Asrock Z170M-ITX/ac User Manual

Version 1.0

Published July 2015

Copyright©2015 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this documentation may be reproduced, transcribed, transmitted, or
translated in any language, in any form or by any means, except duplication of
documentation by the purchaser for backup purpose, without written consent of
ASRock Inc.

Products and corporate names appearing in this documentation may or may not
be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used
only for identication or explanation and to the owners’ benet, without intent to

infringe.

Disclaimer:

Specications and information contained in this documentation are furnished for
informational use only and subject to change without notice, and should not be
constructed as a commitment by ASRock. ASRock assumes no responsibility for
any errors or omissions that may appear in this documentation.

With respect to the contents of this documentation, ASRock does not provide
warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to
the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or tness for a particular
purpose.

In no event shall ASRock, its directors, ocers, employees, or agents be liable for
any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages (including damages for
loss of prots, loss of business, loss of data, interruption of business and the like),
even if ASRock has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from any
defect or error in the documentation or product.

is device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

CALIFORNIA, USA ONLY

e Lithium battery adopted on this motherboard contains Perchlorate, a toxic substance
controlled in Perchlorate Best Management Practices (BMP) regulations passed by the
California Legislature. When you discard the Lithium battery in California, USA, please
follow the related regulations in advance.
“Perchlorate Material-special handling may apply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate”

ASRock Website: http://www.asrock.com

e terms HDMI™ and HDMI High-Denition Multimedia Interface, and the HDMI
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC in the United
States and other countries.

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Package Contents 1

1.2 Specications 2

1.3 Motherboard Layout 6

1.4 I/O Panel 8

1.5 WiFi-802.11ac Module and ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna 10

Chapter 2 Installation 15

2.1 Installing the CPU 16

2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink 19

2.3 Installing Memory Modules (DIMM) 20

2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI Express Slots) 22

2.5 Jumpers Setup 23

2.6 Onboard Headers and Connectors 24

Chapter 3 Software and Utilities Operation 28

3.1 Installing Drivers 28

3.2 A-Tuning 29

3.3 ASRock Live Update & APP Shop 33

3.3.1 UI Overview 33

3.3.2 Apps 34

3.3.3 BIOS & Drivers 37

3.3.4 Setting 38

3.4 Enabling USB Ports for Windows® 7 Installation 39

Chapter 4 UEFI SETUP UTILITY 42

4.1 Introduction 42

4.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar 42

4.1.2 Navigation Keys 43

4.2 Main Screen 44

4.3 OC Tweaker Screen 45

4.4 Advanced Screen 55

4.4.1 CPU Conguration 56

4.4.2 Chipset Conguration 58

4.4.3 Storage Conguration 61

4.4.4 Super IO Conguration 62

4.4.5 ACPI Conguration 63

4.4.6 USB Conguration 64

4.4.7 Trusted Computing 65

4.5 Tools 66

4.6 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen 70

4.7 Security Screen 72

4.8 Boot Screen 73

4.9 Exit Screen 76

Z170M-ITX/ac

Chapter 1 Introduction

ank you for purchasing ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac motherboard, a reliable

motherboard produced under ASRock ’s consistently stringent qualit y control.

It delivers excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s

commitment to quality and endurance.

In this documentation, Chapter 1 and 2 contains the introduction of the

motherboard and step-by-step installation guides. Chapter 3 contains the operation

guide of the soware and utilities. Chapter 4 contains the conguration guide of

the BIOS setup.

Becau se the motherboard speci cations and the BIOS soware might be updated, the
content of this doc umentation will be subject to change without notice. In case any modi­cations of this documentation occur, the updated version will be available on ASRock’s
website w ithout further notice . If you require technical suppor t related to this mother­board, please v isit our website for specic information about the model you are using. You
may nd the l atest VGA cards and CPU support list on ASRock’s website as well . ASRock
website http://www.asrock.com.

1.1 Package Contents

ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Motherboard (Mini-ITX Form Factor)

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ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Quick Installation Guide

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ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Support CD

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2 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional)

•

1 x I/O Panel Shield

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1 x WiFi-802.11ac Module

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2 x SMA WiFi Antenna Cables

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2 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antennas

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1 x WiFi Module Bracket

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2 x Screws for WiFi Module

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English

1.2 Specications

Platform

CPU

Chipset

Memory

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* Please refer to Memory Support List on ASRock's website for

more information. (http://www.asrock.com/)

•

•

Mini-ITX Form Factor

Solid Capacitor design

High Density Glass Fabric PCB

th

Supports 6

Celeron® Processors (Socket 1151)

Digi Power design

6 Power Phase design

Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technolog y

Supports Intel® K-Series unlocked CPUs

Supports ASRock BCLK Full-range Overclocking

Intel

Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology

2 x DDR4 DIMM Slots

Supports DDR4 3200+(OC)*/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2400

(OC)/2133 non-ECC, un-buered memory

Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB

Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Prole (XMP) 2.0

Generation Intel® CoreTM i7/i5/i3/Pentium®/

®

Z170

1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1: x16 mode)

Expansion
Slot

Graphics

English

•

1 x Vertical Ha lf-size Mini-PCI Express Slot: For WiFi + BT

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Module

* is Mini-PCI Express Slot supports WiFi and mSATA

devices.

Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals and the VGA outputs

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can be supported only with processors which are GPU

integrated.

Supports Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals : Intel® Quick

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Sync Video with AVC, MVC (S3D) and MPEG-2 Full

HW Encode1, Intel® InTruTM 3D, Intel® Clear Video HD

Technology, Intel® InsiderTM, Intel® HD Graphics 510/530

2 3

Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 12

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Max. shared memory 1792MB

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ree graphics output options: DVI-D, HDMI and

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DisplayPort 1.2

Supports Triple Monitor

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Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K

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(4096x2304) @ 24Hz

Supports DVI-D with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @

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60Hz

Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K

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(4096x2304) @ 24Hz or 4K x 2K (3840x2160) @ 60Hz

Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and

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HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant

HDMI monitor is required)

Supports Accelerated Media Codecs: HEVC, VP8, VP9

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Supports HDCP with DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2

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Ports

Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with DVI-D,

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HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 Ports

Z170M-ITX/ac

Audio

LAN

7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892

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Audio Codec)

* To congure 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.

Premium Blu-ray Audio support

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Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)

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ELNA Audio Caps

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1 x Intel® I219V (Gigabit LAN PHY 10/100/1000 Mb/s)

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1 x Realtek RTL8111H (PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000

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Mb/s)

Supports Wake-On-WAN (on Realtek RTL8111H)

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Supports Wake-On-LAN

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Supports Lightning/ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike

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Protection)

Supports LAN Cable Detection (on Realtek RTL8111H)

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Supports Energy Ecient Ethernet 802.3az

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Supports PXE

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English

Wireless
LAN

Rear Panel
I/O

Storage

Supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac

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Supports Dual-Band (2.4/5 GHz)

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Supports high speed wireless connections up to 433Mbps

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Supports Bluetooth 4.0 / 3.0 + High speed class II

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1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port

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1 x DVI-D Port

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1 x HDMI Port

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1 x DisplayPort 1.2

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2 x USB 2.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full

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Spike Protection))

6 x USB 3.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full

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Spike Protection))

2 x RJ-45 LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED

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LED)

HD Audio Jacks: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

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4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support R AID (R AID 0,

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RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage Technology

14 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and

Hot Plug

1 x mSATA Connector (shared with Mini-PCI Express Slot),

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support R AID (RAID 0, R AID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel

Rapid Storage Technology 14 and Intel Smart Response

Technology), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug

1 x TPM Header

Connector

English

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1 x Chassis Intrusion Header

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1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)

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1 x Chassis Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed

•

Control)

1 x 20 pin ATX Power Connector

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1 x 4 pin 12V Power Connector

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1 x Front Panel Audio Connector

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1 x USB 2.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports

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ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))

1 x USB 3.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports

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ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))

4 5

BIOS
Feature

Hardware
Monitor

OS

Z170M-ITX/ac

128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with multilingual GUI sup-

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port

ACPI 1.1 Compliant wake up events

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SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

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CPU, GT_CPU, DRAM, PCH 1.0V, VCCIO, VPPM, VCCSA

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Voltage Multi-adjustment

CPU/Chassis temperature sensing

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CPU/Chassis Fan Tachometer

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CPU/Chassis Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by

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CPU temperature)

CPU/Chassis Fan multi-speed control

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CASE OPEN detection

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Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore

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Microso® Windows® 10 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 7 32-bit / 7 64-

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bit

* To install Windows® 7 OS, a modied installation disk with

xHCI drivers packed into the ISO le is required. Please refer to

page 39 for more detailed instructions.

* For the updated Windows® 10 driver, please visit ASRock’s

website for details: http://www.asrock.com

FCC, CE, WHQL

Certica­tions

* For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock .com

Please realize that there i s a certain risk involved with o verclocking, including adjusting
the setting in the BIOS , applying Untied Overclocking Technology, or using third-party
overclocking tools. Overclocking may aect your system’s stability, or even cau se damage to
the components and devices of your system. It should be done at your own r isk and expense.
We are not responsible for possible damage caused b y overclocking.

•

ErP/EuP Ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)

•

English

PCIE1

DDR 4_A1 (6 4 bit, 28 8-pin m odule )

DDR 4_B1 (6 4 bit, 28 8-pin m odule )

CPU_FAN1

CHA_FAN1

5

RoHS

Z170M-ITX/ac

2

6

7

9

10

8

USB 2.0
T: USB1
B: USB2

PS2

Keyb oard

/Mou se

15 14 13 12 11

MINI_PCIE1

128Mb

BIOS

AUDIO
CODEC

4

17

1

HD_AUDIO1

1

USB_3_ 4

1

SPEAKER 1

Top:
RJ-45

USB 3.0
T: USB1
B: USB2

Top:
RJ-45

USB 3.0
T: USB3
B: USB4

USB 3.0
T: USB5
B: USB6

LAN

LAN

Intel

Z170

ATXP WR 1

SATA3_3

SATA3_2

SATA3_1

SATA3_0

USB3_7 _8

1

DISP LAY1

31

PANEL1

HDLED RESET

PLED PWRBTN

1

TPMS1

1

1

CLRMOS1

1

CI1

16

HDM I1

DVI 1

Top:

LINE I N

Cent er:

FRON T

Bott om:

MIC IN

Front U SB 3.0

PCI Express 3.0

1.3 Motherboard Layout

English

6 7

No. Description

1 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN1)

2 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1)

3 2 x 288-pin DDR4 DIMM Slots (DDR4_A1, DDR4_B1)

4 USB 2.0 Header (USB_ 3_4)

5 ATX Power Connector (ATXPWR1)

6 USB 3.0 Header (USB3_7_8)

7 TPM Header (TPMS1)

8 System Panel Header (PANEL1)

9 Clear CMOS Jumper (CLRMOS1)

10 Chassis Intrusion Header (CI1)

11 Chassis Speaker Header (SPEAKER1)

12 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_0)

13 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_1)

14 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_2)

15 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_3)

16 Front Panel Audio Header (HD_AUDIO1)

17 ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V1)

Z170M-ITX/ac

English

1.4 I/O Panel

1

13 8910

12

2 3

11

No. Description No. Description

1 USB 2.0 Ports (USB12) 8 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_34)

2 LAN RJ-45 Port (Realtek RTL8111H)* 9 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_12)

3 LAN RJ-45 Port (Intel® I219V)* 10 DisplayPort 1.2

4 Line In (Light Blue)** 11 HDMI Port

5 Front Speaker (Lime)** 12 DVI-D Por t

6 Microphone (Pink)** 13 PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port

7 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_56)

* ere are two LEDs on each LAN port. Plea se refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications.

ACT/LINK LED

SPEED LED

4

5

67

LAN Por t

Activity / Link LED Speed LED

Status Description Status Description

O No Link O 10Mbps connection
Blinking Data Activity Orange 100Mbps connection
On Link Green 1Gbps connection

English

8 9

Z170M-ITX/ac

** To congure 7.1 CH HD Audio, it i s required to use an HD front panel audio module and e nable the multi­channel audio feature through the audio driver.

Please set Speaker Cong uration to “ 7.1 Speaker” in the Realtek HD Audio Manager.

Function of the Audio Ports in 7.1-channel Conguration:

Port Function

Light Blue (Rear panel) Rear Speaker Out
Lime (Rear panel) Front Speaker Out
Pink (Rear panel) Central /Subwoofer Speaker Out
Lime (Front panel) Side Speaker Out

English

1.5 WiFi-802.11ac Module and ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna

WiFi-802.11ac + BT Module

is motherboard comes with an exclusive WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + BT v4.0

module that oers support for WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac connectivity standards and

Bluetooth v4.0. WiFi + BT module is an easy-to-use wireless local area network

(WLAN) adapter to support WiFi + BT. Bluetooth v4.0 standard features Smart

Ready technology that adds a whole new class of functionality into the mobile

devices. BT 4.0 also includes Low Energy Technology and ensures extraordinary

low power consumption for PCs.

* e transmission speed may var y according to the environment.

WiFi + BT Module

(included in the package)

ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antennas

(included in the package)

English

10 11

WiFi Module and WiFi Antennas Installation Guide

Step 1

Prepare the WiFi Module, WiFi Module Bracket,

and the two screws (M2*3) that come with the

package. Prepare a Phillips #0 screwdriver.

Step 2

Attach the WiFi Module Bracket to the WiFi

card, aligning the screw hole on the WiFi card

with the screw hole on the bracket. Use the screw

to attach the bracket and the WiFi card, but do

not tighten the screw.

Z170M-ITX/ac

Step 3

Insert the WiFi Module Card into the vertical

mini PCI Express slot (MPCIE1).

Step 4

Tighten the screw that holds the card in place.

English

Step 5

Tighten the screw that attaches the WiFi

Module Bracket to the WiFi card (installed

in Step 2).

Step 6

Prepare the SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables

and WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antennas that come

with the package.

Step 7

Attach the SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables to

the WiFi Module.

English

12 13

Step 8

Insert the RP-SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Con-

nectors to the antenna ports on the I/O

shield

Step 9

Fasten the screw nuts to secure the

antenna connectors.

Z170M-ITX/ac

Ste p 10

Connect the two WiFi 2.4/5 GHz

Antennas to the antenna connectors. Turn

the antenna clockwise until it is securely

connected.

English

Ste p 11

Set the WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna at 90-de-

gree angle.

*You may need to adjust the direction of

the antenna for a stronger signal.

English

14 15

Chapter 2 Installation

is is a Mini-ITX form factor motherboard. Before you install the motherboard,

study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard ts into it.

Pre-installation Precautions

Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components

or change any motherboard settings.

Make sure to unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard

•

components. Failure to do so may cause physical injuries and damages to motherboard

components.

In order to avoid damage from static electricity to the motherboard’s components,

•

NEVER place your motherboard directly on a carpet. Also remember to use a grounded

wrist strap or touch a safety grounded object before you handle the components.

Hold components by the edges and do not touch the ICs.

•

Whenever you uninstall any components, place them on a grounded anti-static pad or

•

in the bag that comes with the components.

When placing screws to secure the motherboard to the chassis, please do not over-

•

tighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard.

Z170M-ITX/ac

English

2.1 Installing the CPU

1. Before you insert the 1151-Pin CPU into th e socket , please check if the PnP cap is on the
socket, if the CPU sur face is unclean, or if the re are any bent pins in the socket . Do not
force to in sert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found. Otherwise, the CPU
will be seriously damaged.

2. Unplug all power c ables be fore installing the CPU.

1

2

A

B

English

16 17

Z170M-ITX/ac

3

4

5

English

Please save and replace the cover if the processor is removed. e cove r must be placed if
you wish to return the motherboard for ae r service.

English

18 19

2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink

1 2

Z170M-ITX/ac

FAN

CPU_

English

2.3 Installing Memory Modules (DIMM)

is motherboard provides two 288-pin DDR4 (Double Data Rate 4) DIMM slots.

It is not allowed to install a DDR, DDR2 or DDR3 memory module into a DDR4 slot; other­wise, this motherboard and DIMM may be d amaged .

e DIMM only ts in one correct orientation. It wil l cause permane nt damage to the
motherboard and the DIMM if you force the DIMM into the slot at incorrect orie ntation .

English

20 21