• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

So when are Z270 boards supposed to come out?

T

TemjinGold

Diamond Member
I've heard tons of rumors about "Fall," "October," "November," etc. but there doesn't seem to be any solid news? Anyone have any idea? Building a machine now and if we're on the cusp, I'd rather pay the extra dollars for a Z270.
 
TemjinGold said:
I've heard tons of rumors about "Fall," "October," "November," etc. but there doesn't seem to be any solid news? Anyone have any idea? Building a machine now and if we're on the cusp, I'd rather pay the extra dollars for a Z270.
Click to expand...

January, alongside Kaby Lake launch.
 
Valantar said:
That was due to Broadwell never really making it to the desktop. Nothing is indicating a repeat of that with Kaby Lake.
Click to expand...

Well, desktop Broadwell was delayed, and launched over a year after the 90-series.

About the Z270, apart from a few more GPP ports and Xpoint support, it doesn't really seem like a big enough update to warrant waiting for. It also still has that annoying DMI 3.0 bottleneck, but that doesn't look like it'll change until post Coffee Lake.
 
Insert_Nickname said:
Well, desktop Broadwell was delayed, and launched over a year after the 90-series.

About the Z270, apart from a few more GPP ports and Xpoint support, it doesn't really seem like a big enough update to warrant waiting for. It also still has that annoying DMI 3.0 bottleneck, but that doesn't look like it'll change until post Coffee Lake.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't a DMI update almost surely require a new socket anyway?
 
Insert_Nickname said:
Well, desktop Broadwell was delayed, and launched over a year after the 90-series.

About the Z270, apart from a few more GPP ports and Xpoint support, it doesn't really seem like a big enough update to warrant waiting for. It also still has that annoying DMI 3.0 bottleneck, but that doesn't look like it'll change until post Coffee Lake.
Click to expand...

Z97 came out with Haswell-Refresh, no?
 
Valantar said:
Wouldn't a DMI update almost surely require a new socket anyway?
Click to expand...

Yes. Either moving from a physical PCIe x4 to x8 link to the PCH or providing more lanes from the CPU. Personally, I'd much prefer the later, but I think it unlikely.

Arachnotronic said:
Z97 came out with Haswell-Refresh, no?
Click to expand...

Of course. But there wasn't really anything "new" with the "refresh". Just an incremental upgrade. Or that's how I view it anyway.
 
Insert_Nickname said:
Of course. But there wasn't really anything "new" with the "refresh". Just an incremental upgrade. Or that's how I view it anyway.
Click to expand...

Same architecture, higher clocks. That's what Kaby Lake is to the end user (though the process improvements moving from Sky to Kaby are bigger than they were in going from HSW to HSW-R). Intel was just smarter about its branding this time around. They could have gotten away with calling Haswell Refresh 5th generation Core 🙂
 
Arachnotronic said:
Same architecture, higher clocks. That's what Kaby Lake is to the end user (though the process improvements moving from Sky to Kaby are bigger than they were in going from HSW to HSW-R). Intel was just smarter about its branding this time around. They could have gotten away with calling Haswell Refresh 5th generation Core 🙂
Click to expand...

To be fair Kaby does feature a slightly updated video decode block and a process update, but otherwise, yes, we agree.
 
The only thing I don't like is the fact that the prime and Strix don't have enough usb ports. To get a good amount I would have to get a ROG board which would probably expensive.
 
Good lord, whats with all the plastic crap covering the motherboards these days? If I buy an expensive motherboard I want to see its beauty, not cover it up with a bunch of cheap looking plastic.
Next problem is I just spent a ton of money on Z170 going with an all white theme and now all the Z270 motherboards are fricken black.. God I am really hoping for one all white Z270 motherboard.
 
Justinbaileyman said:
Good lord, whats with all the plastic crap covering the motherboards these days? If I buy an expensive motherboard I want to see its beauty, not cover it up with a bunch of cheap looking plastic.
Next problem is I just spent a ton of money on Z170 going with an all white theme and now all the Z270 motherboards are fricken black.. God I am really hoping for one all white Z270 motherboard.
Click to expand...
Why, exactly, do you need to replace your Z170 board? Especially when you've already got one that fits your build, that you, as you say, spent a ton of money on? It's not like upgrading from one generation of Intel hardware to the next gets you any noticeable performance boost at all.

Also: yes, plastic shrouds are pretty silly - especially when they trap heat effectively enough to warrant sticking a horrible 40mm fan in the shroud just to be safe 😛
 
Valantar said:
Why, exactly, do you need to replace your Z170 board? Especially when you've already got one that fits your build, that you, as you say, spent a ton of money on? It's not like upgrading from one generation of Intel hardware to the next gets you any noticeable performance boost at all.

Also: yes, plastic shrouds are pretty silly - especially when they trap heat effectively enough to warrant sticking a horrible 40mm fan in the shroud just to be safe 😛
Click to expand...

Why Upgrade? For more USB ports and Intel Optane, not to mention 4 more PCIe lanes!!
 
Justinbaileyman said:
Why Upgrade? For more USB ports and Intel Optane, not to mention 4 more PCIe lanes!!
Click to expand...
None of that seems compelling enough for me to warrant a single-generation upgrade. 4 more PCH PCIe lanes? Do you have two m.2 NVME drives, and deseprately need a third within a year or so? And do you really believe any consumer software will come close to utilizing the speed of Optane in the next few years? Oh well, it's your money, I guess you have every right to flush it down the drain if you so wish.
 
Justinbaileyman said:
Why Upgrade? For more USB ports and Intel Optane, not to mention 4 more PCIe lanes!!
Click to expand...

If you just need additional USB2/3/3.1 ports, a PCIe expansion card (or two) with 2 or 4 more would be far more economical. Optane support is meh, given its apparently delayed until late '18. More PCIe lanes? You should seriously consider moving to the HEDT platform, which leads to:

Valantar said:
None of that seems compelling enough for me to warrant a single-generation upgrade. 4 more PCH PCIe lanes? Do you have two m.2 NVME drives, and deseprately need a third within a year or so?
Click to expand...

With two or more PCIe SSDs you'd run into the brick wall that's the DMI link from the CPU to the PCH. Hence my suggestion for the HEDT platform.
 
Valantar said:
None of that seems compelling enough for me to warrant a single-generation upgrade. 4 more PCH PCIe lanes? Do you have two m.2 NVME drives, and deseprately need a third within a year or so? And do you really believe any consumer software will come close to utilizing the speed of Optane in the next few years? Oh well, it's your money, I guess you have every right to flush it down the drain if you so wish.
Click to expand...
Thunderbolt 3? don't those kind of cards use PCIe x4 slots?
 
Insert_Nickname said:
If you just need additional USB2/3/3.1 ports, a PCIe expansion card (or two) with 2 or 4 more would be far more economical. Optane support is meh, given its apparently delayed until late '18. More PCIe lanes? You should seriously consider moving to the HEDT platform, which leads to:

With two or more PCIe SSDs you'd run into the brick wall that's the DMI link from the CPU to the PCH. Hence my suggestion for the HEDT platform.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. If you need more Pcie than 2*m.2 and 16 lanes for the GPU(s), go HEDT. A Z170-Z270 upgrade makes zero sense. It's hugely wasteful, not just in terms of materials and environmental pollution (PC and chip production are huge polluters), but in terms of cash money as well. Get a $30 USB controller card, and you'll never know the difference. Teaching yourself moderation is healthy. Don't upgrade 'just because you can'. What's the point?
 
whm1974 said:
Thunderbolt 3? don't those kind of cards use PCIe x4 slots?
Click to expand...
Still doesn't sound like a problem to me. Now, I don't know what kind of rig we're talking about here, nor the use case. But more than one NVMe drive today is essentially wishful thinking, Thunderbolt 3 has very little purpose in a desktop (unless it's a professional content creation build) - do you even get add-in cards for TB3? - and you could just as easily put either a new SSD or a TB3 controller card in the second x16 slot without sacrificing more than 1-2% GPU performance. And again, in most/all use cases where this is necessary, HEDT would give huge boosts to performance and productivity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top