Question 1

Confused as to how many of the SATA III ports are actually usable at one time. Assuming I'm not using any SATA Express ports or the M.2 slot, could I use all 8 SATA III ports, or just 6 of them?

Accepted Answer

I've used all the sata ports before and it all works perfectly well. You're good to go.

Question 2

Is there a high pitched sound coming from your board under load?

Accepted Answer

No the board is 100% quiet for me even under very heavy gaming like witcher 3 and tomb raider

Question 3

Does this Mobo support Crossfire and SLi? and if it does, how can you tell by looking at the specifications?

Accepted Answer

Under the specifications tab there is a section for PCI Express x16 and there you will find what configurations you can use PCI

3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE6: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4); triple at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) / x4 (PCIE6))

This motherboard supports both SLI and crossfire

Question 4

Anyone using this with a Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler?

Wondering if the PCB material will hold up well under it or if its thin and will buckle under a 2.7 pound monster.

I've also never had an ASRock anything before.. Hows the build quality compared to ASUS? The Bios?

Thanks

Accepted Answer

Rob,
I've had the Z170 Extreme 6 for 3 weeks now. I chose to go with the Corsair H110i GT liquid cooler --- piece of cake to install, works great, very solid mechanically with the mobo.

Only issue with the mobo was the original, out-of-the-box BIOS. It had all kinds of weird errors, that indicated all of my peripherals were the problem!  I suspected the version 1.00 BIOS was the culprit, and in 3 weeks, ASRock has issued 5 updates. So far so good, all issues resolved once updated to BIOS 1.50!

Question 5

Are the accent colors on the board copper and gold? I've seen differently colors on different sites. Thanks!

Accepted Answer

Hey! The accents are actually all brushed copper, very sleek. And you're absolutely correct, there are many misleading photos of this mobo on the web, I had thought it was just some orange color, Pleasantly surprised.

Question 6

does board come with latest bios?

Accepted Answer

It did when I purchased but if not just download and update.

Question 7

If I put a self encrypting Samsung SSD in this board, will I be able to use that feature? I haven't been able to find anything on that.

Accepted Answer

it should

Question 8

Would the  "Intel 750 Series AIC 400GB PCI-Express 3.0 MLC" or "SAMSUNG SM951 M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0"  work as the boot drive for this motherboard? And if so would the drives work to full potential?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it will, I have the Intel 750 1.2 TB model myself (I'm pretty sure they are almost the same drive).

However!  Keep in mind that if you aren't using Windows 10, or Windows 8.1, you might need to do some...  "workaround gymnastics" if you want to try to get Win 7 on there like I did.  You have to make sure the CSM legacy boot is on, AND make sure you have the latest version of the UEFI BIOS for the board in either case before you try any installs.

ALSO!!!  There is a...bug as of BIOS ver 1.50 where it sometimes does not like to detect this drive (and a few other expansion cards) in the lower slots after the update.  What I had to do is move it to PCI-E slot 4 from slot 6 in order to get the board to see it again.  It's still far enough away from my GTX 980 TI, but I still want to keep airflow good, as well as keep heat away from the 750.

If you do Linux/Win10, you're all good on an install, for Win7 you'll need an integrated SP1 install disc, AND you'll have to add ASROCK's USB 3.0 drivers TO that ISO image and reburn it.  (There's instructions in the manual on how to do it.)  That or, utilize the PS2 port with a PS2 mouse/keyboard, and learn some keyboard shortcuts until you can get the driver installed when the OS is finally up.  :)

The UEFI BIOS is...  sketchy as far as it's stability, but it's good enough for the short use it gets.  Once it's up though, it's rock solid, and has good options, and it, Win7 and forward, AND the Intel 750 get along well in a good marriage once you are done BUT MAKE SURE you install the NVMe driver both in the install and the latest version again in the OS.

As far as the M2, there is an adapter you have to install to allow the drive to plug into the board.  I've never tested it myself, so I can't say for sure, but I am guessing it will be a similar experience to the PCI-E ssd.

Well, hope my answer spam didn't melt your eyes, and hope this helped.  Good luck!

Questions & Answers