I was just browsing around the Asus website and looking at some of the new Z270 mATX motherboard offerings. The ROG Strix Z270G Gaming looks like the successor to the Maximus VIII Gene. I really like the improvements they've made to the layout. The following are some improvements I noticed at first glance:
- There is now 2x PCI-e 3.0 x16 and 2x PCI-e 3.0 x1 (whereas the current board has 2x PCI-e 3.0 x16 and 1x PCI-e x4).
- Wifi and Bluetooth are now built-in, presumably using an M.2 or mini PCI-e card (I'm betting M.2).
- There is now two M.2 SSD slots.
- There is still an M.2 SSD slot beside PCI-e slot 1 (GPU slot), but it is now on the underside. This should help keep the SSD cooler.
- The top M.2 SSD slot is parallel to PCI-e slot 4.
- There is now an internal USB 3.1 header.
- USB 3.1 gen 2 is still ASMedia based.
- Ethernet is still Intel i219V based.
As you can see, they only made a few improvements but they are very impactful ones. Having built-in Wifi/Bluetooth means, we no longer have to waste a PCI-e slot. Dual M.2 SSD slots is a major improvement. I was unable to decipher what, if any, changes were made to audio.
2x PCI-e x1 vs 1x PCI-e x4 can be a positive or a negative depending on the PCI-e cards you intend to use especially since one of the x1 slots will most likely be blocked by the video card heatsink. Still no Thunderbolt support is a downer...
Source:
ROG STRIX Z270G GAMING | ROG - Republic Of Gamers | ASUS USA
While browsing, I noticed another Z270 mATX motherboard, the Prime Z270M-Plus. I assume this motherboard will cater more to mainstream users whereas the Strix model caters to gamers. I also assume that will mean that this motherboard will be a bit less expensive. Here are some initial impressions:
- 1x PCI-e 3.0 x16, 2x PCI-e 3.0 x1, and 1x PCI-e 3.0 x16 which operates at x4 mode max.
- 2x M.2 SSD slots. Both top mounted.
- Has HDMI and DVI-D, but no DisplayPort for the Intel graphics.
- Only has 4x SATA 3 ports. (The above Strix and Maximus VIII Gene have 6x ports.)
- Fewer USB 3 ports in the backplane (Should not matter too much due to the 15 port limit of macOS).
- Only has USB 3.1 gen 1 (5Gb/s), NOT USB 3.1 gen 2 (10Gb/s).
- Ethernet is Intel i219V based.
- Audio is Realtek ALC887 based.
Depending on pricing, this seems like it will be a nice mATX alternative for those who don't need as many SATA 3 ports or USB 3.1 gen 2. Also, since this motherboard situates the second PCI-e x16 slot at the end, you can retain access to one of the PCI-e x1 slots if you use two dual slot graphics cards. This can be a selling point for those who need to leverage the computational powers of a second graphics card for things like DaVinci Resolve.
As with the Strix model, the biggest disappointment is lack of Thunderbot.
Source:
PRIME Z270M-PLUS | Motherboards | ASUS USA
Overall, I think these are two very nice motherboards. If/when compatibility has been confirmed, I will be very tempted to upgrade primarily for the additional M.2 slot. Of course, I'll wait and see what Apple does for their desktop models...