Awesome! Now Asus please release an AM4 competitor to the mini-ITX Z270I and my next build will be Ryzen for sure. Mini-ITX board choices for the AM4 platform is the only thing holding me back..

sorry, but who spends +200$ on a motherboard and uses onboard. complete waste of space for additional usb. no thanks asus.

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sorry, but who spends +200$ on a board and uses onboard. complete waste of space for additional usb. no thanks asus.

Probably most people do, albeit I disagree with it since an external DAC will sound so much better. Maybe ASUS could get an matx version of this with no on-board audio.

Assuming it's over $200, there's no mention of dual bios, bios reset switch, LED Post Code display...all features I expect for a $200+ board. Times have changed with all this "RGB Gaming" nonsense...flash and flair over form 😛irate:

sorry, but who spends +200$ on a board and uses onboard. complete waste of space for additional usb. no thanks asus.

So your complaint about this motherboard, and the reason why you wouldn't consider purchasing one, is that it includes onboard audio? A feature that is present in virtually 100% of consumer-level motherboards at any price point! I would reckon that the vast majority of people do use onboard audio, even on $200+ mobos. Also, looking at those pictures, I count 2 USB 2.0, 6 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 3.1 ports, for a total of 10 on the back I/O, plus 1 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 headers on the motherboard, for a possible additional 6, giving you a grand total of 16 USB ports. So your argument for the inclusion of onboard audio is that it wastes space that could be used for additional USB? 🙄

Assuming it's over $200, there's no mention of dual bios, bios reset switch, LED Post Code display...all features I expect for a $200+ board. Times have changed with all this "RGB Gaming" nonsense...flash and flair over form 😛irate:

I doubt this mobo will hit the $200 mark. This seems to be the X370 counterpart to the Strix Z270F, which usually retails for about $179. There is also the Strix Z270E that sits higher-up in the Z270 lineup, with extra features, and it retails for $200. I'm guessing they may launch a X370-E later on to match that one. I hope they also launch counterparts to the Strix Z270G (Micro-ATX) and Strix Z270I (Mini-ITX) on AM4, to complete their Ryzen mobo lineup.

I don't understand where the "external DAC" is better argument has really come from, except from people with houses with bad electric installations. DACs have specs, like everything else. Compare the actual hardware that an external DAC has, to that of a good sound card, or even to a really good onboard sound solution. 99% of the time the external DAC at the same cost is inferior.

where did i say audio? maybe they should have kept vga as well...?! (sarcasm mode off) my matx from 2012 has 8 ports, that are all in use (without printer/scanner/cam), so 5y later i only get 2 more because they want to support onboard gpu. i have yet to see a rig with +150$ board and a matching cpu that is being used without a dgpu. and the few ppl that might not want a "gaming" card, can buy a GT 430 for 20 bucks and done. for a company having a dedicated gaming lineup that's selling boards above 200$, why not offer 2 variants (with and without onboard gpu/audio connections).

No internal power/reset buttons, no diagnostic leds and looks like no flashback or dual bios either. Few things I would consider mandatory for Gaming/Oc mobo.

I have the Intel version of this and i think it´s a very nice, i´m very happy with it. My biggest complaint is the lack of USB 2.0... Of course each person wants/prefers some features over others, so i understand those who don´t like it. About the onboard, it´s actually very decent, so i´ve been using it instead of buying a dedicated soundcard. But i´m no expert when it comes to sound quality, so this is just my personnel opinion.

where did i say audio?

You're right, you didn't, you just left the sentence open after "onboard". I guess the reason why we all assumed audio was because it was the obvious one, seeing that the audio codec is actually on the motherboard, or "onboard". If you were referring to video, then the term "onboard" isn't really correct, seeing that the iGPU is actually integrated into the CPU die, not on the motherboard. With that said, since the advent of CPU integrated graphics, it's just bad business for motherboard manufacturers to not include video outputs in the I/O panel, they would be alienating a percentage of the market. You won't find many boards on the Intel side that don't include video outputs, and the only reason why you can find them on AM4 now is because the initial batch of Ryzen CPUs don't have integrated graphics. But even then, some manufacturers are looking ahead and including them anyway for the eventual release of the Ryzen APUs. My guess is that in another year it will be a lot more dificult to find an AM4 board without it. Also, even if you don't intend on using the CPU integrated graphics, having the video outputs in the I/O panel does come in very handy for troubleshooting purposes. There have been more than a couple of occasions when I was glad to have them 🙂

what im trying to say is, no one spending 200 or more on a MB will buy an apu. its fine if "entry/mid grade" x-boards have it, but not the top 2 ones. all rigs i've worked on/build for others never ran a +150$ board (when apu/onboard gpu), and everyone that spend more didnt use it. and even if a few single percent want it, by a cheap 20$ pcx card. stuff should be optimized for the masses buying it, not for a few that might.

Looks like a hybrid of the crosshair 6 and the prime x370 pro. If you want rgb and fanciness for less than the crosshair 6 go with this. if you don't want to spend a bunch and still want intel ethernet go with the prime x370 pro and save 100$