The X370 Killer SLI is a VR-ready, gaming motherboard that is big on character. Users will also get to enjoy an additional M.2 slot, taking advantage of the X370 chipsets native SATA Express lanes.
Product on Review: X370 Killer SLI
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ASRock
Street Price: £149 GBP / $149 USD
Now that AMD has a real high-end platform, there is a need for a variety of mid-range motherboards to fill a variety of needs. ASRock enter here such a creation. It features a dedicated M.2 slot for a Bluetooth/Wireless combo card (the X370 Killer SLI/ac features this as standard at a slightly higher price), though with that in mind, people get to pick and choose which wireless network card they prefer, along with the rear IO plate to mount the wireless antenna on. It also makes use of the chipsets 2x SATA express ports and channels them into another M.2 slot, enabling up to SATA 10Gb/s speeds, this is of course in addition the NVMe M.2 32Gb/s slot.
As the X370 Killer SLI features the latest flagship chipset from AMD, it will provide users with a wealth of connectivity options, including support for a total of 12x USB 3.1 ports (including a Type C), which are all high-current to ensure compatibility with VR peripherals. Finally, it is finished off with a stylish white on black design, RGB LED lighting (along with 2x additional RGB LED strip headers providing plenty of customisation options to those concerned with creating their dream system.
About ASRock
ASRock Inc. is established in 2002, specialized in the field of motherboards. ASRock strives to build up its own brand. With the 3C design concept, “Creativity, Consideration, Cost-effectiveness”, the company explores the limit of motherboards manufacturing while paying attention on the eco issue at the same time, developing products with the consideration of eco-friendly concept.
ASRock has been growing fast and become world third largest motherboard brand with headquarter in Taipei, Taiwan and branches in Europe and the USA. The young and vibrant company targets from mainstream to enthusiast MB segments for different kinds of users, owning reputation around the world market with its reliability and proficiency.
ASRock has been growing fast and become world third largest motherboard brand with headquarter in Taipei, Taiwan and branches in Europe and the USA. The young and vibrant company targets from mainstream to enthusiast MB segments for different kinds of users, owning reputation around the world market with its reliability and proficiency.
Technical Specifications
Unique Feature:
ASRock Super Alloy
– XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink
– Premium 45A Power Choke
– Nichicon 12K Black Caps (100% Japan made high quality conductive polymer capacitors)
– I/O Armor
– Sapphire Black PCB
– High Density Glass Fabric PCB
– 2oz Copper PCB
ASRock Steel Slots
ASRock Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
ASRock Full Spike Protection (for all USB, Audio, LAN Ports)
ASRock Live Update & APP Shop
CPU
– Supports AMD Socket AM4 A-Series APUs (Bristol Ridge) and Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge)
– 12 Power Phase design
– Supports 95W Water Cooling
Chipset
– AMD Promontory X370
Memory
– Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology
– 4 x DDR4 DIMM Slots
– AMD Ryzen series CPUs support DDR4 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*
– AMD 7th Gen A-Series APUs support DDR4 2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*
– Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB*
– 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots
*Please refer to Memory Support List on ASRock’s website for more information
**Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® 32-bit OS. For Windows® 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
BIOS
– 128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support
– Supports “Plug and Play”
– ACPI 5.1 compliance wake up events
– Supports jumperfree
– SMBIOS 2.3 support
– CPU, VCORE_NB, DRAM, VPPM, PCH 1.05V, +1.8V, VDDP, PROM 2.5V, Voltage Multi-adjustment
Graphics
– Integrated AMD Radeon™ R-Series Graphics in A-series APU*
– DirectX 12, Pixel Shader 5.0
– Max. shared memory 2GB
– Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096×2160) @ 24Hz / (3840×2160) @ 30Hz
– Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant HDMI monitor is required)
– Supports HDCP with HDMI Port
– Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with HDMI Port
*Actual support may vary by CPU
Audio
– 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)
– Premium Blu-ray Audio support
– Supports Surge Protection
– Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
– PCB Isolate Shielding
– Individual PCB Layers for R/L Audio Channel
LAN
– Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
– GigaLAN Intel® I211AT
– Supports Wake-On-LAN
– Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
– Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
– Supports PXE
Slots
AMD Ryzen series CPUs
– 2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4))*
AMD 7th A-Series APUs
– 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (single at x8 (PCIE2))*
– 4 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots
– Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™**
– Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLI™ and SLI™**
– 1 x M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT module
– 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE2)
*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
**This feature is only supported with Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge).
Storage
– 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
– 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Ryzen Series CPU) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with A-Series APU)*
– 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)*
*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit
Connector
– 1 x COM Port Header
– 1 x TPM Header
– 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
– 1 x AMD Fan LED Header
– 2 x RGB LED Headers*
– 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)**
– 1 x CPU Optional/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)***
– 2 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
– 1 x Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)****
– 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
– 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
– 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
– 1 x AMD LED Fan USB Header
– 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 2 x USB 3.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
*Supports up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip
**The CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum 1A (12W) fan power.
***The CPU Optional/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 1.5A (18W) fan power.
****The Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 1.5A (18W) fan power.
CHA_FAN2 can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use.
Rear Panel I/O
– 2 x Antenna Ports
– 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
– 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
– 1 x HDMI Port
– 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
– 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A Port (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C Port (Supports ESD Protection)
– 6 x USB 3.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
– HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Software and UEFI
Software
– ASRock A-Tuning
– ASRock RGB LED
– ASRock APP Charger
– ASRock XFast LAN*
UEFI
– ASRock Full HD UEFI
– ASRock Instant Flash
– ASRock Internet Flash
– ASRock Crashless BIOS
– ASRock Easy RAID Installer
*These utilities can be downloaded from ASRock Live Update & APP Shop.
Support CD
– Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), Google Chrome Browser and Toolbar
Accessories
– Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield
– 2 x SATA Data Cables
– 1 x ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S Card
– 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
Hardware Monitor
– Temperature Sensing: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Fan Tachometer: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU temperature): CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water
Pump Fans
– Fan Multi-Speed Control: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, VCORE_NB, DRAM, PCH 1.05V, +1.8V, VDDP
Form Factor
– ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
OS
– Microsoft® Windows® 10 64-bit*
*For the updated Windows® 10 driver, please visit ASRock’s website for details.
Certifications
– FCC, CE, WHQL
– ErP/EuP ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)
ASRock Super Alloy
– XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink
– Premium 45A Power Choke
– Nichicon 12K Black Caps (100% Japan made high quality conductive polymer capacitors)
– I/O Armor
– Sapphire Black PCB
– High Density Glass Fabric PCB
– 2oz Copper PCB
ASRock Steel Slots
ASRock Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
ASRock Full Spike Protection (for all USB, Audio, LAN Ports)
ASRock Live Update & APP Shop
CPU
– Supports AMD Socket AM4 A-Series APUs (Bristol Ridge) and Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge)
– 12 Power Phase design
– Supports 95W Water Cooling
Chipset
– AMD Promontory X370
Memory
– Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology
– 4 x DDR4 DIMM Slots
– AMD Ryzen series CPUs support DDR4 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*
– AMD 7th Gen A-Series APUs support DDR4 2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*
– Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB*
– 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots
*Please refer to Memory Support List on ASRock’s website for more information
**Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® 32-bit OS. For Windows® 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
BIOS
– 128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support
– Supports “Plug and Play”
– ACPI 5.1 compliance wake up events
– Supports jumperfree
– SMBIOS 2.3 support
– CPU, VCORE_NB, DRAM, VPPM, PCH 1.05V, +1.8V, VDDP, PROM 2.5V, Voltage Multi-adjustment
Graphics
– Integrated AMD Radeon™ R-Series Graphics in A-series APU*
– DirectX 12, Pixel Shader 5.0
– Max. shared memory 2GB
– Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096×2160) @ 24Hz / (3840×2160) @ 30Hz
– Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant HDMI monitor is required)
– Supports HDCP with HDMI Port
– Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with HDMI Port
*Actual support may vary by CPU
Audio
– 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)
– Premium Blu-ray Audio support
– Supports Surge Protection
– Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
– PCB Isolate Shielding
– Individual PCB Layers for R/L Audio Channel
LAN
– Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
– GigaLAN Intel® I211AT
– Supports Wake-On-LAN
– Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
– Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
– Supports PXE
Slots
AMD Ryzen series CPUs
– 2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4))*
AMD 7th A-Series APUs
– 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (single at x8 (PCIE2))*
– 4 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots
– Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™**
– Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLI™ and SLI™**
– 1 x M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT module
– 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE2)
*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
**This feature is only supported with Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge).
Storage
– 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
– 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Ryzen Series CPU) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with A-Series APU)*
– 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)*
*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit
Connector
– 1 x COM Port Header
– 1 x TPM Header
– 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
– 1 x AMD Fan LED Header
– 2 x RGB LED Headers*
– 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)**
– 1 x CPU Optional/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)***
– 2 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
– 1 x Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)****
– 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
– 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
– 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
– 1 x AMD LED Fan USB Header
– 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 2 x USB 3.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
*Supports up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip
**The CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum 1A (12W) fan power.
***The CPU Optional/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 1.5A (18W) fan power.
****The Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 1.5A (18W) fan power.
CHA_FAN2 can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use.
Rear Panel I/O
– 2 x Antenna Ports
– 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
– 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
– 1 x HDMI Port
– 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
– 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A Port (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C Port (Supports ESD Protection)
– 6 x USB 3.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
– HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Software and UEFI
Software
– ASRock A-Tuning
– ASRock RGB LED
– ASRock APP Charger
– ASRock XFast LAN*
UEFI
– ASRock Full HD UEFI
– ASRock Instant Flash
– ASRock Internet Flash
– ASRock Crashless BIOS
– ASRock Easy RAID Installer
*These utilities can be downloaded from ASRock Live Update & APP Shop.
Support CD
– Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), Google Chrome Browser and Toolbar
Accessories
– Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield
– 2 x SATA Data Cables
– 1 x ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S Card
– 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
Hardware Monitor
– Temperature Sensing: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Fan Tachometer: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU temperature): CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water
Pump Fans
– Fan Multi-Speed Control: CPU, CPU Optional/Water Pump, Chassis, Chassis Optional/Water Pump Fans
– Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, VCORE_NB, DRAM, PCH 1.05V, +1.8V, VDDP
Form Factor
– ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
OS
– Microsoft® Windows® 10 64-bit*
*For the updated Windows® 10 driver, please visit ASRock’s website for details.
Certifications
– FCC, CE, WHQL
– ErP/EuP ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)
For more information about the X370 chipset, CLICK HERE
Packaging, Bundle & First Look
The packaging for the X370 Killer SLI is rather toned down despite the huge stylised ‘K’. There is information about the motherboard itself including the platform details and support.
The reverse reveals an image of the product, some key details and specifications.
Inside the accessories are a little bit light, but it includes some SATA cables, a high bandwidth SLI bridge, the driver disc, back plate, Setup guide and manual. As well as 3x small screws for each M.2 slot.
Neutral colours are a big theme lately, ASRock jump readily into this with white on black. The X370 Killer SLI features a white shroud over the rear IO and audio sections and has an unmissable ‘K’ on the main body. There are two PCIe x16 slots each given a steel cover (secondary is electrically x8), and there is a double space between them ensuring compatibility for triple slot coolers. There are an additional 4x PCIe x1 slots. There doesn’t appear to be any debug LEDs or onboard controls.
Closer Look
Surrounding the AM4 socket, there are 12 power phases to help deliver stable power, as well as helping to keep the components cool. There is a pair of 4pin fan headers to the right of the top headsink, one of which outputs 1.5A for use with waterpumps. However there doesn’t appear to be any RGB headers nearby for the AMD RGB Wraith coolers.
Alongside the 24pin ATX socket, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers, followed by the RGB and USB headers for the LED Wraith coolers, again to the left there is another 4pin fan header.
Storage wise, there are 6x right angle SATA 6Gb/s ports, however they are set back from the edge of the motherboard, making it difficult to insert a right angle SATA cable, should you with to try this orientation.
In the bottom left corner of the motherboard we find the standard array of front panel headers, alongside 2x RGB LED strip headers. Above these is the M.2 slot featuring SATA 2x 10Gb/s speeds.
The X370 Killer SLI affords further expansion headers for: Front Panel Audio, COM port header, TPM header, Power LED and Speaker header, 2x USB 2.0 headers, 2x 4pin fan headers (one of which offers 1.5A power output for waterpumps)and finally a Clear CMOS Jumper.
Sitting just above the primary PCIe x16 slot is the Ultra M.2, A.K.A. M.2 NVMe 32Gb/s.
Above the top PCIe x1 slot there is a small M.2 slot dedicated for a WiFi/Bluetooth combo card.
The rear IO features a dedicated bracket for wireless antenna, 2x dedicated PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard, a HDMI 1.4a port, 6x USB 3.1 Gen1, and a further pair of USB ports, 1x 3.1 Type A and 1x Type C, however due to the listed specifications we are unsure if these are Gen1 or Gen2 (the latter is likely). Finally, there there are 5x 3.5mm audio plugs supporting 8 channel audio, and microphone input as well as an optical SPDIF out.
The ASRock X370 Killer SLI features RGB lighting around the chipset heatsink, it provides a nice glow and features a few various effects allowing you to customise your systems appearance.
Test Setup & Overclocking
Test SetupCPU AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
Cooling Noctua U12S
Motherboard ASRock X370 Killer SLI
Memory 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz @ 2667MHz
Graphics AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB
Storage Corsair Force LE 480GB
PSU Corsair RM750X 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Cooling Noctua U12S
Motherboard ASRock X370 Killer SLI
Memory 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz @ 2667MHz
Graphics AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB
Storage Corsair Force LE 480GB
PSU Corsair RM750X 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Benchmarks
Cinebench R15 – CPU/OpenGL Score
x264 HD 4.0 – 1st and 2nd pass encoding
SiSoftware SANDRA – CPU & Memory benchmarks
POV-RAY – CPU benchmarks
TrueCrypt – CPU benchmarks
AIDA64 – CPU benchmarks & Memory
PCMark 8 – Home Suite & Photoshop
3DMark FireStrike – 3D Benchmark
Games – Rise of the Tomb Raider & Total War: WARHAMMER
x264 HD 4.0 – 1st and 2nd pass encoding
SiSoftware SANDRA – CPU & Memory benchmarks
POV-RAY – CPU benchmarks
TrueCrypt – CPU benchmarks
AIDA64 – CPU benchmarks & Memory
PCMark 8 – Home Suite & Photoshop
3DMark FireStrike – 3D Benchmark
Games – Rise of the Tomb Raider & Total War: WARHAMMER
Other Software
Temperature Analysis: Aida64 & Ryzen Master
Stress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z
Performance Monitoring: MSI Afterburner
Stress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z
Performance Monitoring: MSI Afterburner
BIOS
The BIOS ASRock has implemented supports high resolution monitors and it looks fantastic. Easy to navigate and find each of the desired options. It has been laid out to give easy access to the primary options people will want to adjust in the overclocking settings, however, more advanced overclockers and enthusiasts may not like this layout so much as the more advanced options are tucked away under various sub-options. For most people, this will not be a problem though and it makes life convenient for an easy overclock.
Overclocking
ASRock has made it very easy to overclocking using this motherboard, giving quick access to frequency multiplier and CPU voltage, as well as Memory frequency, timings and voltages. It had no problem hitting the frequency of 4.05GHz which we know our CPU can handle, as well as having no problem at all hitting 3000MHz on the memory, though we were still unable to reach 3200GHz. CPU-Z have now updated and balanced their built in benchmark, giving more accurate representation of Ryzen vs the Intel CPUs, though Ryzen still looks very competitive.
Benchmarks: Power Consumption
It’s interesting to note the power consumption across all motherboards. Although they are using the Z270 chipset, energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use and then the system is loaded with 3DMark FireStrike – watts are again monitored for the duration of the test and the highest rated wattage result is then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.
Benchmarks: Cinebench R15
CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.
Benchmarks: X264 HD
Simply put, this test measures how fast your machine can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality x264 video clip. What’s x264, you ask? It’s more or less the next-generation Xvid/DivX codec. I think it’s ideal for a benchmark because the application (x264.exe) reports fairly accurate compression results (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encoding process, and it uses multi-core processors very efficiently.
Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA
SANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but we believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering – CPU and memory tests.
Benchmarks: POV-RAY
Persistence of Vision Raytracer’s PovRay is a free and open source 3D animator application with versions for computers with different operating systems.
This product allows users to build their custom 3D worlds with excellent quality despite their computer’s hardware. It has adjustable options for levels of radiance, refraction, and reflection. Calculation time may vary depending on the computer model, but PovRay can adapt to many computer builds, and is supported by the open source community.
This product allows users to build their custom 3D worlds with excellent quality despite their computer’s hardware. It has adjustable options for levels of radiance, refraction, and reflection. Calculation time may vary depending on the computer model, but PovRay can adapt to many computer builds, and is supported by the open source community.
Benchmarks: TrueCrypt
TrueCrypt is a discontinued source-available freeware utility used for on-the-fly encryption (OTFE). It can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file or encrypt a partition or (under Microsoft Windows except Windows 8 with GPT) the entire storage device (pre-boot authentication).
Benchmarks: AIDA64
AIDA64 Product PageThis simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.
Benchmarks: PCMark 8
PCMark 8 combines performance benchmarking with battery life measurement and includes tests based on popular Adobe and Microsoft applications. Whether you are looking for long battery life, or maximum power, PCMark 8 will help you find the devices that offer the perfect combination of efficiency and performance for your needs. It’s the complete PC performance benchmark for home and business.
Benchmarks: PCMark 8 Photoshop
The PCMark 8 Applications benchmark measures system performance using popular applications from the Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office. You can choose which tests to run based on the applications installed on your system. Each test automatically steps through a series of actions such as opening, editing and saving a file. The results are used to calculate the PCMark 8 Applications scores for the system.
Benchmarks: 3DMark
3DMark FireStrike Product PageFire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today. Fire Strike will only be available in the Windows editions of 3DMark initially.
VR Performance – VRMark
VRMark Product PageVRMark includes two VR benchmark tests that run on your monitor, no headset required, or on a connected HMD. At the end of each test, you’ll see whether your PC is VR ready, and if not, how far it falls short.
Gaming Performance – Rise of the Tomb Raider & Total War: WARHAMMER
It’s important for us to perform a number of game benchmarks as well as the synthetic tests because gamers will want to know if there are any significant benefits. So here we have two recent gaming titles.
Conclusion
Some have questioned AMD’s reasoning behind including SATA Express 10Gbps natively into their chipset, declaring it to already be a redundant interface. However, to have is often better to have not, especially in the realm of storage flexibility. Though, as the market has a clear preference towards the M.2 format, especially in consideration with taking advantage of NVMe 32Gb/s data transfer speeds, the SATA interface looks set to be relegated to mass storage HDDs. So rather than including a redundant interface which few may ever use, those bright sparks at ASRock re-routed the SATA Express lanes directly into an additional M.2 port, meaning more users will now able to benefit from the additional bandwidth they supply.
Of Course, the ASRock X370 Killer X370 offers more than just useful storage options. It offers a host of features that have been specifically considered for contemporary and future gaming demands. Meaning all the USB ports offer high current output ensuring that VR devices will work trouble free. For quality and durability, users will can rest assured, knowing that ASRock has used top quality components. There are a host of mod-cons that make it onto this board too such as: steel plated PCIe slots, a dedicated M.2 (E key) for a WiFi/Bluetooth combo (included with the X370 Killer SLI/ac), 2x RGB LED headers (controllable via software) along with 2x 4pin fan/waterpump headers. It is also good to know that ASRock have updated their supporting software suite, giving users a pleasant experience to get the most out of their motherboard.
We did pick up on some features that appeared to be a more token implementation than actual feature. One example would be the 2x 4pin fan/waterpump headers that only output a maximum of 1.5A (or 18W), while competitors are providing waterpump headers capable of 2-3A output. Other things to note would be the lack of the premium Realtek ALC 1220 audio codec, along with the strange positioning of the AMD Fan LED and USB headers. Many may choose not to use the stock coolers, but it is likely that there WILL be many that will use them, and having the headers situated directly north of the 24pin ATX plug means that the RGB Wraith coolers cables with have to track over the memory modules.
The above are minor gripes and can easily be overlooked, there is however something we cannot overlook. The apparant non-inclusion of USB 3.1 Gen2. This could be a misprint in translation, which is likely considering the official listing doesn’t yet go by the current standard of USB naming. Instead it lists the USB ports simply as ‘USB 3.0/2.0’. Running with the older nomenclature, the ASRock X370 Killer SLI features: 2x internal 2x USB 3.0 headers, and 8x USB 3.0 at the rear; a total of 12 USB 3.0 ports. As there are no additional drivers for 3rd party USB ports, we know that the AMD X370 chipset affords 2x USB 3.1 Gen2, and 10x USB 3.1 Gen1, totalling 12. It is likely that the USB Type C and its partner port are actually USB 3.1 Gen2. The image of the rear IO shows that there is a slight colour difference which could be an indicator. After checking the device manager, it does confirm that there are USB 3.1 drivers installed.
If you are able to overlook our minor criticisms, the X370 Killer SLI is an awesome motherboard that offers some outstanding features, making it a very attractive proposition for the price.
ASRock wake up to market demand, and give users an additional M.2 port that takes advantage of the X370s native SATA Express alongside the M.2 NVMe slot, opening up access to a feature that would otherwise be unavailable to many people.
Pros
+ Attractive Aesthetics (board design + RGB LED lighting)
+ Solid performance
+ Premium components
+ Competitive price
+ 2x M.2 slots, 1x NVMe, and 1x additional M.2 slot (leveraging the dedicated 2x SATA Express 10Gbps lanes from the X370 chipset)
+ Dedicated M.2 (Key E) For WiFi card (included with the ‘ac’ model)
+ 2x 3A/36W RGB LED headers
Mediocre
+- Waterpump headers only output 1.5a
+- No ALC 1220 audio codec
+- Awkward position for AMD Wraith LED header
Cons
– Debug LEDs would have been nice.
+ Attractive Aesthetics (board design + RGB LED lighting)
+ Solid performance
+ Premium components
+ Competitive price
+ 2x M.2 slots, 1x NVMe, and 1x additional M.2 slot (leveraging the dedicated 2x SATA Express 10Gbps lanes from the X370 chipset)
+ Dedicated M.2 (Key E) For WiFi card (included with the ‘ac’ model)
+ 2x 3A/36W RGB LED headers
Mediocre
+- Waterpump headers only output 1.5a
+- No ALC 1220 audio codec
+- Awkward position for AMD Wraith LED header
Cons
– Debug LEDs would have been nice.
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
