Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsAsus MOBO and Intel CPU 8600k
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2018
So. Here's a brief snapshot of the build (my first... well, technically the second after the AMD Ryzen 2400g/ASRock AB350 and X370 debacle):
EvolvShift Mini-ITX case
960EVO M.2 PCIe 1Tb
SF600 Corsair
2 sticks of Corsair 2666 DDR4 @8gb each
NH-L91 Owl Noctua
8600k i5
Z370-I Rog
Systems 2 weeks ago:
Almost the same stuff, but I had purchased an AMD Ryzen 2400g (I really wanted it to work... it's the small guy/company sort of thing that I attracted me to it, but more importantly, it has a better integrated GPU, aka APU, than the wonderful *cough cough* UHD 630, etc.) and an AB350 by ASRock.
Ok. For the life of a first time builder, me, I can't understand why AMD would release an APU without robust support. More importantly, demand (yes, demand... otherwise, they should build their own MOBOS) from its MOBO vendors that they build a robust systems of support for Bios update. On the latter, ASrock falls short. Like they're really bad. Oh, and the price of the X370, which I also purchased and it's identical to the AB350, isn't all that different than the ROG z370i. At any rate, I've already expressed my piece about AMD/ASrock under the products review there in Amazon... now to the z370i.
Wow... it's all I can say about the ROG z370i. BIOS update was smooth as butter and even the interface was nicely written. I am still updating the drivers, etc., but it's a quality product; at least thus far. And so for me, as first builder, ever, of my first PC, I see why Intel is king; at least for me. I am sorry AMD, I really wanted your product. Now, I have a Ryzen 2400g with an AB350 that I need to dump. Here I am hoping that ASRock updates the bios and sends it to me...
As for a discrete GPU, thanks Bitcoin/Blockchain for driving the prices through the roof. As such, I'll have to stick with the wonderful UHD 630 built in the i5 chip. Btw, if Intel, since its one night stand with AMD and integrating a Vega card in a CPU, carries the latter to a desktop version, I am game.
Oh, before I forget, I even tried an old/new A8 chip, which wouldn't work either in terms of updating the GPU drivers and won't allow me to update the BIOS.
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7/23/2018 Update
Great MOBO thus far, but several of the LEDs burnt. I contact ASUS and am waiting to hear from them.
I am also using their Strix OC 1060GTX card and it's great.
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7/25/2018
See pics for the burnt out LEDs. ASUS responded to the ticket, but thus far they haven't offered a solution.
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7/26/2018 - Asus got back to me and stated that my MOBO doesn't qualify for advance replacement/swap/support. I have to send it in, so they can fix it. Never mind that I provided proof about the LEDs being burnt. If you want an MOBO from Asus that offer advanced replacment in the event it breaks, you need to buy a Server or Workstation MOBO.
In summary, stay away from this MOBO and look elsewhere; if you wish. And oh, yeah, don't look to ASRock either.