Question 1

does kaby lake fit right in, or does bios need flashed with a skylake cpu first?

Accepted Answer

This board is the H270 chipset, so it's designed for Kaby Lake 7th generation Intel Processors. You shouldn't have a problem with either generation processor. The 100-series chipsets are the ones you need to worry about BIOS flashing for Kaby Lake.

Question 2

How many fans can I connect onto this board excluding the cpu fan?

Accepted Answer

There are two fan headers on the motherboard. One for the CPU, and one for anywhere you want to put it.

If you power supply has molex connections on it, you can add just about as many fans as you want! But, they will run full speed unless you plug them into a speed controller.

Question 3

Does anyone know when or if the integrated WiFi on this board will become obsolete sometime in the future? Is the WiFi on this board good enough to last for the next few years without replacing it?

Accepted Answer

The wifi is actually a separate unit pre-installed in a socket on the motherboard. It uses the Intel AC 8265 chip, which is pretty new (Q1 2016). In fact, the chip was so new that it would not work with Linux Mint 18.1. I had to wait until the release of Mint 18.2, which uses a newer kernel with support for the AC 8265. The wifi works great with Windows 10, connecting almost immediately, and it has a longer range and better reliability than what I had on my previous computer. I am pleased with it. I do not expect this wifi unit to become obsolete within its lifespan. I am confident that it will last me until it either it fails or something better comes along. Because it is a separate plug-in, it can even be replaced on the existing motherboard if that is necessary or desirable.

Question 4

Assuming that you install the necessary motherboard drivers, should the wifi work right out of the box? Or do you need to install some special driver for that? Or can you just hook up the antennas and your connection will be recognized right away?

Accepted Answer

I had absolutely no problem with wifi. Hooked up antennas and connection was immediately recognized. This board has been great. First one had to be returned as it would not recognize second memory module, but with replacement board, everything has been perfect, including two 8 GB memory modules and Crucial 256 GB SSD in M.2 socket on bottom.

Question 5

I like Gigabyte mother boards and have used this motherboard once before.  Now I'm interested in building a Hackintosh machine.  Is this motherboard a good choice?

Accepted Answer

I'm sorry I can answer a question about Mackintosh, what is that a hacked mac. if you are going to try to run mac in a virtual it might work or you can try to load a mac os. note they don't list a mac os.

Question 6

I see this board has a single chassis fan header. Would it be able to power three PWM case fans (via daisy chaining or an unpowered fan hub)?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  The motherboard has two headers that can be used for with the CPU cooler or case fans. I've had up to three case fans and a CPU cooler plugged in at the same time with no issues.

Question 7

What m.2 storage devices fit the back slot? It says "1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support)," but none of the ones I've looked at look correct.

Accepted Answer

2260 and 2280 fit.  either sata or pcie work (I have pcie in mine)

Question 8

does this board support raid 10?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does

Question 9

how good is the wifi range on this board?

Accepted Answer

I have had excellent reception with mine. No problems at all.

Questions & Answers