Skylake is here and there are quite a few changes with this new architecture. The new processor architecture based on Intel?™s newest generation 14nm process FinFET lithographic technology. It promises decreased power consumption and increased performance. One of the most notable new changes is the use of DDR4 memory. DDR4 memory was first introduced with Haswell-E just shy of a year ago.

The ASRock Z170 Gaming K6+ is the first Z170 motherboard we have had the privilege to review. Besides the aforementioned changes, a new cosmetic design debuts with ASRock?™s Z170 motherboards. The higher end mother boards get heatsinks are mostly black with anodized aluminum inserts in one of three colors, depending on the series and there is also ASRock?™s new I/O Armor that covers most of the left side of the board. It all adds up to a radical departure from ASRock?™s previous cosmetic designs.

The Z170 Gaming K6+ supports 6th Generation Intel Core processors. There is 3 way AMD CrossFire and Nvidia SLI support. On the networking side, Intel Gigabit LAN + Qualcomm Atheros Gigabit LAN provide connection. Purity Sounds 3 via a Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD Audio controller with Built-in rear audio amplifier supplies your audio needs. ASRock?™s Super Alloy construction features an XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink, premium 60A power choke, premium memory choke, , Ultra Dual-N MOSFET (UDM), NexFET??MOSFET, Nichicon 12K Platinum Caps, Sapphire Black PCB.

ASRock has not been remiss on the software side either. They have revised their UEFI BIOS, which has exclusive ASROCK Overclocking features. There is also an application center that allows quite a bit of control over the BIOS, overclocking, and other various features from inside the Windows environment.

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