Intel Z270 and H270 Chipsets Specs Appear
Kaby Lake processors probably are not a reason to upgrade all by themselves. However alongside the processor series will be the intel series 200 chipsets. Much like the current popular Z170 series there is going to be a H270 and Z270 as well, a new chipsets slide appeared.
The 200-series chipset tied to the processor series is tagged under codename "Union Point," and will support Intel Optane SSDs and Rapid Storage Technology support for PCIe storage devices. De desktop processors based on Kaby will use LGA 1151, the Skylake slot and support TDPs from 35, 65 and 91W. The last model will obviously be an unlocked K series processor. The Kaby lake platform for desktops will support USB 3.1 and DDR4, the laptop versions however will have to do with USB 3.0 and DDR3. For Kaby lake you do not need the new motherboard, of you already have a H or Z170 series chipset, upgrade your motherboard BIOS and you should be fine with the new processors.
The 200 chipset will have more PCI-Express gen 3.0 lanes. The chips have 14 downstream PCIe lanes; compared to 10 on the 100-series chipsets for things like of Thunderbolt and USB 3.1 controllers, more M.2 slots. In total PCIe lane 30, opposed to 26 on the 100-series chipset motherboards. Check out the spec overview as compiled at benchlife.
Z270 | Z170 | H270 | H170 | |
SKU | Consumer | Consumer / Corporate | ||
Support | Kaby Lake-S(7th Gen)/ Skylake-S(6th Gen) | |||
CPU PCIe Configuration | 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 or 1 x 8 + 2 x 4 | 1 x 16 | ||
Independent DisplayPort | 3 | |||
Memory DIMMs | 4 | |||
Overclocking | Yes | No | ||
Intel SmartSound Technology | Yes | |||
Intel Optane Technology | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Intel Rapid Storage Technology | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
Intel Rapid Storage Technology from PCIe Storage Drive Support |
Yes | |||
RAID 0、1、5、10 | Yes | |||
Intel Smart Response Technology | Yes | |||
I/O Port Flexibility | Yes | |||
Maximum High Speed I/O(HSIO)Lanes | 30 | 26 | 30 | 22 |
Total USB Ports(Max USB 3.0) | 14(10) | 14(8) | ||
Max SATA 6.0Gbps Ports | 6 | |||
Max PCIe Express 3.0 Lanes | 24 | 20 | 16 | |
Max Intel RST for PCIe Storage Ports (x2 M.2 or x4 M.2) |
3 | 2 | ||
Senior Member
Posts: 2741
Joined: 2007-05-31
...The rumored x279 or what it would be called (x299?) might be a bit different though if it's planned as some more higher-end board model.
(Going by the recent CPU data there will be further socket changes so I'm guessing the 300 series motherboards will follow in the not too distant future then? Though well obviously there will always be new upcoming hardware.)...
There is "rumor" about new socket for not-entusiast CPU after the 2** series chipset... so i guess it will be next gen.
also entusiast chipset generaly sit in beween 2 gen and X99 start to get old.
so if Intel follow the scheme...
Junior Member
Posts: 1
Joined: 2017-02-09
I intend to create a rig to mine cryptocurrency. Can I use the new Z270 to connect 6 video cards (RX 470 Nitro) so they are working at the same time? With the Z170 only 4 GPU could be connected, because with the 5 or 6 GPU the PC froze or generated some other error, hence the question. It is important to clarify that the 6 Gpu are connected by Riser 1x.
In summary, does the Z270 have enough pci lanes so that 6 GPUs are connected and working at the same time, without affecting the performance of the motherboard by the saturation of the bandwidth?
Senior Member
Posts: 17337
Joined: 2009-02-25
Guess we're going into smaller incremental improvements even for motherboards now, still I guess stuff like the (few) extra PCI-E lanes could be useful, no idea what "Optane" is so I'll have to look that up.
The rumored x279 or what it would be called (x299?) might be a bit different though if it's planned as some more higher-end board model.
(Going by the recent CPU data there will be further socket changes so I'm guessing the 300 series motherboards will follow in the not too distant future then? Though well obviously there will always be new upcoming hardware.)
EDIT: Well I guess I'm a bit of a idiot but this only sounds like marketing buzz words.
http://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/architecture-and-technology/non-volatile-memory.html
EDIT: Some type of small storage units?
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/237817-first-intel-optane-hardware-could-be-coming-to-consumer-desktops