ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is back with the all new ROG STRIX H270I. Similar to their current Z270 ITX offering (STRIX Z270I), this board offers many of the same features, save for its advanced overclocking capabilities.
Interesting to note here is that ASUS has chosen to drop the mixed USB 2.0/3.0 ports from the Z270 model in favor of all USB 3.0 ports (6 at back panel, 2 at mid-board, giving this board 2 more USB 3.0 ports over the STRIX Z270i). ASUS has also chosen to add a second ethernet port. While the main ethernet port still uses the highly coveted Intel® I219V, the second LAN port is based on the Realtek® RTL8111H. This is kind of strange when you consider that both ports support full duplex but I suppose that if you’re planning to build a dual-PC mini-server, or bridging two networks, that second ethernet port would be rather convenient to have.
To help keep costs down for the STRIX H270I, here is a list of small feature cuts that are visible to the naked eye:
- The power phases have been dropped from 9 down to 7.
- The top most heatsink is completely absent.
- The USB 3.1 front panel connector has been removed.
- The single USB 3.0 Type-C at the rear has been removed.
Other than that, the STRIX H270I is nearly identical spec for spec so if you’re not planning to overclock, or perhaps you don’t have the TDP headroom to do so, you can expect to save some money and still get the same performance. Also, you still get that slick RGBness that’s so hot right now.
Feel free to check out this new motherboard on ASUS’s website here and use the following links to compare the STRIX H270i with the STRIX Z270i.
At time of writing, there is no word on price or availability.
Talk about this product on the forums here.
