ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac

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Hanakuso

[H]ard|Gawd
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I thought we should have a thread dedicated to the ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac since the Z97 and Z87 ASRock ITX boards had threads as well. It seems this is one of the most popular Z170 ITX boards on here as well.

Specs

  • ASRock Super Alloy
  • Gaming Armor - CPU Power / Memory / VGA Card / Cooling / Internet
  • Digi Power, 8 Power Phase design
  • Supports 6th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors (Socket 1151)
  • Supports DDR4 4000+(OC) memory modules
  • 1 PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 Half-size Mini-PCIe
  • Graphics Output Options: 2 HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2
  • Supports Triple Monitor
  • 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec), Supports Purity Sound™ 3 & DTS Connect
  • 1 2T2R Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi + BT v4.0 Module, 1 ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna
  • 1 SATA Express, 6 SATA3, 1 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
  • 2 USB 3.1 10Gb/s (1 Type-A + 1 Type-C), 8 USB 3.0 (2 Front, 5 Rear, 1 Fatal1ty Mouse Port)
  • Supports Full Spike Protection, ASRock Live Update & APP Shop, F-Stream, Key Master, XSplit
Drivers and Software
http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITXac/index.asp?cat=Download

BIOS Update History

1.00 8/20/2015
  • 1.First Release
1.10 9/17/2015
  • 1. Improve boot time.
  • 2. Update Microcode, ME, RC.
  • 3. Improve DRAM compatibility.
  • 4. Add easy mode feature.
1.20 9/25/2015
  • 1. Improve DRAM compatibility.
  • 2. Improve Boot time
1.30 10/28/2015
  • 1.Support DDR4 OC
  • 2.Improve DRAM module compatibility.
  • 3.Improve PCIe compatibility
  • 4.Update ME
1.50 11/11/2015
  • 1. Update Microcode
  • 2. Update RAID ROM and EFI driver
1.60 1/7/2016
  • 1.Improve DRAM compatibility.
  • 2.Update DDR4 OC function.
1.80 1/27/2016
  • Update microcode to 0x74.
  • Improve DRAM compatibility.

Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming-ITXac%28M1%29.jpg
Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming-ITXac%28M2%29.jpg

Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming-ITXac%28M3%29.jpg
Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming-ITXac%28M5%29.jpg
 
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Nice timing on this thread! This is one of the 2 boards I am considering for my new ITX gaming/HTPC build. I think I'm going with the regular ASRock Z170M one though to save some cash. I don't really see what about the Fatality Gaming edition makes it worth ~$65 more.

I did have a few questions about this board:

  • What is a Fatal1ty Mouse Port?? From what I can see, there are 6 USB3 ports on the back, 1 USB3.1 and one that is a smaller micro-USB size plug for connecting a cell-phone? Which one is the Fatality Mouse Port, what happens differently when you plug in a Fatality Mouse, and what happens when you plug in anything else to that port?

  • What's the difference between the audio on ASRock's 2 Z170 boards? ALC 1150 w/ Nichicon Audio Caps, vs ALC 892 w/ ELNA Audio Caps. I won't be using onboard audio anyways, but still curious if this is something I should consider when deciding between the two.

  • I also see a few differences in the SATA connection options, but I'll only be running 1 or 2 SSD's on this build, so I don't care too much how many extra SATA ports are on there.

  • What else is on this board to make it worth the price jump?
 
madFive said:
What is a Fatal1ty Mouse Port?? From what I can see, there are 6 USB3 ports on the back, 1 USB3.1 and one that is a smaller micro-USB size plug for connecting a cell-phone? Which one is the Fatality Mouse Port, what happens differently when you plug in a Fatality Mouse, and what happens when you plug in anything else to that port?
Click to expand...
From the ASRock website
Fatal1ty Mouse Port
After plugging the USB mouse into the Fatal1ty Mouse Port and running F-Stream, gamers can use Fatal1ty’s personal preferred mouse polling rate at 500 Hz. F-Stream also provides the flexibility for gamers to adjust the mouse polling rate from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz. This is helpful for professional gamers to experience smoother game play and faster response time.
*Limitations:
1. Fatal1ty mouse port supports USB 1.1 mice.
2. Some mice might not support polling rates up to 1000Hz.
3. Some wireless USB mice might not be supported by Fatal1ty mouse port.
4. Fatal1ty mouse port does not support USB mice connected to a USB hub.
Click to expand...
Unless someone here can give us some positive experiences, I don't want to install F-Stream. I'm just the type of person that rather not have 1 more app running in the background if it doesn't show any benefit

I was pretty surprised with the price jump as well. I bought the ASRock Z97 ITX board and between the two, I don't really see much of a difference, which IMO is a good thing but the price is the bad thing. The only obvious difference is the chipset, which might cost a lot more?
 
Regarding the price jump, this usually is a standard situation with top-of-the-line products. Take a normal Core i7 for $350 and the i7-5960X for $1K. The 5960X doesn't have triple the processing power though, just a little bit more. This is also the case with all other sorts of hardware, like phones. Is a phone with a bit more internal memory really worth a $100 price increase? Look at the Nvidia graphics cards. Can a Titan X really be 1,5times better than a 980Ti although they are using exactly the same chip? No. This is also the case with those motherboards.

Another difference is that the Fatality board has a M.2 slot for ultra-fast PCIe SSDs.
 
Unlike Asus s/w the F-Stream doesn't seem to install anything in the background - you cam run it as required - and it's the easiest way to monitor temps etc and to play with fan curves before committing them in the BIOS for example.

I've been gradually increasing RAM timings towards the fairly high XMP settings of my Corsair DDR4 but have left the 6700K itself at stock - which is 4.2 GHz under load anyway. Previously I've always wanted to overclock from the outset but - especially in a small mini-ITX case - this is enough for me for now.

Although I got through 3 motherboards and 2 CPUs to get a working system, installing W10 to a Samsung 950 Pro M2 was very straightforward in the end after booting UEFI from a USB stick, and it boots quickly and is running very well compared with my previous IvyBridge. There aren't that many reviews about as Asrock doesn't seem to be pushing it to major sites as much as Asus with the Pro and the Maximus Impact for example.

Further to the BIOS list above there is a beta zone too http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITXac/?cat=Beta
 
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madFive said:
  • What is a Fatal1ty Mouse Port?? From what I can see, there are 6 USB3 ports on the back, 1 USB3.1 and one that is a smaller micro-USB size plug for connecting a cell-phone? Which one is the Fatality Mouse Port, what happens differently when you plug in a Fatality Mouse, and what happens when you plug in anything else to that port?

  • What's the difference between the audio on ASRock's 2 Z170 boards? ALC 1150 w/ Nichicon Audio Caps, vs ALC 892 w/ ELNA Audio Caps. I won't be using onboard audio anyways, but still curious if this is something I should consider when deciding between the two.

  • I also see a few differences in the SATA connection options, but I'll only be running 1 or 2 SSD's on this build, so I don't care too much how many extra SATA ports are on there.

  • What else is on this board to make it worth the price jump?
Click to expand...

The smaller connection is a USB 3.1 Type-C connector. The plug is reversible and USB 3.1 is twice as fast as USB 3.0. Additionally the spec has an "alt" mode which allows things like VESA signals and Thunderbolt 3.0 to be passed over it. That's a question of precise implementation but in theory USB 3.1 Type-C can do everything and is truly universal. Copper and optical standards are supported, as is increased power and even Ethernet. Granted an extra ASIC is required to support all those functions as well as certification from Intel if your talking about Thunderbolt 3.0 specifically.

The audio implementation makes more difference than the actual CODEC. The CODECs are often capable of a lot of features but not all of those features are implemented in every motherboard. Some features have to be licensed by the manufacturer to use them. EAX, DTS or Dolby Digital are examples of this. There are higher end CODECs than the ALC1150 but the ALC1150 can sound pretty good in the right implementation. The ALC892 can be implemented to the point where you wouldn't know the difference but it usually isn't. It's used as a cost cutting measure over the ALC1150. The ELNA capacitors are probably cheaper than the Nichicon capacitors. I'd almost bet on it.

M.2 being on the Fatality would cause me to choose it over the other version alone.
 
Aircoookie said:
Regarding the price jump, this usually is a standard situation with top-of-the-line products. Take a normal Core i7 for $350 and the i7-5960X for $1K. The 5960X doesn't have triple the processing power though, just a little bit more. This is also the case with all other sorts of hardware, like phones. Is a phone with a bit more internal memory really worth a $100 price increase? Look at the Nvidia graphics cards. Can a Titan X really be 1,5times better than a 980Ti although they are using exactly the same chip? No. This is also the case with those motherboards.

Another difference is that the Fatality board has a M.2 slot for ultra-fast PCIe SSDs.
Click to expand...
I don't really think this explains the big price jump.

The Z97-E ITX is basically the equivalent to the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac, which are both the top of the line products for ASRock. Both ASRock Z97 and Z170 have an "M" version that is more budget oriented. IIRC, the only reason the Fatality board has an ultra-fast PCIe M.2 slot is because of the chipset.
 
I think the original question was the price jump over the M model, which is also Z170 and so could have had M2 if Asrock so desired. The M seems to lack the heat pipes and heat sinks over the VRMs and possibly has fewer phases. Presumably there are generally more premium components used on the Fatality.

As well as the ASMedia USB 3.1 the Fatality also has the component to route display port out over HDMI to give it HDMI 2.0 4K/60 which I think it still unique amongst Z170 ITX.

It is quite expensive and not that far behind the Maximus Impact but considering the cost of the 6700K I wouldn't recommend economising too much on the motherboard, but if so then I think the Asus 170 I Pro is the better option than the Asrock M at the lower price point.
 
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jwsg said:
I think the original question was the price jump over the M model, which is also Z170 and so could have had M2 if Asrock so desired. The M seems to lack the heat pipes and heat sinks over the VRMs and possibly has fewer phases. Presumably there are generally more premium components used on the Fatality.

As well as the ASMedia USB 3.1 the Fatality also has the component to route display port out over HDMI to give it HDMI 2.0 4K/60 which I think it still unique amongst Z170 ITX.

It is quite expensive and not that far behind the Maximus Impact but considering the cost of the 6700K I wouldn't recommend economising too much on the motherboard, but if so then I think the Asus 170 I Pro is the better option than the Asrock M at the lower price point.
Click to expand...

I think the sound hardware may be an upgrade too.
 
Since I couldn't figure out how to completely disable wifi, I ended up removing the wifi card and the small bracket that many people have said was damaged or broken. Very easy to remove and I put some blank rubber grommets over them.

 
ASRock said:
Fatal1ty Mouse Port
After plugging the USB mouse into the Fatal1ty Mouse Port and running F-Stream, gamers can use Fatal1ty’s personal preferred mouse polling rate at 500 Hz.
Click to expand...

1. The F-Stream program does not contain any Fatal1ty mouse port settings. I think it must've used to, but it doesn't now. And AsRock obviously haven't updated their advertising to reflect this. The only way I know of is to download the ASRock App Shop and install the Fatal1ty Mouse Port program from there.

2. Once you install the Fatal1ty Mouse Port program, it DOESN'T WORK ANYWAY:

WHntrdq.jpg


I'm running Windows 10. Even if I try changing compatibility mode to Windows XP, the mouse program still won't load. I think I read somewhere about it not working with Windows 8 either, but maybe someone else can confirm.
 
I don't know what happened but all of a sudden my PC just keep restarting in a loop with no post. Went back to using the integrated GPU, 1 stick of RAM, removed hard drives and still having the issue. Tried a different PSU, no luck. Looks like an RMA is needed now.
 
Hanakuso said:
I don't know what happened but all of a sudden my PC just keep restarting in a loop with no post. Went back to using the integrated GPU, 1 stick of RAM, removed hard drives and still having the issue. Tried a different PSU, no luck. Looks like an RMA is needed now.
Click to expand...

Have you tried clearing the CMOS? Something similar has happened to me before and that worked.
 
eutholevonik said:
Have you tried clearing the CMOS? Something similar has happened to me before and that worked.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I disconnected the battery wire thing for a few hours but didn't change anything. I might try it overnight just to be on the safe side.
 
Hanakuso said:
Yeah. I disconnected the battery wire thing for a few hours but didn't change anything. I might try it overnight just to be on the safe side.
Click to expand...

One day I was watching a YouTube video and my pc cut off. It would try to boot but would shut off after 5 seconds and never post. I just hit the clear CMOS button on the back of the board and it fired right up.

I hope you get it working, having to RMA is never fun.
 
eutholevonik said:
One day I was watching a YouTube video and my pc cut off. It would try to boot but would shut off after 5 seconds and never post. I just hit the clear CMOS button on the back of the board and it fired right up.

I hope you get it working, having to RMA is never fun.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I left the CMOS battery out all night and disconnected the motherboard from the PSU. Tried to boot this morning and same problem.

I noticed if I leave out my RAM I get 3 beeps. Putting 1 stick back in gives me no beeps.
 
I installed today Cryorig C7 this mb. Backplate is little too big if you are using m.2 SSD and also there is circuit which is able to catch backplate. I did little modding and remove some plastic in that backplate.

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/P3vGs
 
Cybershot, are you pretty happy with the C7? Any other issues than the slight mod of the backplate?
 
My first Z170 Gaming was DOA, but the second is working fine.
This also appears to be the first consumer board to support PCIe Bifurcation out of the box. I do not have a PCIe lane splitter to test this with.
BttjpIT.jpg
 
Delemon said:
Cybershot, are you pretty happy with the C7? Any other issues than the slight mod of the backplate?
Click to expand...

Cooler is fine but make terrible noise with 6700k and also not so much power keep cpu cold when cpu was default settings. Maybe cpu which has lower tdp works better but my opinion is that it is not just the best solution, if you need silence and want to keep cpu at least stock settings.

And also forget OC.
 
I ended up ordering a Noctua NH-C12P SE14. We'll see how that works. The Ncase spreadsheet says it fits, so we'll see!
 
Hi,

Deciding on my mobo as I will receive my ncse m1 in a month.
couple of uestion regarding this card:
1 2T2R Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi + BT v4.0 Module, 1 ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna

this is just a connector? no wifi card directly connected?( if so, that vetter as it wil let me choose my wifi card)

second question,: any idea if a Noctua NHC-14 will be ok with this card?
What about a DArkrock be quiet?

I will also connect directly a samsung 950 pro to the m.2 port.

Last but not least, how is this mobo compare to the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard?

If they offer the same, but with this one I can choose my Wifi card, plus no pb with Noctua or darkrock cooler, I will definetly rake this one.

thanks a lot,
 
ranix said:
How bad is it that the bottom touch the ram?
Is it acceptable? Or I should not consider the Dark Rock tf because of this?

I was speaking about this kind of wifi card http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00HO5UMUM/ref=asc_df_B00HO5UMUM31665039/?tag=googshopfr-21&creative=22722&creativeASIN=B00HO5UMUM&linkCode=df0&hvdev=c&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=

Is that a compatible one?
Click to expand...

You didnt check those pictures? But it only touch little bit and bend ram but not too much. Work still fine.

That wifi card should fit fine and Asrock using Broadcom chipset in wifi.
 
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I checked the picture bending and touching the ram was not my biggest concern. it was more about the heat of the black rock going to the ram and damaging it...

tganks a lot for the pics
 
Ok, didn't search first before posting in the general Z170 ITX thread. I have some questions for you current owners of this board:

- Anyone using ECC RAM on this board?

- Anything better than the Intel AC-7260 that can be used in the mini-PCIe slot in place of the stock wifi card?

- Will this mini-PCIe to USB adapter work in place of the wifi card?
http://www.dxsoul.com/product/mini-...b-2-0-interface-full-high-half-high-901420125

From what I've read regarding this and similar cards, they just re-route the USB signal / lanes from the mini-PCIe slot to an actual USB port on the adapter.
 
Synomenon said:
- Anything better than the Intel AC-7260 that can be used in the mini-PCIe slot in place of the stock wifi card?

- Will this mini-PCIe to USB adapter work in place of the wifi card?
http://www.dxsoul.com/product/mini-...b-2-0-interface-full-high-half-high-901420125

From what I've read regarding this and similar cards, they just re-route the USB signal / lanes from the mini-PCIe slot to an actual USB port on the adapter.
Click to expand...

That is correct and yes, it will work. I haven't tested it but mainboards are required to supply USB2.0 via the mPCIe slot. It looks like there could be problems plugging the cable in as it points directly at the CPU socket, so make sure to use a cable with a short mold over the plug and to put the card in before installing the CPU cooler.
 
Anyone have one of these paired up with a Samsung 950 Pro? I did my initial build last night, system powers up fine, UEFI totally accessible, updated BIOS, but when I plugged in the 950 Pro, all I got was a red light indicator on my Ncase, no fan spins, nada. Remove it, all works fine again. Chalking up to a bad 950 pro and have a replacement on the way. I did find a thread about disabling CMS to make sure it could see the drive, but when its plugged in, I got no POST, no UEFI, nothing.

Anyone else had any issues?
 
This mainboard is used by me inside a HTPC. I have a problem regarding the three monitor feature.

When I attach one monitor to the display port all went fine. If I attach a second one to the HDMI port next to the display port all is well.

Attaching the second monitor to the HDMI below the display port let the monitor stay black (no signal).

Using all three monitor ports only show a image (even while boot) at the monitor connected to the display port.

Anybody else here using multiple displays or any idea?

Thanks in advance, Hedwig5
 
Has anybody tried if the USB-C port allows to attach a display? There are a lot of boards with the ASM1142 for the USB 3.1 ports, but i can't find any information, if it can be used as a displayport. I don't really need the Z170 features, but i want a port for 4K@60Hz. But all board with displayport are ~150$ or more..
 
Is there any LED on this M/B that indicates power is on from the PSU?
Thanks
 
So I finally submitted to my incessant internal nagging and updated my setup with the following items:
  • Asrock fatal1ty z170 gaming itx ac
  • Intel i5 6500
  • 2x4GB Gskill DDR4 3200
  • Samsung PM951 1TB NVMe m.2 SSD
  • Cryorig C7
During the install I ran into a rather frustrating issue: due to the fact that the PM951 has chips on both sides of its PCB, when I installed it in the m.2 port on the back of the MoBo I found that it overlaid with a chip on the back of the MoBo (chip in question). This proved to be a bit concerning when I started to tighten the screw down on the drive and I could see the drives PCB bending...
In the end I tightened the screw to the point where the drives PCB began to deform, and sacrificed a goat to the PC gods in hopes that it won't die on me down the road. Not only could the deforming of the PCB/chips cause failure, but if either the drives chips or the poorly-placed MoBo chip decided to heat up they would end up using each other as heatsinks which could be bad...
Would be nice if someone from Asrock could acknowledge this issue and see about moving either the m.2 drive slot up 3-5mm or move the chip down 3.5mm for future productions (doubt it will happen though).
 
Oh man, I just researched the chip (nuvoton nct 67910) and it appears to be responsible for controlling the systems temperature/fans...
Hope it works well when an SSD is using it as a heatsink... :/
 
I have that same board and didn't notice that chip. I'll have to take a look at mine today. I did sandwhich Fujipoly thermal tape between my 950 Pro. and the motherboard though.
 
The issue with the board is only really noticeable with m.2 drives that have memory modules on both sides of the PCB like the PM951 1TB (can't find a good picture to illustrate) where the memory module directly is impeded by the nuvoton chip. Any SSD with a clear backside should fit perfectly as the PCB should have .5-1mm clearance over the nuvoton chip.
 
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