Introduction

If we go by past sales figures, a lot of people out there are waiting to see ASUS Z170 boards, so all of you who were waiting for me to review one get exactly what they want today. However, for those of you who are not that interested in ASUS board products, what I have here today might be worth you taking a look at. Fresh off the factory floor is the ASUS Z170-DELUXE, ASUS' top-tier mainstream solution for Intel's latest mainstream platform.

"Deluxe" means different things to many different people, but the commonality will be "over the top" or "high-end". A DELUXE pizza comes with nearly every topping and a hefty amount of cheese (at least from my local place it does), so what about a DELUXE motherboard? It should have some added features, maybe more than what is needed, right?

Reading through those words I wrote above, things might be taken the wrong way, but let's be honest. This is ASUS. Not just any ASUS, but ASUS DELUXE. For me, that means a history of getting everything you need in the box and then some. It means a decent overclock, but not the highest. Just the most stable. It means sleek design and a fit and finish that show why ASUS is the favorite of many. For Intel's LGA-1151 socket, that is the ASUS Z170-DELUXE.

Specifications

Packaging

The box the ASUS Z170-DELUXE comes in is familiar because of ASUS' past X99 Express line-up, with mainstream Z170 boards getting a similar treatment: a picture of the board, the board's name, and some logos, all on a swanky black background. I still think there are too many logos on the front. The rear is fairly busy, but where else can they put all that information?


Obviously, the answer is inside the flap pictured above, with the board showing itself, in a way, through the window in the box that is revealed when you open the flap. Unfortunately, since the board is wrapped in a fairly opaque anti-static bag, you don't really see that much, other than a faint idea of what the board really looks like. That's a minor issue, however, because the board is pictured on the box so many times.


Lifting the lid, you can see a bit more of the board, although that bag is still in the way, while under the board itself are a lot of included goodies, which is what DELUXE is all about.