectors | DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4b, DVI-D |
| Number of connected fans | 5x 4pin, 1x 5pin (Extension Fan connector) |
| PS/2 ports | 1 (keyboard/mouse) |
| The port is USB | 2 x 3.1 Gen2 (2 connectors on the rear panel (A and C), ASM2142) 6 x 3.1 Gen1 (2 connectors on the rear panel, H270) 8 x 2.0 (4 connectors on the rear panel, H270) |
| Serial ATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s (H270) |
| RAID | 0, 1, 5, 10 (HOURS, H270) |
| Built-in sound | SupremeFX (7.1, HDA): Codec — S1220 (Realtek ALC1220) Op Amp — Texas Instruments RC4580 и OPA1688 |
| S/PDIF | Optical (output) |
| Networking | Intel I219V (Gigabit Ethernet) |
| COM | 1 (internal) |
| TPM | + |
| UEFI | AMI UEFI |
| Form factor | ATX |
| Dimensions, mm | 305 x 244 |
| Additional features | Lighting Control Center (ROG Aura lighting system, including Aura RGB Strip Header), Thermal sensor connector, 3D Print ready (presence of holes for mounting products from 3D printers), AMD 2-Way CrossFireX support, Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) |
| Retail price, $ | 157 |
Packaging and equipment
The product comes in a medium sized box. Already on the front side, you can understand exactly where the main backlight node of the board is located – on its right side.
Among the main features, there is also a sound part and the presence of a pair of compact M.2. Also on the back there is a photo of the device and a table with its main characteristics.
There are more accessories than usual, these are:
- user manual, which illustrates and describes the UEFI sub-items in detail (in English);
- a set of stickers with various images of the ROG Strix series;
- disk with drivers and proprietary software;
- another set of ROG stickers for cables;
- a set of a pair of screws and racks for mounting decorative elements;
- the second set of a pair of screws and stands – for M.2 format devices;
- plug for the body, complete with a black sticker with the symbolic designation of all sockets. The reverse part is pasted over with noise-absorbing material;
- extension cord for connecting LED strip;
- four SATA 6Gb / s cables, two of which have an L-shaped connector on one end.
Appearance
The board is designed in full ATX format and contains nine points for fixing in the case. On this model, the manufacturer did not place any decorative overlays. As I already noted, there are no switches or buttons, even the branded MemOK is gone!
All coolers are fixed with screws. The sound part is not equipped with a backlight, since all twelve RGB LEDs are shifted to the memory slot wiring area. They have a “lens” directed to the side.
The radiator for the hub is massive, but there is no backlight here.
There are six transverse SATA sockets. Any of them is easily accessible due to the single execution of each.
A couple of M.2 slots have been prepared.
Following ASRock, ASUS technicians decided to solder chips with firmware, so now all leading manufacturers are on an equal footing. By means of body cables, it is possible to additionally provide the operation of four USB sockets of both the second and third generations.
Control over the equipment initialization stage will be facilitated by Q-LED technology, four multi-colored indicators are located at the top of the board.
The reinforced PCI-E x16 socket works with the processor, and the rest with the H270 hub.
The sound part includes the older Realtek ALC1220 codec and two op-amps of different models. I assume one of them works with the front case panel, and the other with a socket on the back. There is no dedicated DAC element, as it happens on ROG Maximus products.
Two separate heatsinks in the VRM area, although massive, are not too high, there should not be any problems when installing a CPU cooling system.
The stabilizer layout is very similar to that used among mid-range ASUS boards, with one unexpected change. An integrated GPU will now be content with just a single-phase stabilizer, which includes three power assemblies. And the CPU, as before, works with the assistance of a four-channel, where the number of elements has doubled, there are sixteen in total. PWM controller ASP1400BT, five external drivers are visible nearby. Almost all assembly models are NTMFS4C09B, and only two that are included in the GPU work structure are NTMFS4C06B. The manufacturer is ON Semiconductor.
There are no issues with the clamping force, which cannot be said about the constant savings in the area of thermal pads.
At the back there are a sufficient number of USB ports of different generations, three digital video outputs, five audio jacks, and S / PDIF is also present. Great set.
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