ASUS RoG STRIX Z370-F Gaming Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The ASUS RoG STRIX Z370-F Gaming Motherboard launches today. It should be in most major stores now with an SRP of £189.99, which is pretty good when you consider something like the Maximus X Hero Wi-Fi AC is £264.99. It’s also not too shabby for one of the fastest gaming motherboards on the market today.

Overview

This isn’t the only Z370 motherboard we’ve reviewed today, and while I had a lot of reservations about the Z370 platform, I don’t anymore. Many are bothered, and rightfully so, that Intel 8th Gen CPUs such as the i7-8700K require a new motherboard to operate. The motherboards offer no innovation compared to Z270, leaving many with no desire to upgrade. However, the slightly tweaked socket allows for the new six-core CPUs, and holy cow, are they a lot better than we expected!

If you’re investing in Z370 for a gaming system build, the Z370-F Gaming is no slouch. It set some of our highest ever scores! Of course, all the Z370 boards scored very well too, especially the ASUS Z370-I Gaming mini-ITX motherboard, which really surprised us.

Features, and Plenty of Them

As I said before, the Z370 platform doesn’t offer much in the way of innovation. However, that doesn’t mean this motherboard is lacking in cool hardware. With dual M.2 drive mounts, you can get super-fast storage for your new system, and use Intel Optane for a big performance boost. I would have liked to see both M.2 drives under a heat sink, but one is still a nice bonus. Onboard audio is great too, with SupremeFX S1220A and Sonic Studio III. Of course, there’s also USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C connectors. Intel Gigabit Ethernet, LANGuard, GameFirst and ASUS SafeSlot. Like I said, nothing we didn’t see on Z270, but all very welcome additions.

RGB and More

Like everything else, the motherboard has RGB lighting and plenty of it. If that’s not enough, you’ll be happy to see a few headers for external lighting. With AURA Sync, you’ll be able to control your whole lighting setup directly from your desktop software too, which is awesome. Don’t like the lights? You can turn them all out too, don’t worry.

Pros

• Exceptional gaming performance
• Reasonably priced
• Fantastic aesthetics
• Supports new 8th Gen CPUs
• Great overclocking options
• Robust connectivity
• Dual M.2 slots with Optane support

Cons

• None

“Upgrading to Z370 may not be on the agenda for Z270 users, but for those who want the best gaming performance from their desktop, the new Z370-F Gaming from ASUS is a perfect ballance of price and high-end performance.”