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.

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Z170M-ITX/ac
Motherboard Layout
PCIE1
DDR4_A1 (64 bit, 288-pin module)
DDR4_B1 (64 bit, 288-pin module)
CPU_FAN1
CHA_FAN1
5
RoHS
Z170M-ITX/ac
2
6
7
9
10
8
USB 2.0
T: USB1
B: USB2
PS2
Keyboard
/Mouse
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
ATXPWR1
SATA3 _3 SATA3 _2 SATA3 _1 SATA3 _0
USB3 _7 _8
1
DISPLAY1
31
PANEL1
HDL ED RE SET
PLE D PWR BTN
1
TPMS1
11
CLRMOS1
1
CI1
16
HDMI1
DVI1
Top:
LINE IN
Center:
FRONT
Bottom:
MIC IN
Front USB 3.0
PCI Express 3.0

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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)
7TPM 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)

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Z170M-ITX/ac
I/O Panel
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 Port
6 Microphone (Pink)** 13 PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
7 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_56)
* ere are two LEDs on each LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications.
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
ACT/LINK LED
SPEED LED
LAN Port
1
13 8910
11
12
2 3
67
5
4

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** 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.
Please set Speaker Conguration 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
••••••••••

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Z170M-ITX/ac
Chapter 1 Introduction
ank you for purchasing ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac motherboard, a reliable
motherboard produced under ASRock’s consistently stringent quality control.
It delivers excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s
commitment to quality and endurance.
1.1 Package Contents
•ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Motherboard (Mini-ITX Form Factor)
•ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Quick Installation Guide
•ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac Support CD
•2 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional)
•1 x I/O Panel Shield
•1 x WiFi-802.11ac Module
•2 x SMA WiFi Antenna Cables
•2 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antennas
•1 x WiFi Module Bracket
•2 x Screws for WiFi Module
Because the motherboard specications and the BIOS soware might be updated, the
content of this documentation 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 without further notice. If you require technical support related to this mother-
board, please visit our website for specic information about the model you are using. You
may nd the latest VGA cards and CPU support list on ASRock’s website as well. ASRock
website http://www.asrock.com.

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1.2 Specications
Platform •Mini-ITX Form Factor
•Solid Capacitor design
•High Density Glass Fabric PCB
CPU •Supports 6th Generation Intel® CoreTM i7/i5/i3/Pentium®/
Celeron® Processors (Socket 1151)
•Digi Power design
•6 Power Phase design
•Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology
•Supports Intel® K-Series unlocked CPUs
•Supports ASRock BCLK Full-range Overclocking
Chipset •Intel®Z170
Memory •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
* Please refer to Memory Support List on ASRock's website for
more information. (http://www.asrock.com/)
•Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB
•Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Prole (XMP) 2.0
Expansion
Slot
•1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1: x16 mode)
•1 x Vertical Half-size Mini-PCI Express Slot: For WiFi + BT
Module
* is Mini-PCI Express Slot supports WiFi and mSATA
devices.
Graphics •Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals and the VGA outputs
can be supported only with processors which are GPU
integrated.
•Supports Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals : Intel® Quick
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

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Z170M-ITX/ac
•Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 12
•Max. shared memory 1792MB
•ree graphics output options: DVI-D, HDMI and
DisplayPort 1.2
•Supports Triple Monitor
•Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2304) @ 24Hz
•Supports DVI-D with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @
60Hz
•Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2304) @ 24Hz or 4K x 2K (3840x2160) @ 60Hz
•Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and
HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant
HDMI monitor is required)
•Supports Accelerated Media Codecs: HEVC, VP8, VP9
•Supports HDCP with DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2
Ports
•Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with DVI-D,
HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 Ports
Audio •7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892
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
•Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
•ELNA Audio Caps
LAN •1 x Intel® I219V (Gigabit LAN PHY 10/100/1000 Mb/s)
•1 x Realtek RTL8111H (PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000
Mb/s)
•Supports Wake-On-WAN (on Realtek RTL8111H)
•Supports Wake-On-LAN
•Supports Lightning/ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike
Protection)
•Supports LAN Cable Detection (on Realtek RTL8111H)
•Supports Energy Ecient Ethernet 802.3az
•Supports PXE

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Wireless
LAN
•Supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
•Supports Dual-Band (2.4/5 GHz)
•Supports high speed wireless connections up to 433Mbps
•Supports Bluetooth 4.0 / 3.0 + High speed class II
Rear Panel
I/O
•1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
•1 x DVI-D Port
•1 x HDMI Port
•1 x DisplayPort 1.2
•2 x USB 2.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full
Spike Protection))
•6 x USB 3.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full
Spike Protection))
•2 x RJ-45 LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED
LED)
•HD Audio Jacks: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Storage •4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0,
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),
support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel
Rapid Storage Technology 14 and Intel Smart Response
Technology), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
Connector •1 x TPM Header
•1 x Chassis Intrusion Header
•1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
•1 x Chassis Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed
Control)
•1 x 20 pin ATX Power Connector
•1 x 4 pin 12V Power Connector
•1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
•1 x USB 2.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports
ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
•1 x USB 3.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports
ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))

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Z170M-ITX/ac
BIOS
Feature
•128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with multilingual GUI sup-
port
•ACPI 1.1 Compliant wake up events
•SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
•CPU, GT_CPU, DRAM, PCH 1.0V, VCCIO, VPPM, VCCSA
Voltage Multi-adjustment
Hardware
Monitor
•CPU/Chassis temperature sensing
•CPU/Chassis Fan Tachometer
•CPU/Chassis Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by
CPU temperature)
•CPU/Chassis Fan multi-speed control
•CASE OPEN detection
•Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore
OS •Microso® Windows® 10 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 7 32-bit / 7 64-
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 143 for more detailed instructions.
* For the updated Windows® 10 driver, please visit ASRock’s
website for details: http://www.asrock.com
Certica-
tions
•FCC, CE, WHQL
•ErP/EuP Ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)
Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking, 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 cause damage to
the components and devices of your system. It should be done at your own risk and expense.
We are not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking.
* For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock.com

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1.3 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 vary according to the environment.
ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antennas
(included in the package)
WiFi + BT Module
(included in the package)

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Z170M-ITX/ac
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.
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.

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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.

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Z170M-ITX/ac
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.
Step 10
Connect the two WiFi 2.4/5 GHz
Antennas to the antenna connectors. Turn
the antenna clockwise until it is securely
connected.

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Step 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.

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Z170M-ITX/ac
is is an ATX 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.
Chapter 2 Installation

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2.1 Installing the CPU
1. Before you insert the 1151-Pin CPU into the socket, please check if the PnP cap is on the
socket, if the CPU surface is unclean, or if there are any bent pins in the socket. Do not
force to insert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found. Otherwise, the CPU
will be seriously damaged.
2. Unplug all power cables before installing the CPU.
1
2
A
B

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Z170M-ITX/ac
4
5
3

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Please save and replace the cover if the processor is removed. e cover must be placed if
you wish to return the motherboard for aer service.