Skylake-Based Z170 Gaming Mini ITX Motherboard

Maybe there'll be a live stream on rog.asus.com

The only surprise I can imagine is a Samsung U.2 SFF of 1TB + able use the U.2 with a higher capacity than M.2 - i.e. for game storage and not just the boot drive.

If U.2 is wanted on ITX you can already use a M.2 adapter on the Asrock x99 ITX (the M.2 is topside IIRC).

In any case the real problem is low availability and massive gouging of 6700K in EU - the i5 is more attractive price wise but would feel odd to pair that with the m8i.
 
There was no mention of the m.2 connector or thunderbolt 3 support in the presentation.
 
Seriously?
Look at the prices and availability of U2 (near zero) M2 (Samsung just bringing out 950 to add to a long list).

A normal SSD is prob fine for real world and the 950 will be awesome - if you have an application really needing the Intel 750 then go uATX not ITX.
 
I am thinking of buying the GA-Z170N-Gaming 5. Are there any more mITX boards coming out soon?
 
That receptacle is also not really U.2, right, it's "SFF-8643 36-Position mini-SAS HD"?

If there *were* such an adapter, i.e. a Socket 3 M.2 PCB adapter sled terminated in a cabled mini-SAS HD plug, it would run at full throughput -- there's no reason why there would be any throughput performance degradation in such an adapter, if it existed. Latency would be higher and the link would be noisier because of the cabling, but only by miniscule amounts and you would not be able to measure the difference without expensive test equipment.

It seems like it comes down to whether you want your SSD on a PCB or in a 2.5" box, and whether or not you want the motherboard interface to the SSD on the CPU side ("front") of the board vs. the chassis side ("back") of the board.

ASUS probably has some good reasons for not wanting it on the "back" of this motherboard, or else they probably have some other vision for why they want it to be a socket/plug/cable connection instead of an M.2 socket, and I'm willing to wait and see what they have to say about it.

It's an interesting choice.
 
No M.2 really sucks, as I was wanting to use the M8I in a NCASE M1 full water-cooled gaming build, less cables to worry about, no need to put a 2.5" SSD somewhere…

The main draw for me on the Maximus X-series Impact boards has always been that SO SEXY EK Monoblock…

fb-asus-m6i_na_full_800.jpg
 
bbliss said:
That receptacle is also not really U.2, right, it's "SFF-8643 36-Position mini-SAS HD"?

If there *were* such an adapter, i.e. a Socket 3 M.2 PCB adapter sled terminated in a cabled mini-SAS HD plug, it would run at full throughput -- there's no reason why there would be any throughput performance degradation in such an adapter, if it existed. Latency would be higher and the link would be noisier because of the cabling, but only by miniscule amounts and you would not be able to measure the difference without expensive test equipment.

It seems like it comes down to whether you want your SSD on a PCB or in a 2.5" box, and whether or not you want the motherboard interface to the SSD on the CPU side ("front") of the board vs. the chassis side ("back") of the board.

ASUS probably has some good reasons for not wanting it on the "back" of this motherboard, or else they probably have some other vision for why they want it to be a socket/plug/cable connection instead of an M.2 socket, and I'm willing to wait and see what they have to say about it.

It's an interesting choice.
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Interesting analysis. Luckily we as consumers also have a choice - and that choice is M2 because we (in EU) are already being ripped off enough over 6700K price and don't wish to be told what devices we can or can't use because of the manufacturer's err.. vision.
 
On the topic of the 6700K, that part is a 91W TDP. This ASUS M8I motherboard is going to be the one that I use for my first mITX build (I've done dozens of ATX builds, of course, just never ITX) whenever it starts shipping.

I wanted to ask somebody who's doing a 6700K (or comparable) build, is it hard getting 91W out of a small enclosure with air cooling? Does the 91W TDP force you into liquid cooling for a small enclosure? I was looking at the 65W and 35W Skylake parts instead, to save power. I don't need 4+GHz CPU performance for what I'm doing.

I won't be using a GPU at all because I have a need for a different PCIe board in this box, so I don't have to worry about moving heat off the GPU card. But I am curious about dumping 91W of CPU heat into a shoebox...
 
sumur1au said:
Confirmed no m.2 slot :(

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/asus_rog_maximus_viii_impact_-_rushkit/1
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Thanks for the link, sadly it does not provide much new information. Nothing about the audio solution, nothing about the fan options (what's EXT_FAN for ?). It was clear the reporter didn't care about SFF enough since this was the most anticipated mITX board for Skylake. I'm hoping Anandtech has something juicy soon.

EDIT: SmallFormFactor.net has more info: https://smallformfactor.net/news/asus-announces-the-rog-maximus-viii-impact
 
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Asus calls this

the best Maximus Impact ever, in fact, we dare you to find a better mini-ITX motherboard.
Click to expand...

Um, yeah, how about a board with M.2 port?

I think they dropped the ball on this one. Not sure what they can say about it that justifies it.
 
Whats wrong with the MSI one? It has everything you would want in a mITX board. I read somewhere that it does not take size 2280 m.2. However, I just got one and a Samsung 951 25GB, it fits perfectly fine and works right out the box. I am actually typing from this setup right now.

They say that size 2280 does not fit because of the screw placement that holds the m.2 card. Remove the screw, put the m.2 and hold it with a small piece of electrical tape. Works perfectly fine for me in my Hadron Air setup. ATTO test results are exactly about what is advertised.

Just FYI
 
unknownsolo said:
Whats wrong with the MSI one? It has everything you would want in a mITX board. I read somewhere that it does not take size 2280 m.2. However, I just got one and a Samsung 951 25GB, it fits perfectly fine and works right out the box. I am actually typing from this setup right now.

They say that size 2280 does not fit because of the screw placement that holds the m.2 card. Remove the screw, put the m.2 and hold it with a small piece of electrical tape. Works perfectly fine for me in my Hadron Air setup. ATTO test results are exactly about what is advertised.

Just FYI
Click to expand...

And if the temperature rises, will the tape stick ? For how long ? I always dislike when you have to MacGyver something to make it work properly.

Other than the lack of screwing point for 2280 M.2 card, the board does not support USB 3.1 Gen 2. Ports are USB 3.1 Gen 1 which is another way to name USB 3.0. No USB Type-C as well. Also I prefer 3 fans headers.
 
Another issue is that unlike m.2, SFF-8643 does not carry power. Any hypothetical adapter would also need to accommodate an extra power cable in addition to the data cable and the drive itself.
 
So… I can read SOME info about the new M8I, and actually ORDER it; all from Newegg…

BUT…! I cannot read ANYTHING about it on the ASUS website…?

Way to go ASUS…

First you go with U.2 over M.2, forcing me to use another cable in my SFF system. I WANT the M.2 to AVOID the extra cable(s)…!

Then, you totally SNUB the miniITX group by leaving the Water Pump header off of the M8I, even though it is a New Feature on all of the other (larger) ROG Skylake boards…

I must say, if EK emails me back and lets me know that the monoblock for the M6I/M7I does NOT work with the M8I, I will be looking elsewhere for a miniITX board…

But NOT updating your website on a product that MANY are wanting info on, sloppy…
 
Boil said:
So… I can read SOME info about the new M8I, and actually ORDER it; all from Newegg…
BUT…! I cannot read ANYTHING about it on the ASUS website…?
Click to expand...

https://rog.asus.com/445602015/maximus-motherboards/asus-rog-announces-rog-maximus-viii-impact/

Specs:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS-VIII-IMPACT/specifications/

No mention of Thunderbolt 3 and no m.2. No DisplayPort so maximum 24hz at 4k over HDMI. Seriously, what the hell are they thinking?!?
 
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Although its nice to have the best, and perhaps for some money is no object but most people have a finite budget and are trying to build practical machines.

With a budget of say £320 you can buy 256 GB M2 NVMe for C: AND a 1TB SSD for games; OR just a single 400GB U2.

For audio, if you're using headphones maybe the quality of analogue on-board audio is important, but surely people connect their PC via HDMI through a surround sound system (these days cheap) to a large screen?

And top-end wifi on a PC? So many devices need network these days, surely people have routers and fixed cabling or homeplugs?

For Z170 generation the Asrock is looking good - and it's already two months after processor launch so time to decide now I think
 
I just ordered the GA-Z170N-Gaming 5. Very disappointing board from ASUS. The Asrock is not yet available is Australia.
 
I think i will be going with a Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac but i really do want TB3 for external graphics option if i want to go that route in the future.
 
M8I is a no-go for me too, the M.2 slot is a must have. Not interested in MacGyver solutions either so MSI is out of the list as well, which narrows it down to GigaByte and ASRock. Do GigaByte boards still have fan control issues mentioned somewhere here earlier? Otherwise is there any particulary reason I should pick ASRock over GA? I'm trying to keep away from ASRock since the reason I'm building a SFF PC in the first place is because my previous ASRock mini-pc's motherboard failed on me after 2½ years and since the whole thing has a proprietary build that's pretty much it for the entire setup. 900e well spent there - not.
 
It's a curse to find the right mini-itx board. This is what I have been looking for.

  • Good looks.
  • Good layout.
  • Intel LAN.
  • Intel WiFi.
  • M.2 format for WiFi card.
  • USB Type C.
  • Good audio with amplifier, at least 1150 Realtek.
  • M.2 SSD, must support 2280 length.
  • HDMI and DisplayPort.
  • Good fan control in BIOS.

There are other smaller things I am looking at too, but those are the big ones.

There is no board that has all the above. The features are scattered among all mini-itx boards. Last hope went to Impact VIII. This board usually has nicest layout, including power connections for CPU and mobo on the same side. An overall favorite, that let us down after a long wait for nothing.
 
lapingultah said:
M8I is a no-go for me too, the M.2 slot is a must have. Not interested in MacGyver solutions either so MSI is out of the list as well, which narrows it down to GigaByte and ASRock. Do GigaByte boards still have fan control issues mentioned somewhere here earlier? Otherwise is there any particulary reason I should pick ASRock over GA? I'm trying to keep away from ASRock since the reason I'm building a SFF PC in the first place is because my previous ASRock mini-pc's motherboard failed on me after 2½ years and since the whole thing has a proprietary build that's pretty much it for the entire setup. 900e well spent there - not.
Click to expand...

Yes, stay away from Gigabyte if you want good fan control.
 
sumur1au said:
The Asrock is not yet available is Australia.
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Yeah I've been waiting for it to arrive and it's still not even listed on any websites as pre-order.

I'm actually thinking of just going with the Gigabyte Z170N-WIFI. The only drawback is the lack of USB 3.1, but it does have USB C. I can't imagine having/needing a USB 3.1 device in the next year or so anyway.

Side question: Would the Silverstone AR06 cooler fit on the Gigabyte Z170N-WIFI? I'm really concerned about all those capacitors and the USB3 header so close to the CPU area. I normally don't use aftermarket coolers, so I'm not that knowledgeable about fitting them.
 
jwsg said:
And top-end wifi on a PC? So many devices need network these days, surely people have routers and fixed cabling or homeplugs?
Click to expand...

Cabling is a pain. Router is in the hall way, my PC is in another room. Extremely convenient to use WiFi, and I don't need extreme ping or performance.
 
Prizm4 said:
Side question: Would the Silverstone AR06 cooler fit on the Gigabyte Z170N-WIFI? I'm really concerned about all those capacitors and the USB3 header so close to the CPU area. I normally don't use aftermarket coolers, so I'm not that knowledgeable about fitting them.
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I just bought a USB3.0 Extension Cable,
http://www.moddiy.com/products/USB-...er-Adapter-Cable-(Low-Profile-Connector).html

I am pretty sure my future cooler the Cryorig C1 won't play nice with the USB3.0 cable
 
DrRetina said:
https://rog.asus.com/445602015/maximus-motherboards/asus-rog-announces-rog-maximus-viii-impact/

Specs:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS-VIII-IMPACT/specifications/
Click to expand...

The latter is not accessible by following what most folks would on the ASUS website. If you go to the front of the ASUS website, then to products > ROG > 1151 socket, they only list the two previously announced/released boards, no M8I

Thank you for the links though, I am going over them now…

I will still probably end up using the M8I though, as I want to use that EK monoblock to cool it!

So, unless Samsung comes out with a 2.5" U.2 SSD before I can get my hands on a NCASE M1 from the next production run (Decemberish), I guess I will bit the bullet and go with a 400GB Intel 750 2.5" U.2 SSD…

Still irked about no dedicated Water Pump header like the other Z170 ROG boards…
 
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If they had said - if you remove the audio module then there is space for an M2 topside then suddenly the board would be the best choice (putting aside cost which I assume is 20% over the Asrock). They were so keen to make a "The only ITX with..." board they ended up making "The only ITX without..."

Some more pics of the Z170i https://rog.asus.com/444362015/asus...sus-z170-pro-gaming-vs-asus-z170i-pro-gaming/ but still no availability anywhere. One of the pics clearly shows the M2.

This year Asrock did a 3.1 refresh of previous boards so maybe they will do an Alpine Ridge refresh - not that it really needs it. The M8I doesn't mention 4K60 at all - the Asrock manages this on HDMI now.
 
That ASUS Z170I Pro Gaming looks like sh*te (I could live with that if the specs are right) but the lack of USB 3.1 C is a dealbreaker for me. Maybe I'll just sell my 6700K, as there is no board in the horizon that has Thunderbolt 3, M.2 and DisplayPort.
 
I wouldn't describe it as that - its unobtainable but the pricing is a lot lower than top end has full BIOS features but just lacks 3.1 and 'C'

If you can reconsider Thunderbolt (whatever you buy there's' going to be something new you wont have so "future proofing" is impossible) the Asrock will meet your needs.
 
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