Intel's next generation CPU architecture and successor to Skylake, code-named Kaby Lake, is on its way and motherboard manufacturers are rushing to ensure that consumers - past, present and future - aren't disadvantaged by the transition. In that vein ASUS have announced support for the upcoming CPUs on their current crop of motherboards, ensuring a smooth transition between generations.
Kaby Lake will be the second generation of CPUs to be supported by LGA1151 sockets, mimicking both the move from Sandybridge to Ivy Bridge and Haswell to Broadwell on desktops. Unlike these evolutions however Kaby Lake will remain on 14nm, with the chip being a maturation of the Skylake design rather than a manufacturing process shrink.
It's anticipated that 200-series motherboards based on the Union Point chipset will be released alongside Kaby Lake, but support for the upcoming CPU on existing models will provide peace-of-mind to current owners or those looking to make a purchase before Kaby Lake arrives. Whilst 100-series motherboards do not have native USB 3.1 Gen2 support via the chipset (unlike the 200-series), many models do support the standard via 3rd party chips; furthermore the number of USB 3.1 Gen2 peripherals on the market is still low.
Support for Kaby Lake on your ASUS 100-series motherboard is contingent on updating to the latest UEFI BIOS, which can be found on the relevant support site. Future UEFI updates will improve performance and functionality. A full list of supporting motherboards can be found below:
Z170
MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME - Supported by BIOS Version 2202
MAXIMUS VIII FORMULA - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII HERO - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII RANGER - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII GENE - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT - 2202
Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA - 2003
Z170 PRO GAMING - 2003
Z170I PRO GAMING - 2003
Z170-PREMIUM - 2202
Z170-DELUXE - 2202
Z170-PRO - 2202
Z170-A - 2202
Z170-AR - 2202
Z170-E - 2202
Z170-K - 2003
Z170-P D3 - 2002
Z170-P - 2003
Z170M-PLUS - 2002
Z170M-E D3 - 2001
SABERTOOTH Z170 S - 2202
SABERTOOTH Z170 MARK 1 - 2202
Q170
Q170T - 2002
Q170S1 - 2001
Q170M-C - 2003
Q170M2 - 2001
Q170I-PLUS - 2002
H170
H170 PRO GAMING - 2003
H170-PRO/USB 3.1 - 2002
H170-PRO - 2003
H170-PLUS D3 - 2002
H170M-PLUS - 2002
H170M-E D3 - 2001
H170I-PRO - 2002
H170I-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150
B150 PRO GAMING/AURA - 2003
B150 PRO GAMING D3 - 2001
B150 PRO GAMING - 2003
B150-A - 2001
B150-PRO D3 - 2001
B150-PRO - 2002
B150-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150-PLUS - 2002
B150M-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150M-PLUS - 2003
B150M-A/M.2 - 2003
B150M-A - 2001
B150M-C D3 - 2001
B150M-C - 2003
B150M-D D3 - 2001
B150M-D - 2002
B150M-V PLUS - 2002
B150M-K D3 - 2001
B150M-K - 2003
B150M-F PLUS - 2002
B150M-ET M2 - 2002
B150M-ET D3 - 2001
B150M-ET - 2001
PIO-B150M - 2002
EX-B150M-V5 D3v2001
EX-B150M-V5 - 2002
EX-B150M-V3 - 2003
H110
H110-PLUS - 2002
H110M-R - 2002
H110M-PLUS D3 - 2001
H110M-PLUS - 2002
H110M-A/M.2 - 2003
H110M-A/DP - 2002
H110M-A D3 - 2001
H110M-A - 2001
H110M-C D3 - 2001
H110M-D D3 - 2001
H110M-D - 2002
H110M-ET - 2001
H110M-E/M.2 - 2002
H110M-E D3 - 2001
H110M-E - 2002
H110M-K D3 - 2001
H110M-K - 2003
H110I-PLUS - 2002
H110T - 2002
H110S1 - 2002
C232 (XEON)
E3-PRO V5 - 2002
E3M-PLUS V5 - 2003
E3M-ET V5 - 2001
E3 PRO Gaming V5 - 2002
MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME - Supported by BIOS Version 2202
MAXIMUS VIII FORMULA - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII HERO - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII RANGER - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII GENE - 2202
MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT - 2202
Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA - 2003
Z170 PRO GAMING - 2003
Z170I PRO GAMING - 2003
Z170-PREMIUM - 2202
Z170-DELUXE - 2202
Z170-PRO - 2202
Z170-A - 2202
Z170-AR - 2202
Z170-E - 2202
Z170-K - 2003
Z170-P D3 - 2002
Z170-P - 2003
Z170M-PLUS - 2002
Z170M-E D3 - 2001
SABERTOOTH Z170 S - 2202
SABERTOOTH Z170 MARK 1 - 2202
Q170
Q170T - 2002
Q170S1 - 2001
Q170M-C - 2003
Q170M2 - 2001
Q170I-PLUS - 2002
H170
H170 PRO GAMING - 2003
H170-PRO/USB 3.1 - 2002
H170-PRO - 2003
H170-PLUS D3 - 2002
H170M-PLUS - 2002
H170M-E D3 - 2001
H170I-PRO - 2002
H170I-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150
B150 PRO GAMING/AURA - 2003
B150 PRO GAMING D3 - 2001
B150 PRO GAMING - 2003
B150-A - 2001
B150-PRO D3 - 2001
B150-PRO - 2002
B150-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150-PLUS - 2002
B150M-PLUS D3 - 2001
B150M-PLUS - 2003
B150M-A/M.2 - 2003
B150M-A - 2001
B150M-C D3 - 2001
B150M-C - 2003
B150M-D D3 - 2001
B150M-D - 2002
B150M-V PLUS - 2002
B150M-K D3 - 2001
B150M-K - 2003
B150M-F PLUS - 2002
B150M-ET M2 - 2002
B150M-ET D3 - 2001
B150M-ET - 2001
PIO-B150M - 2002
EX-B150M-V5 D3v2001
EX-B150M-V5 - 2002
EX-B150M-V3 - 2003
H110
H110-PLUS - 2002
H110M-R - 2002
H110M-PLUS D3 - 2001
H110M-PLUS - 2002
H110M-A/M.2 - 2003
H110M-A/DP - 2002
H110M-A D3 - 2001
H110M-A - 2001
H110M-C D3 - 2001
H110M-D D3 - 2001
H110M-D - 2002
H110M-ET - 2001
H110M-E/M.2 - 2002
H110M-E D3 - 2001
H110M-E - 2002
H110M-K D3 - 2001
H110M-K - 2003
H110I-PLUS - 2002
H110T - 2002
H110S1 - 2002
C232 (XEON)
E3-PRO V5 - 2002
E3M-PLUS V5 - 2003
E3M-ET V5 - 2001
E3 PRO Gaming V5 - 2002
