2015: Year in Review

August

Intel Skylake

While many enthusiasts are pretty unimpressed with the minor, incremental performance bumps that new Intel CPUs bring with them these days, the Skylake platform and the enthusiast-grade Z170 chipset in particular were still important launches. It marked a mainstream shift to DDR4 and emphasised the importance of native PCI-E lanes with regards to next-generation storage solutions. However, it also meant that the lines between X99 and Z170 began to blur more than they had with previous chipsets, especially as the prices of higher end Z170 parts were matching lower end X99 ones.

Asus Maximus VIII Gene

Z170 motherboards almost universally carried a significant price premium over Z97 counterparts, and the Asus Maximus VIII Gene was no exception to this trend. That didn't stop it from being one mighty fine motherboard, with Asus demonstrating yet again what its ROG development team are capable of. It offers more in the way of features and overclocking performance than many ATX motherboards do, and is a fine showcase for what this form factor can really offer.