Performance

For performance testing, I set the Strix Z270E Gaming up on our test bench and ran it through a variety of tests. Most of these are just to confirm there are no obvious issues, the performance between motherboards isn’t really a big concern these days with most using almost all of the same components that are all integrated into the chipset. As you can see most of the results are in the same range and that’s I’m looking to see. I did however also test the network performance and this is one where different boards use different controllers. The Z270E uses the standard Intel though, like the two previous boards, the MSI did also have a second Killer NIC as well. The Wireless AC performance was interesting. We run a long range Ubiquity Wireless AC access point. The wireless coverage in the office is good but historically there has been a lot of interference so I never expect too much. The Z270E connected at around 988 Mbs but the tests don’t have the same throughput. This is still faster than most internet connections and most likely more related to the wireless performance of the office than the Qualcomm controller, but until I test more boards with wireless we won't know for sure.

The lighting on the Strix Z270E is actually my favorite of all three of the boards tested. I wouldn’t mind having more lights in between the PCI slots to light up the cards, but I love the multizone effect that the I/O light strip has. The lighting is still not over the top and with the board having to RGB strip headers you can do whatever you want in your case and sync it all together.