Skylake-Based Z170 Gaming Mini ITX Motherboard

I see that the wireless cards are add-ons. Can they not be replaced with something better?
If I only have one viable option, and the only issue is a replaceable part it is not a big problem.
 
I readied here somewhere that Asus is releasing own ROG Impact ITX next month. Is this real thing or not?
 
silk186 said:
I see that the wireless cards are add-ons. Can they not be replaced with something better?
If I only have one viable option, and the only issue is a replaceable part it is not a big problem.
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Some are add on some are built in depending on the board. Just increases price if you know you are going to be swapping right off the bat. Or you may have to just live with it if built in.

CyberShot said:
I readied here somewhere that Asus is releasing own ROG Impact ITX next month. Is this real thing or not?
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Not sure on the timing and have not seen specs on the ROG yet. The pro gaming definitely looks done and should be available soon judging from the build videos I have seen. I assume the pro gaming will be available first and then the ROG later in the month but that is just pure guess.
 
Yes, 170 ROG Impact is coming.

No one knows when. JJ has mentioned it in videos with no ETA. Raja on [H] said "expect it next month at the earliest", which means it could be later than that.
 
silk186 said:
i didn't expect mITX boards to come out so long after the CPU was release. What are these companies waiting for?
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Christmas. ;)

Well, honestly, it's almost a bit insulting to mini-itx users. We definitely get to know where their priorities are.
 
I was going to post what would convince me to upgrade to skylake, but then I realized that I basically want the Impact VII with an 1151 socket.
Good connector layout, M.2, good board layout in general.

Black and red though, I'm not a fan of that.
 
Ail said:
Not sure on the timing and have not seen specs on the ROG yet. The pro gaming definitely looks done and should be available soon judging from the build videos I have seen. I assume the pro gaming will be available first and then the ROG later in the month but that is just pure guess.
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How this Pro gaming specs? Any news? Because I am interested to know if that mb include usb c.
 
I'm waiting for the Gigabyte board... I'm hoping for the Alpine Ridge USB 3.1/TB, SoundCore3D audio processor or ALC1150, and M.2...
 
CyberShot said:
How this Pro gaming specs? Any news? Because I am interested to know if that mb include usb c.
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Here is the video.
http://youtu.be/gQQTo1k_Kms

The pro gaming does not have type c on the board but it looks like there is a 3.1 type c add on that can hook up to the SATA express port. Seems like that is the only way to get 3.1 on the board and its probably a separate purchase? Also1150 audio and if you use the m.2 port the PCIe slot drops down to x8. Intel nic but does not mention if the wifi is Intel or not. Hopefully the ROG board has 3.1 ports. Have not seen any info on it.
 
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I would like to see an itx board having four RAM slots. Most probably isn't going to happen, but X99 on itx was also a surprise. Guess with SODIMMs it would be possible...
 
So when will we see the H170 boards?

I will probably go with a H board as long as it got an M.2 slot and good wi-fi. USB 3.1 is probably good to have for the future phones.
 
You don't need USB 3.1 for phones with USB type C connectors, the problem lies with the motherboard header at the moment.
Unless you want Type C to Type C ofcourse, but mind you that that is a connector type, not dependant on a USB version. Because 3.1 gen 1 is basically USB 3.0.
 
Hi All

This was the reply from Mini-ITX.com about when ITX boards would appear...

Thank you for your enquiry.


You are not the first person to ask this one!

We do not quite know yet. No Skylake boards seem to be available. Some of the information we put on the site has not been officially released.

My personal view is that we will see a trickle of boards in September, though suitable CPUs for our cases might be hard to find initially. We have feelers out with all the distributors so should have these as soon as they are ready.
 
Ail said:
Here is the video.
http://youtu.be/gQQTo1k_Kms

The pro gaming does not have type c on the board but it looks like there is a 3.1 type c add on that can hook up to the SATA express port. Seems like that is the only way to get 3.1 on the board and its probably a separate purchase? Also only 1150 audio and if you use the m.2 port the PCIe slot drops down to x8. Intel nic but does not mention if the wifi is Intel or not. Hopefully the ROG board has 3.1 ports and 1151 audio. Have not seen any info on it.
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I'm not seeing ALC1151 on any boards. Just enhanced ALC1150
 
Ail said:
Here is the video.
http://youtu.be/gQQTo1k_Kms

The pro gaming does not have type c on the board but it looks like there is a 3.1 type c add on that can hook up to the SATA express port. Seems like that is the only way to get 3.1 on the board and its probably a separate purchase? Also only 1150 audio and if you use the m.2 port the PCIe slot drops down to x8. Intel nic but does not mention if the wifi is Intel or not. Hopefully the ROG board has 3.1 ports and 1151 audio. Have not seen any info on it.
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I don't understand why Asus has to make board again where PCI-E line drops because with Z170 should not longer be a problem. Asrock solution is disable SATA Express.
 
Probably because the Z170 chipset only has about 3.0 x4 worth of bandwidth to the CPU so having the M.2 running off the CPU prevents a high-performance drive from bottlenecking everything else connected to the chipset.
 
Yea I got mixed up in there some place, one of the z170 boards has older audio in it, edited post to not add confusion.


Will check out the MSI good find.
 
Digging the MSI. Need a bit more info on the m.2, looks like it has one for the wifi and then one on the back for drives. Interested if it eats up lanes from the pice slot like the asus. It's on my short list at this point but it's probably a ways out from release.
 
Ail said:
Digging the MSI. Need a bit more info on the m.2, looks like it has one for the wifi and then one on the back for drives. Interested if it eats up lanes from the pice slot like the asus. It's on my short list at this point but it's probably a ways out from release.
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I've always had a hard time with the msi logo. It stands out like a sore thumb. If they want their board to look cool, why to they put their white logo and other text in the middle of those red lanes on the board? Or directly on the heatsink? I think Asian OEMs has no clue about aesthetics whatsoever.
 
But the logo does not determine the product. And unless the appearance of a heatsink is more important than the product itself, the product itself becomes worthless and you give value towards a logo.
While this is not my problem, I can't but feel bad when a good product is dismissed for one aesthetic detail (and thus subjective) which is solveable a hundred ways while a badly designed product can't be fixed.
 
Phuncz said:
But the logo does not determine the product. And unless the appearance of a heatsink is more important than the product itself, the product itself becomes worthless and you give value towards a logo.
While this is not my problem, I can't but feel bad when a good product is dismissed for one aesthetic detail (and thus subjective) which is solveable a hundred ways while a badly designed product can't be fixed.
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Agree with what you are saying. But looks is a big part of the decision to buy a product, I am not alone in saying that. It isn't exactly easy to eliminate logos/text on motherboards, because as soon as you start tinkering with them the OEM screams warranty void.

Functionality is of course equally important for me. That's why I exclude EVA and Gigabyte. What is left after that? Fatality AsRock, ROG Asus? Sigh. I would say it's very easy to design something much better looking, in terms of layout/design as well, than today's mini-itx offerings.
 
danij3l said:
well, only MBO that fits this criteria is ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac
Only that one has USB 3.1 (ASMedia ASM1142)
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Nice looking board. Wonder if the PCIe 16x slot drops down to 8x when a PCIe M.2 card is installed. Don't see any disclamer or note about this like they usually put in the specs. page somewhere. Doesn't mention in the manual either.
 
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Synomenon said:
Nice looking board. Wonder if the PCIe 16x slot drops down to 8x when a PCIe M.2 card is installed. Don't see any disclamer or note about this like they usually put in the specs. page somewhere. Doesn't mention in the manual either.
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If it did, it would have likely been mentioned in the following paragraph, like the specifics for a SATA M.2.

Code: 
2.7 M.2_SSD (NGFF) Module Installation Guide
The M.2, also known as the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), is a small size and
versatile card edge connector that aims to replace mPCIe and mSATA. The Ultra M.2
Socket (M2_1) supports M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s).
[U]Please be noted that if the Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1) is occupied by a SATA-type M.2
device, SATA3_4, SATA3_5 and the SATA function of the SATA Express connector will be
disabled. [/U]
 
I've got everything to build my NCase M1 but the mobo, desperately waiting for whatever M-ITX board hits the market first (assuming it has USB 3.1 and an M.2).

Why have the m-ITX gods forsaken us?!
 
Looking like the m2 SSD functionality on all of these itx boards is going to have some compromise, either SATA ports being turned off or less lanes on PCIe. Just need concrete specs on the remaining boards to make my choice, oh and them to be available already!! My core 2 duo has long lived past its prime.
 
Haagen_dazs said:
I've got everything to build my NCase M1 but the mobo, desperately waiting for whatever M-ITX board hits the market first (assuming it has USB 3.1 and an M.2).

Why have the m-ITX gods forsaken us?!
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Because ATX gods.
 
So what's the consensus here? Using an M.2 port on a Z170 board will reduce PCIe lanes available to the GPU only on certain boards? For those boards, is the M.2 connected directly to GPU lanes instead of PCH lanes?
 
pointfiveo said:
At least Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac allows an M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 along with PCIe 3.0 x16. So what if a SATA M.2 disables a couple of SATA ports. It's not like anyone's going to build a freaking NAS with this board.
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I'm pretty much building my home server with this board (whenever it comes out). 6 SATA devices. ;)

FWIW, ASRock finally posted the BIOS to their website downloads, so I'm assuming the board is final and shipping. Totally making that up that correlation though. Hopefully the two are linked.
 
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mogimogi said:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5518#ov


all I want, except usb 3.1 . price is ~140 euro
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It has a USB type-C connector with USB 3.0 connectivity which is USB 3.1 gen 1. If you want the higher bitrate 3.1 gen 2, you'd have to look elsewhere.

That Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI is a damn impressive board. It has a lot of important features with good audio, top-spec M.2 (not clear what length though), USB type-C connector, dual Intel Gbit LAN (teaming ?) and a very nice layout.

Too bad some things are just plain design mistakes, like the USB 3.0 header near the CPU socket and the headphone amplifier on the rear audio port only.
 
I have to say this has been a painful wait. With Skylake on August 5th, I thought I could build a new system then. But there are still no mini-itx boards available to speak of. It's September-October time frame from various reps.
 
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