The ASRock Z270 Supercarrier Motherboard Review: 4-way SLI and 5 Gigabit Ethernet on Kaby Lake
by E. Fylladitakis on September 29, 2017 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ASRock
- SLI
- Aquantia
- Z270
ASRock Z270 Supercarrier Software
Despite the motherboard’s class and price, ASRock made no effort to develop a software package any more advanced than what comes with their mainstream motherboards. The driver DVD has a very basic automated installer software with five tabs. The first tab lists all of the drivers and software that are compatible with this motherboard, plus Google’s Chrome Browser and Toolbar, even though these have their own tab. There is an “Install all” option that automatically installs everything, without leaving any room for the user to select what should be installed and what not. The “Utilities” tab is practically empty, with only the “Restart to UEFI” software to be found here, a simple shortcut that restarts the PC and automatically enters the BIOS. Manuals and guides can be found under the Information tab and, finally, the company’s contact information is all that can be seen under the Contact tab.
The core software package that accompanies the ASRock Z270 Supercarrier, and practically all of ASRock’s motherboards today, is the ASRock App Shop. This application doubles as a software “shop” and as an updates installer. Extra software packages that can enhance the system’s devices, offer more options, and even some basic games can be downloaded and installed.
ASRock’s A-Tuning utility is the software package that allows for overclocking, fan tuning and monitoring via the OS. In its “OC Tweaker” tab we found many of the settings that are accessible via the BIOS screen, allowing for casual overclockers to experiment with minimal risk, as the settings reset when the system restarts. It is also handy for people who do not want a permanent overclock forced via the BIOS but prefer to boot with stock settings and force an overclock whenever they want or after the OS has booted.
The ASRock XFast LAN technically is the well-known cFos software with ASRock’s skin. This software allows the user to prioritize network traffic according to his/her needs. For example, it can be set to prioritize the traffic of a specific game/application over a downloading/file sharing app or server. This is particularly useful for applications where seamless network traffic can be vital, such as, for example, when there are IP security cameras connected to the computer and they should not be disturbed by the downloading of a large OS update or other files.
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Ryan Smith - Saturday, September 30, 2017 - link
"You guys are reviewing so many z270 boards all of a sudden"An amusing or annoying quirk of the motherboard industry (depending on your POV) is that they'll promote motherboards right up to the very end. So when we reach out to vendors for review samples, sometimes we can get hardware that has a short remaining shelf life, especially since it takes some time to put together these reviews.
Unfortunately we don't dictate the hardware lifecycle schedule, so all we can do it get reviews published and try to stay ahead.
HollyDOL - Tuesday, October 3, 2017 - link
Ye, Asus already has z370 boards on their website published. I suspect it's a matter of days before mobos and cpus start getting available.crashtech - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Tweaktown reviewed this board back in April, when it was still relevant news. I hope Z370 board reviews don't have to wait 5 months as well.ddriver - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
But it wasn't "in depth", it was "hasty and inferior". As we all know, good in depth reviews take at least 5-6 months to make ;)Morawka - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
all of tweaktowns stuff is full of opinion, i quit reading it years ago. Their newsletters are good, but when you actually read the content you'll notice a heavy biased against Intel and Nvidia. It's amateur hour over there.ddriver - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
It is funny yo should mention intel and nvidia bias, because this place is full of it. And crapple of course. The richer the corporation, the more bias basically.Notmyusualid - Sunday, October 8, 2017 - link
@ MorawkaIndeed, this is one of the least-biased sites you will come across. Many of us felt an Apple-bias for some time, but I don't smell that any more.
What I do not like, is half-baked reviews. Review a CPU, gaming & all, just one time, and save us the speculation in the comments from the fidiots (they know who they are).
GrzesiuLN2 - Sunday, October 1, 2017 - link
Tweaktown is just awful when it comes to reviews. Their whole site is based on spamming adds and feeding the rumor mill.DanNeely - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Unless it can't be used for basic gigabit service for some reason; I don't see why OEMs adding a 5/10GB port are still keeping 2x 1 GB ones. Either only have one extra-just because port; or go all in and put 4x 1gb ports on to allow using the board in a DIY router.1_rick - Friday, September 29, 2017 - link
Seems kind of crazy to put 4 NICs on a motherboard like this. A super-gaming PC that's also a router? It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!