Question 1

Does this work with RDIMMS (registered RAM?)  It's not clear from the description and I'm having a hard time finding DDR4 ECC UDIMMs.

Accepted Answer

Boards are usually RDIMM or UDIMM; the two types are incompatible.  Just checked the manual, and it's UDIMM only, just to make sure.

Had the same issue finding UDIMM ECC.  Ended up having to search by model number.  Here's a low-cost (and positively reviewed) Kingston ECC UDIMM - KVR21E15D8.

Question 2

This board is supposed to support the new v6 xeons, but there seems to be conflicting information about this. Assuming it does, has this board been upgraded with the Kaby Lake supporting firmware, or do i need to buy a skylake proc so i can upgrade the firmware?
Lastly, from reading the comments here and on the asrock forums, there is, again, some confusion about officially supported memory. Specifically, the qvl ecc memory on the asrock site apparently doesn't guarantee that it will work in ecc mode, only that it will function as memory. That's not a terribly useful guarantee.

Accepted Answer

I have this motherboard but purchased it a year ago with a Skylake v5 Xeon processor.  If you look at the bios updates available on Asrock Rack's website, it very clear they issued an update, v2.10 on 4/28/17, that provides support for Kaby Lake processors. So yes,, Kaby Lake v6 Xeon processors are supported.  Now, if you get a motherboard that's not already upgraded to v2.10, I don't know what or if there is a procedure to upgrade the bios without a Skylake processor already in place.  As for memory, I purchased two sticks of 16GB of Kingston ECC memory (a qualified vendor but not specifically  a QVL part) and had no issues of it working properly in ECC mode.  Kingston had assured me me it would work.  I suggest you contact Asrock Rack support through their website for questions about how you get to the v2.10 bios and your concerns about memory.  I found them very responsive and very knowlegeable.

Question 3

Will this work with an Intel Core I5 6500? (LGA1151)

Accepted Answer

Yes.  Here's a list of all the supported CPUs for this motherboard.  The Core i5 6500 is on the list.

CPU Support List
SocketFamilyNumberCoreFrequencyCachePower
1151XeonE3-1280 v5(R0)Skylake S3.7GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1275 v5(R0)Skylake S3.6GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1270 v5(R0)Skylake S3.6GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1260L v5(R0)Skylake S2.9GHz8MB45W
1151XeonE3-1245 v5(R0)Skylake S3.5GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1240 v5(R0)Skylake S3.5GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1240L v5(R0)Skylake S2.1GHz8MB25W
1151XeonE3-1235L v5(R0)Skylake S2.0GHz8MB25W
1151XeonE3-1225 v5(R0)Skylake S3.3GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1230 v5(R0)Skylake S3.4GHz8MB80W
1151XeonE3-1220 v5(R0)Skylake S3.0GHz8MB80W
1151Core i7i7-6700K(R0)Skylake S4.0GHz8MB91W
1151Core i7i7-6700(R0)Skylake S3.4GHz8MB65W
1151Core i7i7-6700T(R0)Skylake S2.8GHz8MB35W
1151Core i5i5-7500(B0)Kaby Lake3.4GHz6MB65W
1151Core i5i5-6600K(R0)Skylake S3.5GHz6MB91W
1151Core i5i5-6600(R0)Skylake S3.3GHz6MB65W
1151Core i5i5-6600T(R0)Skylake S2.7GHz6MB35W
1151Core i5i5-6500(R0)Skylake S3.2GHz6MB65W
1151Core i5i5-6500T(R0)Skylake S2.5GHz6MB35W
1151Core i5i5-6402P (R0)Skylake S2.8GHz6MB65W
1151Core i5i5-6400(R0)Skylake S2.7GHz6MB65W
1151Core i5i5-6400T(R0)Skylake S2.2GHz6MB35W
1151Core i3i3-6320(S0)Skylake S3.9GHz4MB51W
1151Core i3i3-6300(S0)Skylake S3.8GHz4MB51W
1151Core i3i3-6300T(S0)Skylake S3.3GHz4MB35W
1151Core i3i3-6100(S0)Skylake S3.7GHz3MB51W
1151Core i3i3-6100T(S0)Skylake S3.2GHz3MB35W
1151PentiumG4520(S0)Skylake S3.6GHz3MB47W
1151PentiumG4500(S0)Skylake S3.5GHz3MB47W
1151PentiumG4500T(S0)Skylake S3.0GHz3MB35W
1151PentiumG4400(S0)Skylake S3.3GHz3MB47W
1151PentiumG4400T(S0)Skylake S2.9GHz3MB35W
1151CeleronG3920(S0)Skylake S2.9GHz2MB47W
1151CeleronG3900(S0)Skylake S2.8GHz2MB47W
1151CeleronG3900T(S0)Skylake S2.6GHz2MB35W

Question 4

How can i run my ram in ecc mode. I have two Kingston KVR21E15D8/8 (ValueRAM DDR4 8 GB DIMM CL15 Unbuffered ECC Memory)?  In bios i can selest only ram frequency.

Accepted Answer

Sorry I cannot answer your question. The mother board is running my NAS server so I cannot look at it. I think it automatically recognized my memory. I would first go to the mother board web site and check what memory is compatible with it. I believe I had to get corsair memory for it, since I am running 2 16 gig sticks that I bought on e-bay, but you have to be careful about buying memory from e-bay. Sorry I cannot be more helpful.
Good Luck

Question 5

Will the firmware on this board eventually be upgraded to allow Kaby Lake processors?

Accepted Answer

Asrock Rack's website made bios v2.1, which supports Kaby Lake processors available 4/28/2017.  If you're putting together a new system, it might be best to verify the bios version installed on the board the vendor is shipping you.

Question 6

Is this board capable of vPro? Intel states that the C236 has this feature but the manual from ASROCK makes no mention of it. Is it available in the BIOS at all? I would hope so since the NICs are also Intel based.

Accepted Answer

Hi David,
I asked AsRock per Email and they claimed that the board supports AMT11/vPro. But since I don't have the board I can't confirm it.

Question 7

Will the board run FreeNas or FreeBSD?

Accepted Answer

All flavors of BSD are supported. Please take a recent distribution such as the latest NAS4free for proper C236 chipset support "out of the box".

Question 8

Board doesn't power on at all, not even fan spin or beep. CPU and RAM worked on another board, I'm using an Intel Celeron G4900 Processor with 8GB ECC ram. Even with an incompatible CPU or RAM I'd expect at least some amount of activity, but it's like it's not even trying to activate the power supply. Any idea?

Accepted Answer

Hello Harry,

Thank you for contacting us in regards to your question. I'm so sorry to hear about the troubles you have encountered with this motherboard. Please contact our customer service department for assistance at 1-800-390-1119.

Thank you,

-Hutch, Newegg Support

Question 9

How to enable Intel AMT?

Accepted Answer

Go into the bios, it's a menu option to enable or disable it.

Question 10

Do you need a processor with built in graphics to use the VGA and/or HDMI outputs?

Accepted Answer

Indeed! There is another version of this board with a basic VGA chipset, more dedicated to Xeon CPUs with no integrated GPU. This board has more of a workstation flavor, where integrated graphics may be sufficient for the task at hand. 
Please note that many of the Celerons and Pentiums support ECC memory.

Questions & Answers