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FRONTPAGE ASUS Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 Motherboard Review

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Today we continue our Z170 and Skylake motherboard parade with another offering from ASUS. This time, we get to look at the rugged Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 motherboard. As we know, the Sabertooth line offers a board that should handle a bit more of the rough and tumble situations. It offers an 'armor' to protect the board and even dust caps all around to keep the nasties out of where it shouldn't go. ASUS says it is an "Enduringly-tough Z170 board with ultimate cooling and extreme durability". So, it's time to strap the board on to the Humvee and take it out in the desert and.....ok, ok, we won't do that, but we will put it through its paces and see if it comes out swinging in the end.
Click to expand...


Click here to view the article.
 
I think there's a typo in the "Test Setup" section:

Test Setup
CPU Intel 6700K @ Stock (for the motherboard – 4.0 boost to 4.2 GHz)
Motherboard EVGA Z17- FTW
RAM 2×4 GB DDR4 GSkill Ripjaws 4 @ 3000 MHz 15-15-15-35 2T 1.35v
Graphics Card MSI R9 390 Gaming 8G
Solid State Drive OCZ Vertex 3
Power Supply SeaSonic SS-1000XP (80+ Platinum)
Operating System Windows 7 x64 SP1
Graphics Drivers Catalyst 15.7.1
Click to expand...

Just thought I'd point it out.
 
The QVL states that it supports RAM speeds in excess of 3.2GHZ, also I'm a bit concerned about that audio trace on the PCB connecting the audio circuitry to the sockets on the back of the board, it seems to run pretty darn close to a screw hole. Also no one seems to know which version of HDMI or Displayport it supports.

I'm a bit annoyed that it doesn't support PS/2 connectivity and I know you can get adapters for that, but I dunno if connecting a PS/2 keyboard to a USB port imposes the USB limitations on the keyboard (Generally not complete N-Key roll over support, am aware that the keyboard it self is also responsible for this limitation in addition to USB standards)
 
I think someone needs to point out a design fault with the ASUS motherboards that seems to go unnoticed by reviewers. If my interweb reading is correct, then the ground on the audio is connected to the ground on the USB and this means that if you have a usb mouse (that's pretty much everyone) when you move your mouse you get noise through your speakers.

This is really really frustrating and can only be solved by going and buying a powered usb hub and plugging your mouse and keyboard into there.

Terrible design flaw and really ought not to be Overclockers approved until they sort it out.
 
(scrapped what I wrote before)

I had a USB mouse for the review. I did not experience that through my speakers.

Can I read some links that you read? I am having trouble finding anything myself...
 
Last edited:
SupaMonkey said:
I think someone needs to point out a design fault with the ASUS motherboards that seems to go unnoticed by reviewers. If my interweb reading is correct, then the ground on the audio is connected to the ground on the USB and this means that if you have a usb mouse (that's pretty much everyone) when you move your mouse you get noise through your speakers.

This is really really frustrating and can only be solved by going and buying a powered usb hub and plugging your mouse and keyboard into there.

Terrible design flaw and really ought not to be Overclockers approved until they sort it out.
Click to expand...

I only notice that when connecting my headphones to the computer case audio jacks (Generally located at the front of the case somewhere) because their either unshielded (or very poorly shielded) and located right next to the front USB jacks. I wouldn't be surprised if my case bundles the cables for the USB and audio jacks together either. The problem worsens if you have a USB cable connected to one of the front ports even if the USB cable isn't connected to a device.

When connecting the headphones directly to the soundcard/integrated audio jack's there's no interference. So basically, it's best to never use the audio jacks your computer case provides if you experience buzzing or weird crackle when using them.

I've noticed this with the below ASUS Motherboards and various Thermaltake computer cases:

Asus P5KC
ASUS P6T
ASUS z87 Sabertooth
 
Last edited:
Here we go Earthdog:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/324159-28-hear-mouse-moving-windows-speakers

I've build 3 PCs using the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 boards. All 3 have this issue. Not all of the other parts are the same so I am betting it is the motherboard.
Click to expand...

The reason for the squeal is due to voltage potential difference between the usb ground and the audio ground.
There is a reason single point grounds are used in sensitive electronics to reduce this ground loop.

This is a design flaw either in the motherboard or back/front panel header which shorts usb ground to audio ground.
Click to expand...

I get the same scratching when I use my audio onboard card, but not when I use my headphones plugged into my USB port.
 
That was on a board a few generations ago (Z68). Does this problem happen with this board (Z170)?
 
That is a different board than the one in the review. Regardless, I will check it out if I have time and report back. I thought your experience was on this specific board...

Thanks for the information on your board. :)
 
Sure, but it is still the Z170 and it seems to be a common problem plaguing the asus boards.

The solution is to use a powered usb hub. Mine is coming in a few days and if that fixes the problem it means that asus haven't fixed the problem in 3 years. I will report back here.
 
It means that for the boards there are problems on. Not necessarily across the entire line. If it was across the entire line and goes generations back, one would think more people would be complaining about it. As it is, I can barely google it and get returns.

Thanks again! :)
 
Yes, odd.

I wasn't bashing your review. I'm just upset that i have to go and fix my new motherboard when it ought to just work.
 
Do PSU's these days suck air from the behind the case and pump it in to the case? I just find it really strange that the ASUS Sabertooth motherboards suck air from behind the case and dump it inside at the front of the case. Why do I find it odd? 3rd party CPU coolers, case fans and the video card typically try to push air from the front of the case to out the back of the case, creating a hot pocket for the motherboard to suck air in from...
 
Nicholas Steel said:
Do PSU's these days suck air from the behind the case and pump it in to the case? I just find it really strange that the ASUS Sabertooth motherboards suck air from behind the case and dump it inside at the front of the case. Why do I find it odd? 3rd party CPU coolers, case fans and the video card typically try to push air from the front of the case to out the back of the case, creating a hot pocket for the motherboard to suck air in from...
Click to expand...

True, it seems a little odd, but I can see the reasoning behind it. If you were to put a fan on the opposite side of the VRMs, and one were to use the stock CPU cooler, or any designed like it (or even a downward firing or short tower design cooler), it would probably be damaged by the fan on the cooler. Plus, with this design, they could push more air over more of the board without redesigning the entire layout, and without using more than 2 fans.
 
The little fans move enough air to keep the vrms cool... it's not sucking in PSU air. Besides a lot of cases these days have the psu at the bottom anyway. :)

This exhausts the air in the case and its taken out by the exhaust fan.
 
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