ASUS Prime Z370-A Review

The ASUS Prime Z370-A was one of many motherboards that were released after the introduction of the Z370 chipset. ASUS themselves entered with a slew of Z370 motherboards from the higher-end ROG boards to the more affordable Prime series.

We’ve chosen to focus on the ASUS Prime Z370-A. Its low price and premium features made us curious, so we took it to task to see if it really delivered on all its promises.

If you’re looking for a motherboard packed with features that won’t hurt your wallet, this article is for you.

ASUS Prime Z370-A Review (Our Review)

Overall Assessment 

The ASUS Prime Z370-A will cost you around $175 which, in comparison to other motherboards in the Prime series, is remarkably affordable.

It comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from the Prime series, like RGB LEDs, 2-way SLI, CrossFire support, dual M.2 slots, and ASUS Aura Sync software.

Out the box, the board comes with three SATA cables, a CPU installation tool, an I/O shield, a Q-connector, the 2-way SLI HB bridge, driver and installation DVDs, a user guide, screws for the M.2 drive, and a sweet 20% off code for the CableMod cables.

All in all, we found the installation process straightforward. We had a 9^th Gen Intel Core processor installed and the board required a BIOS update before it worked which was a bit of a bother.

The only downside we found testing the board was its subpar overclocking abilities. If you’re a casual gamer, this shouldn’t be an issue. But, if you’re someone who loves pushing their systems to their limits, we recommend you check out the ASUS Prime A320M-K.

Features

The ASUS Prime Z370-A sports three x16 length slots and two M.2 drives. However, the second M.2 slot has only two PCIe lanes.  If you want to install more hardware, you would get more out of a high-end board like the ASUS Prime Z270-A.

We were happy to see that both the CPU-connected PCIe slots are reinforced with metal bracing and pins. This increases the sturdiness of the board and lessens the likelihood of damage when installing components.

One downside is that it doesn’t have many I/O USB ports. The I/O set has six USB ports, including a USB 3.1 Gen 2 port. This is sparse, especially when compared to other z370 boards. We think ASUS could’ve done a better job with this.

The rest of the panel consists of a DVI-D, an HDMI, and DisplayPort which gives you more than enough options for connecting your PC to a monitor of your choice.

ASUS splurged on the audio components. The board comes with a DTS Connect license to the onboard ALC1220 codec, which sports the ASUS S1220A configuration. This audio setup allows users to send live multi-channel sound to a DTS-compliant receiver via a single cable. 

Software

The Prime Z370-A sports the same software as most ASUS boards like the ASUS Prime X370-Pro and the ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe.

There’s software for DTS audio and RGB settings. There are a few changes to the AI Suite settings, but it still has the TPU overclocking, the EPU energy-state control, the Digi+ voltage-regulator adjustment, and the EZ update software updater.

Additionally, the board features Turbo application prioritization; Fan Xpert4 profile tuning to control the cooling system; and PC Cleaner file cleanup software.

This software is all standard for an ASUS motherboard.

However, the crowning jewel must be the ASUS 5-way optimization automatic tuning program. This improves the overclocking abilities and stability of the board.

Pros

• Low-cost SLI
• Comes with a high-bandwidth SLI bridge
• Able to support two M.2 cards, six SATA drivers, and a PCIe x4 SSD
• Has an improved memory bandwidth which drastically boosts performance

Cons 

• Weak overclocking abilities
• Lack of I/O panel USB ports

Common Questions about ASUS Prime Z370-A 

Does the ASUS Prime Z370-A have Wi-Fi?

The ASUS Prime Z370-A doesn’t come with onboard Wi-Fi, but it does offer wireless support if you purchase a compatible Wi-Fi module.

Does the ASUS Prime Z370 support the 9^th Gen Intel Core Processors?

The ASUS Prime Z370 supports 9^th Gen Intel Core Processors. In fact, the board supports the 9000 series.

However, it doesn’t support 9^th Gen processors straight out of the box. Instead, you’ll have to install the board and update the BIOS.

If you’d like an ASUS board that supports 9^th Gen right out of the box, we recommend the ASUS Prime Z390-P.

Is the Z390 better than the Z370?

If you’re a hardcore gamer or overclocking enthusiast, we recommend the Z390. Not only is it ideal for gamers but it is also able to push the CPU to higher clocks.

With the Z390 you’re also able to enjoy improved thermals and excellent system stability when compared to the Z370.

Customer Reviews 

Here are what the users have had to say about the ASUS Prime Z370-A:

“I recently bought the ASUS Prime Z370-A. I was initially considered the ASUS ROG line of motherboards however, upon further inspection I found that the Prime A board has 98% of the features of the ASUS ROG line at a considerably lower price.

I am currently using this board to overclock my 8700k chip and it is running at 5.2 GHz on all cores and under a custom water loop at 1.41 volts. This board has the same 8 phase VRMs that I’ve seen on more expensive ROG boards which is why this board does just as well on the overclocking department.

The Prime A doesn’t have the clear CMOS button at the back that I like on more expensive boards but everything else is well done.

My one issue with this board is that it only has 6 USB ports on the back of the I/O plate. I use my main rig for flight simming and VR use and have 19 USB devices that need to be hooked up. The 6 USB ports might’ve been okay in 2003 but come on! I ended up buying powered USB hubs and 2 Innateck USB 3.0 expansion cards, both of which work fine.

When I first laid out my rig I also considered getting the ROG Maximus X Hero or Formula. However, I think that this board has 98% of the guts and goodies of those boards without the high price tag. YMMV, but I have been very happy with this Prime A board.”

A.Aurelius

5/5 Stars

“I originally bought 2 ASUS Prime Z370-A boards since I was building 2 PC’s (both with the same build).

Initially they ran without many issues and then one day one PC fails to power on at all after being put to sleep. I swapped out the PSU, the RAM, and couldn’t even get a POST, nothing was turning on at all. The motherboard seemed to be dead.

I contacted the ASUS customer support and the first agent I spoke to insisted that it was the fault of the RAM since it wasn’t on their approved RAM sheet. My RAM cards were from the same manufacturer and speed as the cards on their approved RAM sheet but a smaller kit (16GB instead of 32GB).

The agent refused to help me because of my RAM. So I disconnected and spoke with a second person, who agreed to help me. Unfortunately, they wanted me to RMA it and pay the cost of shipping. I found this ridiculous because I wasn’t going to spend my money to fix a broken product.

I spoke to Amazon and after some discussion they replaced it. I haven’t had any issues with the new motherboard. I checked the old motherboard again and couldn’t find anything wrong with it. There were no broken parts, soldering, or short, metal contact on the mounts.

I still have no idea what went wrong. Everything is fine now but I’m not sure I want to buy ASUS again, only because the support I got was horrible.”

DevHead

3/5 Stars

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