Ever since AMD introduced their budget-friendly line of CPUs, Intel has been struggling to keep up. With the release of Ryzen, Intel now needs to work extra hard to produce competitively priced products with increased core counts and overclocking support. In response, they’ve released their 8th gen i7 processor – which only works on a new motherboard series; 300 – launching at a relatively high price point. Reviews are generally favorable towards this chip though it seems there are many buyers who don’t find these benefits worth spending more money than they need to spend on something they can’t return if they’re unsatisfied.
However, the Z370 chipset still had some drawbacks even though it was aimed at enthusiast-grade builds. One thing that seemed to frustrate many buyers was lack of SATA ports for storage; there were only six instead of ten in previous generations. With their recent release of their 9th gen processors, Intel also announced their new Z390 motherboard series – complete with an increased number of SATA ports for storage up to 10 and an updated power delivery system.
Z370 vs Z390: Main Differences
Let’s take a look at what has remained unchanged in both chipsets before we talk about the actual comparisons and key differences. It is only the newer series 300 motherboards (Z390, Z370, H370, B360, and H310) that are compatible with Intel 8th Gen and 9th Gen processors. These motherboard types make up the premium lineups for each processor series- they’re clearly made for those who love to overclock or build their own rigs from scratch. A quick glance at the prices for either one of these motherboard types tells you all you need to know about this.
Recommended Z390 Motherboards
[amazon bestseller=”Z390 Motherboards” items=”15″ template=”table”]
Despite being the highest end motherboard offered by Intel at this time, the Z390 doesn’t offer much of a performance difference over the Z370. Both allow memory and CPU overclocking; however it seems some people have had better success when it comes to RAM overclocking with the Z390 board. Furthermore, both boards provide support for Intel Optane technology – which offers super-fast storage speeds – but only at an additional cost.
As you can see from the explanation above, these two motherboards are very similar to one another. For example, they each have six SATA ports, three USB 3.0 ports, and sixteen PCIe lanes.
After examining all of these similarities, it’s clear that the new Z390 chipset was merely a refresh- not an important upgrade. However, this new release does bring some much needed updates to the table such as:
USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
It seemed curious that Intel’s higher-end motherboards didn’t have any 3.1 Gen2 ports at the time but now there are 3rd party manufacturers using separate controllers for USB 3.1 Gen2. Fortunately, with native support like those found on Z390, this has been resolved and supports 6 USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (with a rated transfer speed of 10Gb/s). With these specs in place it allows OEMs to include higher speed Type-C connectors in new products!
Wi-Fi
Another unfortunate thing about the Z370 series of motherboards is that it does not come with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi; but thankfully you can use third party chipsets if you really want to experience it. But fortunately for us, on the newest line of motherboards such as the z390 series, they have incorporated this feature directly into their chip set!
Memory Capacity
In regard to channel support, these two chipsets can each hold up to four sticks of memory (though they are limited to 16 gigabytes or 32 gigabytes depending on the motherboard). Although there was an initial backlash against Z390 for its 64 GB RAM capacity—manufacturers were able to push this limit up all the way up to 128 Gigabytes by using a simple BIOS update.
Why should you buy a Z370 motherboard?
With Intel’s 8th generation processors, the Z370 motherboard should be perfect for most people. Early issues with 802.11ac wireless connections and USB 3.1 Gen2 ports have been rectified by vendors who add separate controllers to their less expensive models. If you can find a cheaper model without these features, they may not be worth giving up on it just yet.
Recommended Z370 Motherboards
[amazon bestseller=”Z370 Motherboards” items=”15″ template=”table”]
Asides from that, it wouldn’t make sense to use a Z390 motherboard with 8th generation processors when it’s typically possible for a Z370 board to handle any type of coffee-related chips. You may also want to keep in mind that there isn’t much of an advantage to going with Z390 when it comes down to performance or overclocking.
If you’re looking for a good board for your Intel Core i7-8700K processor, take a look at our list of the best Z370 motherboards available now.
Why should you buy a Z390 motherboard?
If you’re looking for a new computer rig, an Intel Z390 motherboard will give you the highest level of performance. These machines are built specifically to run Intel’s latest Core-i9 9th Gen processors (specifically the Core-i9-9900K)—unlike older boards that were designed for less power and speed. If you want something even more powerful than this then going with a high-end board such as a Z370 may be your best bet, but if you’re using an older machine or don’t plan on upgrading anytime soon, there’s no need to switch out your current setup.
In summary, if you’re considering purchasing either the Core i7 9700K or the powerful Core i9 9900K—read this review! We’ve also created a list of some great Z390 motherboards.
