Looking for best, basic, but awesome Asus Mobo

Joined
Jun 15, 2016
Messages
4
I'm about to build a new 6700 Skylake system, and it's been a while since I've built a box from scratch. I'm thinking the ASUS Maximus VIII line, but their higher end boards are more than I need. Would anyone mind giving me their thoughts based on my criteria?
  1. Most dedicated lanes to support an M.2 drive...I want a Z170 MoBo that supports the fastest OS drive possible.
  2. I have no desire to overclock, so overclocking is optional.
  3. Must have integrated graphics...my IP camera software leverages the Intel hardware acceleration.
  4. Lots of USB 3 ports.
  5. If the mini iTX board sports as much bandwidth as a larger board for the M.2 drive, I have not been able top determine so on my own.; but I'm fine with any size board.
  6. I'm not playing games...not that I wouldn't but I don't have time these days.
I'm leaning towards one of the Maximus VIII boards based on reputation, but would prefer to buy the least expensive version that offers the fasted M.2 compatibility.

Thanks for your feedback.
 
4. Lots of USB 3 ports.

Minimum #? Need pin headers on the board as well?
 
Best but basic doesn't seem to match the Maximus line.

Z170-A?

You can also take a look at the B150 and H170 boards too since you're not overclocking and don't need RAID/SLI/XFIRE.

All the 1151 boards nowadays come with some form of 'integrated graphics', because the 'integrated graphics' is already on the CPU and not on the motherboard (the motherboard is just like a video-out). What you're really picking with the motherboard is what kind of display output you need. DVI/VGA/HDMI/etc.
 
Best but basic doesn't seem to match the Maximus line.

Z170-A?

You can also take a look at the B150 and H170 boards too since you're not overclocking and don't need RAID/SLI/XFIRE.

All the 1151 boards nowadays come with some form of 'integrated graphics', because the 'integrated graphics' is already on the CPU and not on the motherboard (the motherboard is just like a video-out). What you're really picking with the motherboard is what kind of display output you need. DVI/VGA/HDMI/etc.

Thanks you
  • If I reduce my requirements to only supporting the M.2 drive with the most available bandwidth possible, would I be able to achieve that with a B150 and H170 board?
  • If I wanted to refuture proof myself and do M.2 in raid, would you have a suggestion on a board?
 
Thanks you
  • If I reduce my requirements to only supporting the M.2 drive with the most available bandwidth possible, would I be able to achieve that with a B150 and H170 board?
  • If I wanted to refuture proof myself and do M.2 in raid, would you have a suggestion on a board?
As I'm looking at boards, I''m learning that the Z170 chipset shares with an SATA slot and disables the SATA. Is there a skylake compatible chipset where they don't have to share?
 
Back
Top