Best Z370 Motherboards in 2021 For Gaming & Overclocking
We Pick Out The Five Best Z370 Motherboards Available Whatever Your Requirements
Even though the veteran Z370 motherboard chipset has now been superseded by newer, more powerful boards like the Z390, many buyers still look to the Z370 for their PC building needs.
The best Z370 motherboards usually offer a whole plethora of benefits, which range from lightning-fast processing to Optane memory, and a versatile I/O panel. Furthermore, thanks to the introduction of Intel’s 9th Gen CPUs (and their Z390 companion), Z370 motherboards now showcase some of the best bang for your buck in the motherboard marketplace.
For that reason, we thought it was only natural to create this article of the best Z370 motherboards currently available. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump in and take a first look at the best Z370 motherboards for 2021.
Our Top Picks
The Best Z370 Motherboards in 2020 & 2021
In-depth Review
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming
ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming
ASUS is one of the most well-known tech manufacturers in the world and has been producing high-quality hardware offerings for as long as I can remember. Amongst their impressive range of products, is their high-end consumer-grade produce line, the Republic of Gamers, or ROG for short. Only the best and most considered products get labeled with the ROG logo, and the ASUS Z370 motherboard is a fantastic example of this.
From a gamer’s point-of-view, this motherboard ticks all the right boxes. To kick start, the ROG comes equipped with three PCI-e x16 slots, which are great for future expansion and are easily compatible with SLI and Crossfire. Furthermore, the board also accommodates two M.2 drives, four additional PCI-e 4x slots, and even comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The back of the board offers similar levels of versatility. Several USB 3.0 and 3.1 ports can be found, as well as a USB Type-C port. You also have the option to connect a display to the motherboard and use the onboard graphics. However, a board of this value would almost certainly be paired with an excellent standalone GPU. Lastly, you can also find five audio jacks at the rear and the Wi-Fi antenna for quick and easy access.
Overall, this board is pretty flawless. However, there is one downside to this excellent Z370 offering. Yep, it’s the price. This is the most expensive board on our list and comes to shelves at a shade under $300, which is pretty pricey. Having said that, we still feel it offers decent value for money, especially when you compare it to other, newer generation boards with the same features.
ASRock Z370 EXTREME4
ASRock Z370 EXTREME4
We’ve dubbed the ever-popular ASRock Z370 Extreme4 our runner up and for good reason. Not only does it come packed with features such as quality VRMs, reinforced steel PCI-e slots, and a user-friendly BIOS, but it also comes to us at a price point that we feel showcases superb value, no less.
This board has more than enough compatibility to support multiple SLI/Crossfire connections and also has a plethora of smaller PCI-e 4x slots for future expansion cards. You’ll be able to utilize a rapid M.2 SSD in this build as it comes with two M.2 connections. However, if you’re happier with the good old HDD SATA drives, then you’ll be glad to know this comes with eight ports for huge storage capacity.
Unfortunately, this board doesn’t come with built-in Wi-Fi. However, it does come with Purity Sound 4 to help you enjoy ultra-high definition audio. Moving to the rear of this board, you’ll find a number of different USB 3.1 slots, LAN ports, the usual audio ports, and several varying display ports, including HDMI and VGA.
The big draw of this motherboard has to be its impressive ability to overclock. Thanks to a 12 phase VRM design, the board has more than enough capability to push your CPU/GPU to the next level.
Ultimately, what you have here is a high-end motherboard with great features to boot. If you aren’t a fan of the mainstream ASUS products, this might be exactly what you’re looking for.
ASUS TUF Z370-PLUS Gaming
ASUS TUF Z370-PLUS Gaming
The second ASUS entry into this guide comes in the shape of their TUF Gaming Z370 motherboard. The TUF gaming lineup of consumer-grade products is hugely popular across the board for their excellent production quality and value for money. It’s safe to say our all-round pick ticks all of those boxes and more.
The first thing that struck me about this board was its design. It looks superb right-out-the-box. It has the typical black/yellow theme and is accompanied by the fully customizable Aura Sync RGB. Slots include four DIMMs, two PCI-e x16 lanes, and a bunch of PCI-e 4x slots for expansion cards.
It has a max memory capacity of 64GB, which supports up to 4000MHz speeds. Additionally, it has lightning-quick 32Gbps M.2 connectivity with onboard heatsinks to make sure everything is running at its optimal temperature.
Moving onto the build quality, TUF has always been known for providing some of the most stable products out there. This one is no different. The capacitors offer up a 20% higher temperature tolerance and 2.5X life expectancy than generic offerings. Pair that with the impressive VRM design, and you have a seriously impressive overclocking machine.
The TUF gets our all-round pick as it ticks every box a gamer would want and comes to shelves at a price point that we find both affordable and good value.
GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming WiFi
GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming WiFi
Gigabyte is one of the biggest manufacturing companies in the tech industry and is one of ASUS’ main rivals. That being said, their Z370 AORUS Gaming WiFi falls a little short of the ASUS offerings this time around.
Coming to the table sporting Gigabyte’s textbook aesthetics, this board looks really nice when paired with additional RGB and a premium GPU. Like other boards in this list, the Gigabyte comes with four DIMMs, which can accommodate 64GB of system memory and up to 3866MHz speeds. It also comes equipped with three PCI-e x16 lanes, of which two are reinforced for increased life expectancy, a couple of additional x4 PCI-e slots, and a bunch of fan headers and USB connectivity/Thunderbolt support.
Alongside the SLI and Crossfire support, this board also comes equipped with two ultra-fast M.2 slots, perfect for any gamer looking to increase O/s boot times or game load times.
The back I/O panel offers up everything a bidding gamer would need, including HDMI, LAN, audio jack, a tonne of USB 3.0/3.1 ports, and gold-plated Wi-Fi antenna inputs. That’s right; this thing even comes equipped with the high-end feature of Wi-Fi.
The VRM design is modest for overclocking and should give a reasonably stable environment when pushing both the CPU and GPU of your build. Furthermore, the overall build quality of this board is considered very good for its price point.
Ultimately, if you’re a fan of Gigabyte and are in the market for a Z370 showcasing good value for money, look no further. The Gaming WiFi offers everything you’d want and more.
Asus Prime Z370-P II LGA1151 (Intel 9th Gen)
Asus Prime Z370-P II LGA1151 (Intel 9th Gen)
Finally, we reach our budget offering, the Z370-P II from ASUS. Yes, I know, another ASUS motherboard to add to the list. They just seem to have the Z370 market mopped up at the moment with high-quality and affordable offerings.
This motherboard comes with high-quality features such as dual M.2 slots, Fan Xpert 4, Intel Optane memory support, and 5x protection III. Furthermore, the two x16 PCI-e lanes create the perfect environment for CrossfireX dual GPUs.
Comparing this board with high-end offerings, you can certainly see where sacrifices have been made to keep the Z370-P II’s price down. The design is a little bland, and it has almost no external protective shields or heatsinks. Having said that, it does come with four X4 PCI-e lanes for further expansion and 4000MHz memory speed support.
The back I/O panel is fairly basic and offers the usual display ports, USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, and LAN ports. As far as budget, entry-level Z370’s go, this one is right up there in both build quality and features.
Final Word
It’s always a difficult process choosing which motherboard is right for your needs. Even more so when the motherboard in question is so evenly priced across many of the entry-level/ mid-range options. However, we’ve taken everything into consideration and have concluded that the above mentions are by far the most up-to-date and best options in their respective categories.
So, which motherboard did you feel showcased the best features and value? For me, I think it has to the best TUF Gaming as it has pretty much everything you’d want from a quality motherboard.
Why not let us know what you thought in the comments section below, or better still, jump on over to our community and start a thread, voicing your opinions to the masses.
Hopefully, this guide has made choosing the best Z370 motherboard a lot easier. If you have any queries on motherboards in general, leave us a question below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.