EVGA Z170 Classified K Motherboard Review

The Classified K is following the EVGA Black on Black color theme with a matte black PCB and oversized heatsinks on both the VRM and Chipset.  There is no heatpipe connection between the two heatsinks due to the removal of the PLX switch normally used to enable 4-way SLI.

Flipping the motherboard can tell us a lot about how it is constructed including where some of the major chips are located.  Every PCI Express slot is fully wired meaning that the full slot width is soldered to the PCB.  That doesn't always mean each slot comes with full set of PCI Express lanes.

One thing I did notice was the increased number of surface components on the back of this motherboard including some surface resistors around the CPU socket that actually impede some heatsink and AIO cooler installations.  They won’t prevent you from getting a heatsink installed but will keep the back plates from laying flat.

EVGA has included a 12 phase VRM to control the processor, memory, internal graphics and PCI Express.  In terms of overall size this is average and adequate for an LGA 1151 even with a healthy overclock.

The area around the CPU socket is very well organized with very few components making it good for those who use alternative cooling methods like Water, Phase and LN2.

Behind the VRM cooler you'll find the CPU Power connection made up of a single 8-pin connector.  The tab is facing outwards so the cable can be removed however grabbing the plug with fan headers installed did prove to be a little difficult.