News

Asus Announces TUF Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 Motherboard

Asus has officially unveiled the latest addition to its TUF motherboard line-up which is based on Intel’s Skylake architecture. The Z170 Sabertooth Mark 1 features a number of specialities exclusive to the TUF range including TUF Thermal Armour, Dust Defenders, and a hefty backplate marketed as the TUF Fortifier. Additionally, premium components are used throughout such as the Japanese caps rated to 10K+, ESD Guards, 8+4 power delivery, Alloy Chokes, Titanium Cap MOSFETs and more! When combined, this creates a staggeringly reliable motherboard tested to 24/7 durability and comes with a 5 year warranty as standard.In a similar vein to previous models, the TUF Z170 Sabertooth Mark 1 contains the Thermal Radar 2 software to accurately analyse various temperatures and offers impeccable PWM fan control across 12 integrated fan headers. Another interesting inclusion is the 2 mini fans to help with airflow underneath the thermal armour. Personally, I never use these because they are obnoxiously loud and fairly ugly. Notice how the motherboard’s centre fan cover is now constructed from a premium metal plate instead of plastic.

Here is the backplate in all its glory and provides a rigid structure to withstand any pressure from huge coolers like the Noctua NH-D14. Aesthetically, it also looks rather lovely and adds a premium feel.

On the rear IO, there is an ample supply of connectivity options including 5 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 3.1 (Type-A), 1 USB 3.1 (Type-C), USB BIOS Flashback switch, Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and a 7.1 audio solution. Storage wise, Asus provides 8 SATA 3 6 GB/s ports, 2 SATA Express and 1 M.2 slot. The 1151 chipset brings DDR4 to the mainstream and supports up to 64GB of memory with potential speeds in excess of 3000MHz. For multi-GPU configurations, the Z170 Sabertooth Mark 1 is superb and features 3 PCI-E 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x8 Electrical) and PCI-E 3.0 x1 slots.

Do you feel the TUF Thermal Armour has any impact on temperatures, or is it a marketing gimmick?

John Williamson

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Plaion Launches Retro ZX Spectrum Computer

Plaion, a leading video game publisher, and Retro Games Ltd., a specialist in reimagined classic…

2 days ago

NVIDIA Warns of GeForce RTX 40 Graphics Card Shortages in November and December

During the latest earnings call, NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress warned of a potential GPU supply…

2 days ago

GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 Reportedly Coming in Q1 2025

Chinese sources say the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070…

2 days ago

GTA 6 Already Winning Awards Before Its Launch

GTA 6 doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it has already earned a…

2 days ago

DJI Osmo Mobile 6, 3-Axis Phone Gimbal

Stay on Point with ActiveTrack 6.0 - With upgraded tracking tech, OM 6 sticks to…

2 days ago

Drayton Wiser Smart Radiator Thermostat TRV

Pack includes three Wiser Radiator Thermostats. These smart radiator thermostats are only designed to work…

2 days ago