ECS Z170-Lightsaber Motherboard Review
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Introduction
Courtesy of ECS
The ECS Z170-Lightsaber motherboard is the newest offering in ECS' L337 product line with support for the Intel Z170 Express chipset. The Z170-Lightsaber builds on their previous Z170-based product, adding several enthusiast-friendly features like enhanced audio and RGB LED support to the board. With an MSRP of $180, ECS priced the Lightsaber as a higher-tiered offering, justified with its additional features and functionality compared to their previous Z170-based product.
Courtesy of ECS
ECS designed the Z170-Lightsaber with a 14-phase digital power delivery system, using high efficiency chokes and MOSFETs, as well as solid core capacitors for optimal board performance. The following features into the Z170-Lightsaber board: six SATA 3 ports; one SATA-Express port; a PCIe X2 M.2 port; a Qualcomm Killer GigE NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots; four PCI-Express x1 slots; 3-digit diagnostic LED display; on-board power, reset, Quick overclock, BIOS set, BIOS update, BIOS backup, and Clear CMOS buttons; Realtek audio solution; integrated DisplayPort and HDMI video port support; and USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 Gen2 port support.
Continue reading our review of the ECS Z170-Lightsaber Motherboard!
Courtesy of ECS
For the integrated audio solution, ECS designed the Z170 Lightsaber with an enhanced audio subsystem designed around the 8.1 channel Realtek chipset using a swappable audio amplifier chip and Nichicon sourced audio capacitors.
Courtesy of ECS
Technical Specifications (taken from the ECS website)
| CPU | Supports 6th gen Intel® Core™ family/ Pentium / Celeron series processors for LGA 1151 socket 14 Phase Thermal Design Power 100% Solid capacitor design Intel® K Series Unlock CPU Support ECS Digital Power Design |
| CHIPSET | Intel® Z170 Express Chipset Supports Intel® Rapid Start technology Supports Intel® Smart Response technology |
| GRAPHICS | Supports DirectX® 12 |
| MEMORY | Dual-channel DDR4 Memory architecture Supports DDR4 2133 non-ECC, Un-buffered SDRAM Memory Supports up to 3200+(OC) 4 X 288-pin DDR4 DIMM socket Support up to 64 GB* Intel® extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3/1.2 Memory Modules |
| EXPANSION SLOT | 3 X PCI Express X16 Gen 3.0 slot(s) (x8+ x8 + x4) 4 X PCI Express X 1 Gen 3.0slot(s) Supports AMD CrossFire™ Technology 1 X M.2 slot for SSD For 2242/2260/2280 SSD |
| Storage | 6 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb/s 1 X SATA Express Compatible with 2 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb/s port(s) RAID0, RAID1,RAID5, RAID 10 configuration |
| Audio | 8-Channel HD audio CODEC Realtek ALC1150 8-channel High Definition audio CODEC Onboard TI NE5532AP EAR Phone Amplifier IC |
| LAN | Killer E2400 Gigabit Fast Ethernet Controller Wake-On-LAN |
| USB | Support by Z170 Express Chipset 6 X USB3.0 port(s) up to 5Gb/s 8 X USB2.0 port(s) Up to 480 Mb/s Support by ASMedia ASM1142 Controler |
| REAR PANEL I/O | 1 X PS/2 combo connector 1 X Audio port (Line-in,4x Line-out, Mic in) 1 X HDMI port(s) 1 X Display port 1 X Optical S/PDIF Out port(s) 2 X USB3.1 port(s) 6 X USB3.0 port(s) 4 X USB2.0 port(s) 1 X Clear_CMOS Button |
| CONNECTORS & HEADERS | 1 X 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 X 8-pin ATX 12V Power Connector 2 X 4-pin CPU_FAN connector 2 X 4-pin SYS_FAN connector 1 X Power on button 1 X Reset button 1 X Front Panel switch/LED header 1 X Front panel audio header 1 X Speaker header 1 X USB 3.0 header Support additional 2 USB ports 2 X USB 2.0 header Support additional 4 USB ports 8 X SATA III 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 X CLR_CMOS header 1 X 7S-LED Display 1 X Chassis intrusion header 1 X 80P Switch button 1 X Quick OC button 1 X BIOS set button 1 X ROM Backup button 1 X BIOS Update button |
| SYSTEM BIOS | º Supports M.I.B X Utility AMI BIOS with 64 MB SPI Flash ROM Supports M.I.B X Utility ACPI & DMI F7 hot key for boot up devices option Over-Clocking Graphic OC Support Dual Display Support ECS EZ BIOS Support GUI UEFI BIOS Plug and Play, STR (S3) / STD (S4) , Hardware monitor, Multi Boot Multi-Language BIOS Dual BIOS * Adjustable CPU Voltage * Memory Voltage Adjustable * Support CPU over-clocking function: Adjustable CPU Clock Multiplier |
| FORM FACTOR | ATX Form Factor 305mm x 244mm |
| OS Support | Windows 7 32-bit Windows 7 64-bit Windows 8.1 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit |
| Certifications | CE/FCC Certification WHCK Certification |
| Bundled Software | ECS Intelligent EZ Utility : eBLU, eDLU, eSF Free Bundle: CyberLink Media Suite |
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Are we going to see Z270 working with Coffeelake but Z170 being magically incompatible?
"... justified with its additional features and functionality compared wieh thier previous Z170-based product"
Wieh whier?
Fixed, thanks...
I'd like to see DPC latency tests, just like Anand does
Is it just me, or is the list of Rear Panel I/O wrong? I only see 10 USB ports, but 12 are listed (2x 3.1, 6x 3.0, 4x2.0) and the network RJ-45 is not listed in the Rear Panel I/O.
Yeah, that does seem odd but it is taken directly from ECS' webpage for the board...
Also, where the heck do you see a DVI port that you mention in the article ?
I only see DP and HDMI.
fixed, thanks...
Too bad they're going to get sued by Disney over the name they've chosen.
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