Best Budget Z370 1151 Coffee Lake Motherboards

brandon has been writing online and creating youtube videos for the past 6 years. he specializes in pc hardware and games.

The new 8th and 9th generation Intel processors are here. If you’re wondering if you should upgrade your CPU, I think this is a generation that finally deserves an upgrade. here’s a brief synopsis of what you get with the 8th generation cpu:

Reading: Best budget coffee lake motherboard

6 cores for i5 and i7 cpus
4 cores for i3
increased turbo speeds
a 50mhz increase in integrated graphics card clock speed
2666mhz support for i5 and i7 along with 2400mhz support for i3

for us, the pressure from amd’s ryzen series of processors forced intel to finally give us more cores for our money. Ryzen, which still doesn’t do as well on clock speeds, was simply giving consumers more for their money. now with coffee lake the market is leaning more to the intel side but availability is currently an issue.

Notable

improves overclocking and power delivery
no additional pcie lanes on z270
no native usb 3.1 gen 2 yet
same audio realtek alc1220

less than $150

msi z370-a pro: A cheap z370 combo for i3-8100 and i5-8400

At $110 after rebate, msi’s z370-a pro has become the go-to choice for i3-8100 and i5-8400 builders looking for an affordable option. it’s a pretty simple board with a black and white theme and msi’s pci express steel armor. we’ve seen this kind of steel armor option become pretty standard on motherboards these days and we really like it. (especially after accidentally ripping the slot out of a few boards in the past).

memory support

The nice thing about having a z370 chipset motherboard is that you get high-speed memory support. This motherboard supports up to 64GB dual channel DDR 4000 (OC) where H and B motherboards do not support more than 2666MHz. so this should get you some frames in pc games if you buy faster ram.

The msi z370-a pro is also m.2 compatible and is ready for intel optane memory. So if you decide that Intel’s futuristic memory caching is for you, you’ll have what it takes to implement it.

no built-in hdmi support

One important thing to note on this particular board is that it doesn’t support hdmi. this shouldn’t be a problem if you have a graphics card; however, if not, the motherboard includes displayport, vga, and dvi-d ports.

notable features

Like many of MSI’s motherboards, this one is more durable than you’d think for the price with military class 5 pro protection. It also supports 2-way amd crossfire (no mention of sli). with audio boost and realtek alc892 audio chipset you get decent audio too.

final thoughts

There aren’t many extras with this motherboard. It has basic Z370 features, looks pretty basic too, and you get the same performance from those Coffee Lake i3-8100 and i5-8400 cpus that you’ll get with higher end motherboards. So if you’re looking for a cheap Z370 PC build, the Z370-A Pro is a good place to start.

asus prime z370-p vs z370-a

key differences

the prime z370-p is stripped of any more frills than the a compared to the strix versions of asus motherboards for the z370 chipset. it targets value and to get there it offers the realtek alc887 codec instead of the crystal sound branded realtek alc1220 codec 3. the a uses the intel i219-v gigabit ethernet controller while the p uses the realtek rtl8111h. The Z370-A also includes five 4-pin PWM headers in addition to the thermal sensor and AIO headers. the z370-p, on the other hand, has a dedicated header for all-in-one cpu cooling and 3 x 4-pin pwm fan headers.

the z370-a offers 3 way crossfire and 2 way sli support while the p version only offers crossfire support through the pcie slot based on added latency. in other words, we would not recommend a multi-gpu setup for the z370-p. probably not a big problem for some.

in addition to these key differences, the z370-a offers subtle rgb lighting which is something we wouldn’t expect those buying the stripped-down z370-p to care about.

Overall, as you can see above, there are quite a few cosmetic changes from the z370-a to the z370-p, as well as some additional armor plating.

asrock z370m pro 4

If you’re looking for a cheap z370 micro atx motherboard, I like the asrock z370m pro4. It’s pretty stripped down, but still holds almost everything you’ll need for a budget build. A deal breaker for some may be the lack of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth integration. there is also no rgb led on the board and no header for additional options. so again, this motherboard is not really for show aesthetics.

however, the performance of this board is impressive. It has 2 full length pcie slots and works well with coffee lake cpu overclocking.

key features

The asrock z370m pro 4 supports up to 64gb ddr4 ram at up to 4300(oc)mhz. In addition, it has 2 Ultra M.2 sockets, 2 PCIE 3.0 x 16 slots, Realtek ALC892 audio chipset, Intel i219-V LAN chipset, HDMI, D-Sub, DVI-D and 5 USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (1 type -c).

general

Overall, the asrock z370m pro 4 has many great features, but it lacks bluetooth support, wi-fi and rgb lighting. if you need one of those, you might want to look elsewhere. if it doesn’t then this is a solid choice for a micro-atx build.

asus tuf z370-pro gaming vs plus gaming

Unlike previous tuf series motherboards, the asus tuf z370-pro and plus gaming only have a three year warranty. some of that comes back to you in the form of a budget price.

small differences

the difference between these boards includes a bright led strip on the right side of the board for the professional where the plus has rgb lighting in the same place. Another rgb strip header is also included with the plus so you can use your asus aur sync compatible strips.

Also, there are some differences with pcie slots. the pro has a full 3 pcie x 16 with secure slot reinforcement, while the plus omits the third full pcie slot and gives you four pcie x 1 slots instead of 3.

key specs

These two motherboards give you Intel’s i219-v gigabit network chip and the realtek alc887 codec. other features include asus optimmem, fan xpert 4, tuf components and tuf protection.

general

Overall, we like the yellow and black aesthetic of this board over the one in the asus z370-a, but keep in mind that you get the realtek alc887 codec with these instead of the higher-end alc1220. plus, with a similar guarantee, there’s clearly not as much to the tuf name here.

msi z370 gaming plus

Similar in price to the pro we mentioned above, msi’s z370 gaming plus is another option in the $120 range aimed at budget pc builders.

it’s a bit more attractive with its black and red combo, saves money with minimal use of heat sinks without a heat pipe, and offers a basic entry into the coffee lake processor motherboard market. like other cheap z370 boards, only crossfirex is supported on this one.

you still get audio boost, xmp profile with ddr4 up to 4000mhz and a coffee lake compatible motherboard. So it’s definitely worth considering if you want a slightly more attractive board that has some RGB lighting included and allows for more with its unique RGB header. It’s also a decent overclocker, though it lacks some of the features of higher-end boards.

less than $200

asus z370-e vs z370-f

here are two other asus boards worth looking at with very similar tech specs. so what’s the difference between the z370-e and the z370-f?

First of all, the z370-e has a 10gbps usb connector on the front panel and dual 802.11ac wi-fi where the z370-f doesn’t. In terms of design, the E is a lighter finished board with metallic heat sinks, while the F uses plastic ones with a much darker style. Other than that, these boards are pretty much the same.

key specs

with the intel i219-v gigabit lan controller and the realtek alc1220 you get a fantastic combination that asus used for most of its mid-range motherboards. Additionally, these cards support 2-way SLI and 3-way Crossfirex. take a look at our specification table above for more details.

in addition, the e and f are some of the fastest boards that have been tested receiving Editor’s Choice from several different websites.

final thoughts

Overall these boards look great, have fantastic gaming performance and overclocking options, robust connectivity, dual m.2 slots, intel optane support, and plenty of room to add to your coffee lake system. the cost difference between e and f is about $20.

high end for less than $300

asus rog maximus x hero

When you pay around $250 for a motherboard, expectations are high.

unsurprisingly, the asus rog maximus x hero has pretty much everything you want. flashback bios, rear mounted clr cmos buttons, dual m.2 sockets, plenty of headers for your aio and fan, multiple monitoring options, perfect placement rgb led strip headers, plenty of usb ports, audio supremofx, intel i219-v and ac wifi, and much more.

in terms of overclocking, you get a superior board here, though not much better than the cheaper asus z370-a. that means an overclock of more than 5ghz on the i7-8700k. memory is similar too and you should be able to get up to 4000mhz.

final thoughts

the aesthetic is here for this board and pretty much everything else. Performance, quality, longevity, and even enough RGB options to make your head spin. Generally this can come down to whether or not you like the look of it and could use the extra features. this board received the oc enthusiast award.

high end for less than $500

msi z370 divine gaming

When you call yourself divine, you better look like one. and msi has gone to great lengths to make this board stand out from the crowd. the lighting is spectacular, the combination of colors, and the quality of the pieces.

of course, you’re paying a lot for a board like this. as a reward you get 3 m.2 slots, one u.2, six sata 3 ports, 2 usb type-c, 10 (yes, 10) usb type-a and one usb 3.1 gen 2 type-a. if that’s not enough msi also includes 6 additional usb 2.0 ports.

general

The performance of this board is similar to what you’ll get with the maximus x hero. So again, this one comes down a bit to aesthetics and the sheer number of options and features it packs. we’ll let you decide if you think it’s worth it or not.

our favorite intel z370 motherboards from $150 to $300

coffee lake is the kind of multi-generational upgrade we’ve been looking for. It is especially beneficial to those coming from Haswell or before; however, two additional cores at each price point is still a huge improvement over skylake. For a good motherboard cpu mix, this is what we recommend.

news in z370 chipset motherboards

If you plan to use Intel’s new Coffee Lake processors, you’ll need to go with a Z370 motherboard. these new processors cannot be used with older generation boards. Also, older generation processors will not work with newer motherboards. Yes, even though they use the LGA 1151 socket. Intel claims this comes from newer processors that require additional power.

the cheaper b360, h370 and h310 chipsets will be released in the first part of 2018. so for now, you’ll have to go with a more expensive board. if you are an advanced user, then most likely there is no real problem with this. Below you can find the changes to this new chipset and our recommendations for the z370 motherboards by price. additional information can be found in the intel product brief.

This article is accurate and true to the best knowledge of the author. The content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for personal advice or professional advice in business, financial, legal or technical matters.