Best ITX Z270 motherboard
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ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I motherboard- Well-made and stylish
- Dual M.2, with one easy-access topside slot
- Inexpensive
- No USB 2.0 headers on motherboard
- Others have Thunderbolt 3
- Sharp corners bite during tight installs
Micro motherboards are back in business again thanks to the success of Intel’s NUC initiative and the evolution of game streaming, with ITX sized systems enjoying a renewed relevance for DIY gamers. These smaller boards often provide features that far outstrip similarly priced ATX boards, perfect for budget builders who don’t mind limited expansion options down the road.
ASUS’s new Strix products are the entry level for the Republic of Gamers lineup, but the Z270I feels as premium as the Maximus motherboards at the top of the stack. Sharing the same dark grey, brushed metal heatsinks and thick PCB as the big boards, it feels like a bargain at list price.
Like most ITX boards, an M.2 slot lives on the flipside in an inaccessible area after initial installation but ASUS includes another slot on the top of the Strix, hidden underneath what looks like the chipset shield in small channel that accommodates drive sticks up to 80mm in length.
Aura lighting makes it onboard as well, with a line of LEDs under the motherboard's right side and an RGB header for external lighting strips. Wi-Fi is provided via 2T2R Atheros wireless at roughly half gigabit speed, and the hardware also handles Bluetooth 4.1 duties. Realtek’s new ALC 1220A CODEC is used for audio, supported with ASUS’s SupremeFX tweaks and an updated software layer; useful additions since many ITX systems are destined for living room media use.
Shortcomings are inevitable in such a tiny package, and the Strix has a few. While previous ROG ITX boards from ASUS had no trouble reaching memory and multiplier limits with Haswell and Skylake, the Z270i Strix struggled to reach 5GHz via multiplier and couldn’t support 3600MHz DDR4 DRAM.
While the numbers were better than MSI’s Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon ITX, there’s still room for improvement, especially with ASRock’s Fatality Z270 GAMING-ITX/AC offering extras like built-in Thunderbolt 3. If that's something you want, ASRock's offering is a close second.
