Skylake-Based Z170 Gaming Mini ITX Motherboard

Well.. The impact in my country is listed at 220€..

If i can find the Gigabyte Gaming at 180 easy choice
 
Yes, it's listed but they don't have stock. As you say it's not launched yet.

Maybe next week or mid september.
 
wreckem said:
The port that has basically made sata express still born. It was previously known as SFF8639. It's the port that the Intel 750 2.5" ssd requires. There are a few m.2 to u.2 adapters. Pretty much all motherboard manufactures are making them. The question is when will we see them on mainstream motherboards. I'd like to see options for two u.2 instead of 2 m.2. Why? In sff systems rear mounted systems with no airflow wil end up with high end m.2 drives overheating and throttling themselves. The other benefit is u.2 ssd will always have much larger storage options.
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I'd rather see few sata ports replaced with U.2. And I still would like to see M.2 on the board.
 
Xan-Z said:
Yes, it's listed but they don't have stock. As you say it's not launched yet.

Maybe next week or mid september.
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Well, if it's not launched yet the seller won't have any specs? (that's why I asked for a link) and not a official price...

And since Raja didn't even know when.... who knows..
 
Do we expect other manufacturers besides gigabyte to implement alpine ridge in the near future? Any word on hour long this exclusive lasts?
 
Blk said:
Well, if it's not launched yet the seller won't have any specs? (that's why I asked for a link) and not a official price...

And since Raja didn't even know when.... who knows..
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Yup, sorry.. No specs, only official price..

As you say it's only a ''placeholder''
 
I placed an order for the Asrock.

Now I have to return the matx board I only got this friday, that I was just using for testing purposes until the ITX boards came out.
 
Hey, nice! when you got it, can you write how it performs (especially curious about fan control :D ) i'm not sure whether to go for the asrock or asus board ;) anyways, i'll build my new system next year, so still plenty of time for reviews and such...
 
The ASRock is a good option, gonna see if the gigabyte releases soon, if not I may go with it.

+ Intel Nic
+ 1150 Audio **
+ M.2 Gen3 x4 *
+ USB 3.1 Type A and Type C on board
+ 3x 4pin fan header

- 3 port audio connector
- Broadcom wireless card


* "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."

** To configure 7.1 CH HD Audio, it is required to use an HD front panel audio module and enable the multi- channel audio feature through the audio driver.
 
I'll be picking up the asrock z170 gaming itx on tuesday if they process my order for pickup. Hoping it turns out to be a solid board thatll allow me to achieve a mini silent yet powerful all in one system.
 
Also heads up, gigabyte's gaming itx is also coming out within a week according to a few sources and it'll be around $20-30 cheaper. Is there a difference between the two as far as quality or preference? They both seem pretty rock solid.

http://www.shopblt.com/item/gigabyt...51-i7/gigmbd_gaz170ngaming5.html#Availability

EDIT: IT seems to have thunderbolt 3 according to it's manual, is this a big deal? Is it worth waiting for over the asrock?
 
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Synomenon said:
Everyone picking up a NVME SM951 to go with your Z170 board?
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Ha... I'm looking at the AHCI SM951. If I went with NVME, I'd have to get it from overseas. It's just too new and I don't want to have to exchange it if something goes wrong (Windows 10 driver issues, etc).
 
I'm probably going to go with the AHCI version myself after reading Anandtech's review. Hopefully Samsung releases a retail version of their next PCIe Gen. 3 x4 SSD w/ proper NVME drivers.
 
Yep, i'll get a good pcie 3.0x4 nvme m.2 drive too. luckily more of those should be released in the next weeks because x4 m.2 became standard with Z170.

Regarding the ASRock Gaming, what color does the IO shield have, black or the normal silver? :D
 
So between the asrock and the gigabyte gaming 5 itx, at the same price point, which would you guys recommend?
 
vmirjamali said:
So between the asrock and the gigabyte gaming 5 itx, at the same price point, which would you guys recommend?
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None of the because they all have their m.2 slot on the underside. Makes it a bitch to get to the SSD for replacement or troubleshooting.
 
Why is everybody so pissed about underside mounted SSDs? I mean sure it's better to have it on top, but there simply isn't enough space on those boards.

I know the argument is usually either bad cooling and high installation effort but first, there are thermal pads that you can use to dissipate the heat to the case and second, how often do you have to change your main system SSD and how messy is your case that removing an mITX board that's held with four screws from it takes you more than a minute?
 
There is space on the top-side. It can be installed standing up much like some boards do now with their mPCIe slots for wifi cards. The SSD could even be coold better standing up like that. It could be mounted like RAM if they install their slots standing up.

I've lived with a couple of ASRock boards w/ underside mounted mSATA slots and it was a bitch to deal with those.
 
Synomenon said:
There is space on the top-side. It can be installed standing up much like some boards do now with their mPCIe slots for wifi cards. The SSD could even be coold better standing up like that. It could be mounted like RAM if they install their slots standing up.

I've lived with a couple of ASRock boards w/ underside mounted mSATA slots and it was a bitch to deal with those.
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Thanks for the info, it does seem like a pain but since I'm under a time limit and need them by the end of next week waiting isn't an option so I need to choose between the two. Obviously if gigabyte delays their release then asrock will be a default choice, but is alpine ridge that important where it makes it a nobrainer choice over the asrock at the same cost?>
 
Yeah the installation like RAM sticks seems like a decent idea, but having the SSD stand up is not an option in my eyes, that really limits your case selection if you want to go small.
 
It doesn't have to be standing straight up. The m.2 slot can be mounted vertically so that when the m.2 drive is inserted, it would look kind of how RAM is in the board.
 
Diverge said:
I placed an order for the Asrock.

Now I have to return the matx board I only got this friday, that I was just using for testing purposes until the ITX boards came out.
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So you intentionally bought a board you planned to return?

Thanks for making components more expensive for the rest of us with your "rental".
 
danij3l said:
this:
Qualcomm® Atheros Killer E2201 chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

kills that Gigabyte for me. While I would like Alpine Ridge on MBO, Intel NIC is a must.
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Yea, I like the wifi version over the gaming 5 but then you don't get the heatpipe and the wireless is not Intel. If I could mix and match the 2 it would be perfect.
 
I'm really passed caring, just give me a decent ITX z170 board preferably right now.
 
bznotins said:
So you intentionally bought a board you planned to return?

Thanks for making components more expensive for the rest of us with your "rental".
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Not at all. I bought the cheapest board avail ($99), to use as a test system while waiting (what I assumed would be months) for the ITX boards to launch. The test board was delivered friday, Asrock ITX board came out saturday. The other is getting returned.

Had the ITX board come out weeks/months later I wouldn't have bothered returning it, and would have kept it around for other testing purposes.
 
Aren't issues with the Qualcomm Killer 2201 more software/bloatware-related? For me it's not a deal breaker. Actually that Gigabyte board seems to come with a lot of bloatware that I'd never install. It even comes with Norton Internet Security for your enjoyment haha
 
sigh.

i was planning to order the asrock this morning for my first build. guess i can wait a bit longer. hopefully asus is releasing theirs soon.
 
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