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ASRock has pulled out all the stops for the launch of its new Fatal1ty Z170 pro-gaming motherboard, with the inclusion of a bundle of features to help it appeal to a wide range of system builders; as well as offering support for all of the latest standards of hardware. Skylake CPUs are of course supported by the new Z170 chipset, as well as M.2 and U.2 SSDs, dual gigabit LAN and high-fidelity audio through the use of the Purity Sound 3 chip.
DDR4 memory is of course supported up to 3,866MHz and there are four PCIExpress 3.0 x16 ports, as well as a single PCIE 3.0 1x,slot, another 2.0 x1 slot and a half-size mini-PCIExpress port. This means that full Quad SLI and AMD three-way Crossfire are fully supported too, for maximum graphical power if required.
To make overclocking that bit more stable, ASRock has included a 12 power-phase Digi Power design and the use of 60A power chokes and dual-stack MOSFETs further improve overclocking potential. Everything should run cool too, thanks to the extra-large alloy heatsinks applied to the chipset and MOSFET areas of the board. There's even a static protector, known as I/O armour that covers the rear panel components.
We're also told that the PCB itself is made from a high-desnity glass fabric, which offers much better protection against short-circuits.
In terms of ports, prospective buyers can expect: two USB 3.1 ports in Type-A and Type-C configurations, eight USB 3.0 ports split between the front and rear, and eight USB 2.0 ports. There's also full 7.1 channel audio jacks, a legacy PS/2 connector and a trio of graphical connectors including DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 for the use of onboard graphics if required.
The ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 gaming motherboard is available at retailers like SCAN for £155.
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KitGuru Says: Although Skylake hasn't proved to be the most exciting of upgrade paths, what do you guys think of this motherboard option? Fancy yourself a pre-Christmas treat?
