Question 1

Does this have built in WiFi?

Accepted Answer

No.  I used this mobo in a build for my brother, he's using a cable hooked to his router. I never could get the ps/2 mouse port to work but he's using a usb mouse and probably doesn't know. Everything else checked out ok.

Question 2

I have a old Computer with XP PROFESIONAL 32 bit with a 1tb hard disk. I was thinking of putting on this motherboard and a intel G3258 processor. Is XP compatible with this new motherboard and processor?
Reason for upgrade is I some time get an error message saying insufficient memory and when I redo (re execute program) there is no problem. Also have gotten an error message that according to reliable sources on the WWW, indicate the motherboard or processor is going.

Accepted Answer

All my machines have been Windows 7 or 8.1 for a while now, so I have not tried XP on any of the newer motherboards.
The most reliable way (for any motherboard, not just this ASRock model) is to go to the manufacturer's web site, click on support and look for available device driver downloads for all the usual suspects (sound, ethernet, video, ...)  If you find available drivers XP for all the stuff you will be using, then it is probably safe.  Otherwise you are likely to be frustrated.  
If you are happy with the software you have, and already (or decided on) bought a G3258, and don't have a ton of stuff to plug in (e.g., > 4 SATA drives) then I think you can save some money and consider some of the H81 based motherboards (i currently have an ASROCK H81M-HDS and Gigabyte H81M-DS2V both running with a G3258 and happy with both with all of them sourced from newegg).  Newegg has a lot to choose from and one or more are always on sale :-)  You do have to be careful because some of the older models do not support the G3258 out of the box and then you will need to borrow an earlier generation 1150 socket processor to boot it and flash a BIOS update that enables G3258 support, if it is even available.  That has happened to me on a different MB that I will not name, lucky I have another box which has just the right older (but not too old) processor to borrow.  But it is a royal pain.  
The lesson I learned is to check the motherboard support site for processor compatibility for that specific model.
If you still have the install media, reinstalling XP will speed it up.
The G3258 is a remarkable little beastie and I am very happy with it (bear in mind that I am not a gamer).

Question 3

So I'm going to build my first PC using this board, just something to get started with. I ordered a Graphics Card for it, but can someone tell me what the extra HDMI, DVI, and VGA ports are for?

Accepted Answer

The extra video ports on the mobo are there to use the integrated graphics on your CPU. If you are running a multi monitor setup that has one monitor that isnt used for anything graphically intensive you could just have it hooked up to the integrated graphics instead of your GPU. Honest;y nowadays it doesn't really make a huge difference but it at least gives you the option!

Question 4

Does this come with a video card on it?

Accepted Answer

It has video connections, with the video being provided by your processor.  You do not need a separate video card, though you may want to have one if you are going to be playing video games a lot.  I am using this with an intel i3 processor and the beta version of Windows 10.   It is working just fine without a separate video card.

Question 5

Can I use more than one video output type at the same time for a dual monitor setup?

Accepted Answer

You can run VGA and DVI at the same time, yes. Or VGA and HDMI. I don't think you can run DVI and HDMI at the same time, you'd need an external GPU for that.

Question 6

Are there power and reset buttons soldered to the board or do you have to connect them to the header pins?

Accepted Answer

You have to use the connector pins.

Question 7

Is the ram slots compatible for the "Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory"?  I understand that its a "1866" but the motherboard specs don't really call for that, I need help!

Accepted Answer

The memory will fit just fine.   But it will operate as though it were DDR3-1600  memory.  You  won't notice any difference in how it operates.  The only difference between 1600 and 1866  is that the 1866 is capable of operating slightly faster.  I never notice any real time difference between them.

Question 8

what is the size of this motherboard ?

Accepted Answer

Full ATX. Will fit most mid-size cases

Question 9

I picked up a windows 8.1 installation disk, i tried to install it but when it get to the setup, it stays at 0% for a very long time (about 3 hours). Does this motherboard able to run windows 8,1?

Accepted Answer

The box I have and advertisement on the asrock website say it's Windows 8.1 ready. I haven't tested it on Win 8.1. Other things to look that might cause problems potentially are anything else connected to the motherboard, starting from cpu, ram, video, hard disk and others. Connecting as few things as possible can help identify broken or breaking hardware, assuming the motherboard is ok.

Question 10

Does it overclock the g3258??

Accepted Answer

H97 is not ment for overclocking. You would want Z97.

Questions & Answers