EVGA Z170 Classified K Motherboard Review

Power Consumption and Temperature

Using a P3 Kill-A-Watt meter, we were able to monitor the power usage of the test system during all phases of testing. We monitored the meter and kept track of the lowest and highest reading for each test throughout the testing. Temperatures were monitored using HardwareMonitor which monitored the CPU temperature as reported by the various sensors.

At idle, the EVGA Z170 Classified K was pulling the least amount of power. Once the system went under a full load, that increased by 196W moving it into second position for power consumption. What was interesting, is that we saw around a 10% difference in power usage between the two version of EVGA’s Z170 motherboards. Which, even when overclocked, the EVGA Z170 Classified K was pulling less power than the EVGA Z170 FTW at stock speeds.

The EVGA Z170 Classified K wasn’t the coolest motherboard we tested, however it’s temperatures are right in line with what we would expect. Once again, we saw a good difference between the EVGA Z170 FTW and the EVGA Z170 Classified K. Overclocked, the idle temperatures are normal as Intel SpeedStep was engaged, once the system was put under a load though and the system ramped up, the temperature jumped, but still stayed within an acceptable range.