ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Qualtity construction
Supports Intel Skylake (socket 1151)
6 SATA Ports
M.2 NVME PCIe
DDR4 4000+ Overclocking
7.1 CH HD Audio

Cons: Poor installation documentation
No mini speaker for post errors
No troubleshooting help
No seals on MB box or interior antistatic bag

Overall Review: First things first... DO NOT lose or misplace the tiny little screw packed as an accessory with the motherboard. You'll need it now or later if you ever plan to install a M.2 PCIe card. Take my word for it... it's not a standard tiny PC screw.

Second... disregard the 1 egg review from the customer who is obviously loyal to another motherboard manufacturer. I'm familiar with ASrock products and had no trouble navigating, over clocking, or finding any of the settings I required including the advanced settings. Not understanding how to navigate BIOS on an new MB... does not justify a 1 egg review.

This MB exudes solid construction, and as before, it was painless install. I'm glad because had there been a problem, this MB doesn't include any trouble shooting tools. The full size ASrock MB I purchased in 2011 included a mini speaker and had onboard LED diagnostic lights! I understand the "no room for LEDs" on a mini itx but a little speaker in the accessory box would have been nice for monitoring diagnostic error beeps codes when posting. Oh well, that's just my two cents... neither the lack of a mini speaker nor factory seals on the MB are worth an egg. The good news is everything went fine, the system posted and booted up no problems, so in the end I didn't need any troubleshooting tools after all. FYI: I always assemble my systems on an Anti-Static Mat with ground cable and wrist strap. Its cheap insurance against disaster. (Even more important in winter moths when the air is dry).

The most exciting thing was when I installed a M.2 Samsung 950 Pro.

Important... before installing a M.2 be sure to go the ASRock site and update to the latest BIOS version. (The BIOS update is a snap using the ASRock Instant Flash utility in BIOS.)

After installing the 950 PRO I simply rebooted the system and there it was in BIOS. No drivers to loads or anything to update.

My last step (and primary reason for installing the 950 PRO) was for the OS (I also installed a 1TB 2.5" for my data files). Love it or hate it... I did a clean from scratch install of Windows 10. NOTE: Rather than use Microsofts Media Creation Tool... I downloaded a standalone ISO version and made it bootable using Rufus, by following instructions for the "Official ISO Direct Download from Microsoft Tech Bench" as found on TechJourney.

I then followed the instructions for creating a Win 10 USB boot drive and how to do a "clean" install (not an update) as found in an Expertreviews article on "How to clean install Windows 10 and create boot media".

What a snap! Inserted the ISO boot drive, powered up the MB and the entire Win 10 installation process took less than 10 minutes. The PC automatically rebooted when finished and bam... Window 10 up and running. And the best part of all... from power off, cold boot... to up an running... (including waiting for BIOS to post... 12 SECONDS! Sweeeet!

Pros: Does everything I want it to do.

Cons: needs update to BIOS out of box or you will get constant BSODs. Google h170m itx/DL BIOS update download and install the latest update to fix issues with DRAM compatibility. Thought my ram was broken but I just needed to update BIOS.

Overall Review: Decent board