The final countdown is over, Intel has officially launched their Kaby Lake 200-series platforms. The lineup is part of the annual refresh cycle that Intel offers to desktop PC consumers and as such, motherboard vendors have amassed a handsome array of Z270 and H270 series motherboards for gamers, PC builders, enthusiasts and overclockers.
Intel Launches 200-Series Platform - Z270 and H270 Motherboards Roundup
(NOTE: This post is being updated as more products and prices are confirmed for 200-series motherboards)
The Kaby Lake motherboards are launching alongside the Z270 and H270 series motherboards. We won't discuss the processors much as we have already covered their performance and specifications in our Z270 reviews. The main focus of this post will be the platform specific boards from various manufacturers.
Intel Core i7-7700K – The Fastest Core i7 Kaby Lake Processor:
The Intel Core i7-7700K processor is the fastest Core i7 chip in the Kaby Lake lineup. This chip features a quad core, hyper-threaded design. The chip is based on the latest 14nm Plus process node which delivers improved efficiency and performance on the existing 14nm FinFET technology. The clock speeds are rated 4.2 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost. The processor packs 8 MB of L3 cache and has a TDP of 91W. The Core i7-7700K CPU will retail at $305 US.
Intel Core i5-7600K – The Fastest Core i5 Kaby Lake Processor:
The Intel Core i5-7600K processor is the fastest Core i5 chip in the Kaby Lake lineup. This chip features a quad core, non hyper-threaded design. The chip is based on the latest 14nm Plus process node which delivers improved efficiency and performance on the existing 14nm FinFET technology. The clock speeds are rated 3.8 GHz base and 4.2 GHz boost. The processor packs 6 MB of L3 cache and has a TDP of 91W.
Other updates include a new Intel HD 630 chipset. The new graphics chip will feature 24 execution units and would be slightly faster compared to HD 530 due to increased clock speeds achieved on 14nm+. The Core i5-7600K CPU will retail at $217 US.
Intel Core i3-7350K – The Fastest Core i3 Kaby Lake Processor:
The Intel Core i3-7350K processor is the fastest Core i3 chip in the Kaby Lake lineup. This chip features a dual core, multi-threaded design. The chip is based on the latest 14nm Plus process node which delivers improved efficiency and performance on the existing 14nm FinFET technology. The clock speeds are rated 4.0 GHz base and 4.2 GHz boost.
The processor packs 4 MB of L3 cache and will have a TDP around 91W. The Core i3-7350K CPU will retail for $157 US.
Intel 7th Generation 'Kaby Lake' Desktop Lineup
| SKU Name | Cores/Threads | Core Clock | Boost Clock | L3 Cache | TDP | Socket | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i7-7700K | 4/8 | 4.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 8 MB | 91W | LGA1151 | $339 US |
| Core i7-7700 | 4/8 | 3.6 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 8 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $303 US |
| Core i7-7700T | 4/8 | 2.9 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 8 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $303 US |
| Core i5-7600K | 4/4 | 3.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 6 MB | 91W | LGA1151 | $242 US |
| Core i5-7600 | 4/4 | 3.5 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $213 US |
| Core i5-7600T | 4/4 | 2.8 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $213 US |
| Core i5-7500 | 4/4 | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $192 US |
| Core i5-7500T | 4/4 | 2.7 GHz | 3.3 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $192 US |
| Core i5-7400 | 4/4 | 3.0 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 6 MB | 65W | LGA1151 | $182 US |
| Core i5-7400T | 4/4 | 2.4 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 6 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $182 US |
| Core i3-7350K | 2/4 | 4.2 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 60W | LGA 1151 | $168 US |
| Core i3-7320 | 2/4 | 4.1 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | TBD | LGA 1151 | $149 US |
| Core i3-7300 | 2/4 | 4.0 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 51W | LGA1151 | $138 US |
| Core i3-7300T | 2/4 | 3.5 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $138 US |
| Core i3-7100 | 2/4 | 3.9 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 51W | LGA 1151 | $117 US |
| Core i3-7100T | 2/4 | 3.4 GHz | N/A | 4 MB | 35W | LGA 1151 | $117 US |
| Pentium G4620 | 2/4 | 3.7 GHz | N/A | 3 MB | 51W | LGA1151 | $86 US |
| Pentium G4600 | 2/4 | 3.6 GHz | N/A | 3 MB | 51W | LGA 1151 | $75 US |
| Pentium G4560 | 2/4 | 3.5 GHz | N/A | 3MB | 54W | LGA 1151 | $64 US |
| Pentium G3950 | 2/2 | 3.0 GHz | N/A | 2 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $52 US |
| Pentium G3930 | 2/2 | 2.9 GHz | N/A | 2 MB | 35W | LGA1151 | $42 US |
Intel Z270 Express Chipset - The Top 200-Series PCH
The two chipsets that will be offered with the new Kaby Lake processors are Z270 and H270. Intel will be offering support for the Kaby Lake and Skylake processors on both 100-series and 200-series motherboards. This means that consumers can use their Skylake chips on a 200-series board or a Kaby Lake chip on a 100-series board.
The two new chips are marketed towards specific markets. The Z270 series is aimed at the consumer market while the H270 series is aimed at the consumer and corporate market. We will get on to the features of these chipsets which is an update from the previous 100-series generation of products.
Intel Z270 and H270 PCH Features
Intel Z270 and Z170 offer the same CPU PCI-e configuration support. They allow for 1 x 16, 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 config whereas the H270 and H170 chipset offers just 1 x 16 config. The total number of independent DisplayPorts offered by the PCH are three and power up to four memory DIMMs in dual channel mode. The Z Series offers overclocking support while the H Series is restricted from such support. All chipsets offer Intel SmartSound tech but Intel AIB partners will be offering their own custom audio codecs to power audio.
Moving on, the new 200-series has official support for Optane technology which is not available on 100-series products. Intel Rapid Storage technology is also pushed to 15 (was 14 on 100-series). Some other features in the new chipsets include RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 support, PCI-e Storage Drive support, Smart Response Technology and I/O port flexibility.
Intel has increased the number of high-speed I/O lanes to 30 on both 200-series chipsets. The Z170 had 26 while the H170 had 22 lanes. The total number of USB ports have remained the same at 14 (10 USB 3.0) for Z Series and 14 (8 USB 3.0) for H Series. All boards will have 6 SATA III 6 GB/s ports. Expansion slots would be powered by 24 PCI-e lanes on Z270 and 20 PCI-e lanes on H270. This is a slight increase over 20 PCI-e lanes on Z170 and 16 on H170.
The KBL-PCH will be able to support Mansion Beach (Optane SSD PCI-e/NVMe Gen3 x4), Brighton Beach (Optane SSD PCI-e/NVMe Gen3 x4) and Stony Beach (Optane Memory PCI-e/NVMe Gen 3 x2 (m.2)) solutions. We covered this topic in more detail over here.
Intel 200-Series PCH Specifications:
| Chipset | Intel Z270 | Intel H270 | Intel Z170 | Intel H170 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SKU Focus Segment | Consumer | Consumer / Corporate | Consumer | Consumer / Corporate |
| CPU Support | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S | Kaby Lake-S / Skylake-S |
| CPI PCI-e Configuration | 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 | 1 x 16 | 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 | 1 x 16 |
| Independent DisplayPort | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Memory DIMMs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Overclocking | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Intel SmartSound Technology | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Optane Technology | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Intel Rapid Storage Technology | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Intel Rapid Storage Technology From PCIe Storage Drive Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RAID 0,1,5,10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Smart Response Technology | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| I/O Port Flexibility | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum High Speed I/O Lanes | 30 | 30 | 26 | 22 |
| Total USB Ports (Max USB 3.0) | 14 (10) | 14 (8) | 14 (10) | 14 (8) |
| Max SATA 6 Gbps Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Max PCI-E 3.0 Lanes | 24 | 20 | 20 | 16 |
| Max Intel RST for PCIe Storage Ports (x2 M.2 or x4 M.2) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Below, you can see all the pictures of the Z270, H270 and B250 motherboards that will be available today. We will keep updating this post with more pictures and confirmed MSRPs but until then, we can only post what we have officially received from the manufacturers. Our reviews for various Z270 motherboards can be seen in the links below:
- ASUS ROG MAXIMUS IX Code Review
- ASUS ROG STRIX Z270E Gaming Review
- Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 Review
- ASRock Z270 Extreme 4 Review
- SuperO C7Z270-CG Review
Also, I would like to give out huge credit to Videocardz for obtaining additional press shots of 200-series boards from various manufacturers.
ASUS Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
ASUS Z270-WS Workstation:
ASUS ROG Maximus IX Extreme ($500 US+):
ASUS ROG Maximus IX APEX ($500 US+):
ASUS ROG Maximus IX Formula ($396 US):
ASUS ROG Maximus IX CODE ($357 US):
ASUS ROG Maximus IX HERO ($297 US):
ASUS TUF Z270 MARK 1 ($251 US):
ASUS TUF Z270 MARK 1 ($229 US):
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270E Gaming ($238 US):
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270F Gaming ($198 US):
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270G Gaming ($188 US):
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270H Gaming ($178 US):
ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming ($199 US):
ASUS PRIME Z270-A ($198 US):
ASUS PRIME H270-PRO:
ASUS PRIME H270-PLUS ($129 US):
ASUS PRIME H270M-PLUS:
ASUS PRIME B250-PLUS:
ASUS PRIME B250 PRO:
ASUS PRIME B250M-PLUS:
ASUS PRIME B250M-A ($100 US):
Gigabyte Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 8:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming K7:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming K5:
Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 5:
Gigabyte Z270/H270/B250 Motherboards:
Gigabyte Z270/H270/B250 Board Gallery:
ASRock Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
ASRock Z270 SuperCarrier ($399 US):
ASRock Z270 Gaming i7 ($296 US):
ASRock Z270 Taichi ($237 US):
ASRock Z270 Gaming K6 ($195 US):
ASRock Z270 Extreme 4 ($172 US):
ASRock Z270M Extreme 4 ($172 US):
ASRock Z270 Killer SLI/AC ($169 US):
ASRock Z270 Killer SLI ($159 US):
ASRock Z270 Pro 4 ($137 US):
ASRock H270 Pro 4 ($137 US):
ASRock B250 Pro 4 ($102 US):
ASRock Z270 Gaming K4 ($159 US):
ASRock B250 Gaming K4 ($124 US):
ASRock Z270M Pro 4 ($137 US):
ASRock H270M Pro 4 ($105 US):
ASRock B250M Pro 4 ($95 US):
ASRock Z270 Gaming ITX/AC ($192 US):
ASRock Z270M-ITX/AC ($142 US):
ASRock H270M-ITX/AC ($122 US):
ASRock H270 Performance ($138 US):
ASRock B250M Performance ($105 US):
ASRock B250M-HDV ($81 US):
MSI Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
MSI Z270 abd H270 Motherboards Gallery:
MSI B250 Motherboards Gallery:
Biostar Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
SuperO Z270 and H270 Motherboard Roundup:
EVGA Z270 Motherboard Roundup:
