Asus Unveils Z270-WS Workstation Motherboard

Asus has revealed its new Z270-WS socket LGA1151 motherboard, which is aimed at DIY workstation builds. The like the company’s other Z270 chipset boards, the Z270-WS supports Intel’s 7th generation Core Kaby Lake processors but is set apart from the others by its PLX PEX8747 PCI-Express 3.0 x48 bridge chip.

The Z270-WS boasts a 12-phase CPU VRM with server-grade electrical components, four DDR4 DIMM slots, three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots over the bridge chip (x16/NC/x16 or x16/x8/x8), plus a fourth x16 slot, which is is electrical x4 and wired to the PCH, and one PCI-Express 3.0 x4. Power is drawn via a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 6-pin PCIe power connectors. Graphically, the Z270-WS can accept 4-Way NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire X.

The board, which supports Intel Optane (3D X-point SSD) technology, features six SATA 6 Gb/s, two 32 Gb/s M.2, and two 32 Gb/s U.2 ports. Connectivity is handled by two gigabit Ethernet interfaces – one driven by an Intel I210-AT controller and another by Intel I210-LM – plus six USB 3.0 and four USB 3.1 ports, including one type-C port. 8-channel HD audio is handled by a 115 dBA SNR CODEC.

Asus is yet to announce the release date and price of the Z270-WS, though the latter is expected to be high. Full specifications are available on the board’s product page.