What is the difference between ASUS Z170-A and 'AR'?

[Cannibal Corpse]

Hello all,
I am about to replace my old gaming system with the following:


- i7-6700K 4.0GHz
- ASUS Z170-AR
- Corsair HX850W Power Supply
- Corsair VENGEANCE LPX 2x4 3200MHz DDR4 RAM
- Corsair 760T Full Tower Case
- EVGA GTX 970 SC
- 2X SSDs, 1X optical BluRay DVD, and 2X 3.5" SATA HDDs


My local PC hardware vendor only has the 'AR' version in stock:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/452551/Z170-AR_LGA_1151_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

The 'AR' version seem to have the VGA and DVI connectors removed. The questions that I have:

1) Why they removed these connectors?

2) Any difference as far as other features are concerned?

Since I am ready to get everything locally, and since my vendor has only the 'AR' version in stock, I just needed your opinion and recommendations first.

Many thanks as usual in advance!





Thanks in advance!

 

[zaniix]

it would seem that you are correct, I see no other difference and also find it an odd choice to have as two separate boards.

 

[Cannibal Corpse]

Too bad for me, as I just realized that the sabertooth z170 mark 1 has been announced, and *hopefully* coming out soon to the retail channels, so I guess I have to postpone my project!

 

[evilsofa]

Comparing the two spec sheet pages (Z170-A, Z170-AR), the only differences other than the VGA and DVI connections are:

In the USB section, there is this difference:
Z170-A:
ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 port(s) (1 at back panel, teal blue, Type-A)
Z170-AR:
ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 port(s) (0 at back panel, teal blue)

To further confuse that, in the Back I/O Ports section, there is this difference in the USB ports:
Z170-A: 2 x USB 3.0 (blue) Type-A
Z170-AR: 2 x USB 3.0 (blue)
Pictures of the motherboard back I/O ports show no difference in the USB ports so these are probably typos.

In the Special Features section, under ASUS Exclusive Features, Turbo LAN has been removed from the Z170-AR, yet it is advertised in the Overview page, so this is probably a typo.

In the Internal I/O Ports section there is this difference:
Z170-A: "1 x 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector"
Z170-AR: "5 x 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector"
(One or the other must be a typo?)

In the audio section, the line "Separate layer for left and right track, ensuring both sound deliver equal quality" is removed from the Z170-AR. The odds seem good that this is a typo.

TL;DR: In the spec sheets, the only differences other than the VGA and DVI ports seem to be typos.

 

[Cannibal Corpse]

Thanks for your response.