Question 1

So just to confirm, this board has no onboard video, so you need a video card right?

Accepted Answer

the board is a good board there is no on board video persay but the cpu u put in will have graphics ie the I5 6600K has hd 530 there is ports for display vga dvi hdmi so depending on wich cpu u put in will result in such graphics this board pairs nice with the msi Gtx 970 gaming 4G 1080p gaming high fps

Question 2

How big is it?

Accepted Answer

This is a motherboard with an ATX form factor. The form factor of a computer component describes it shape and size and its compatibility with the rest of the system such as the computer case and the power supply.

A motherboard with an ATX form factor, such as this one, has the following dimensions:

Length: 12" and Width: 9.6"

Other popular motherboard form factors are:

Micro-ATX  Length: 9.6"" and Width: 9.6"
 Mini-ITX:     Length: 6.7" and Width: 6.7"

Question 3

Do you need to buy a sound card with this Motherboard?

Accepted Answer

No. The on board sound is more than sufficient

Question 4

Will I need a WiFi card?

Thanks.

Accepted Answer

Yes, there is no on-board wireless adapter, so you will need to insert a wi-fi card or use a USB wireless adapter (the easier of the 2 alternatives) in order to communicate with your router.  If you are close to your router you can also physically connect to it by plugging an ethernet cable from the router to the LAN port on the back panel of the computer.

Question 5

I have to replace my old motherboard and cpu.  I have Windows 7 with the Windows 10 upgrade.  My SSD drive has the OS on it.  Can I just plug everything in or am I going to need to reinstall windows?

Accepted Answer

First you need to verify that your current memory and cpu are both supported on this model. Next, once you confirm they do you need to Uninstaller your old motherboard drivers including chipsets. This prevents issues with drivers and possible bsod. Sometimes Sindows windows may state that the system has changed because the motherboard was replaced. Thi may require you to reactivate windows. I don't think it will matter with Windows 10 though.

Question 6

This Motherboard is compatible with DDR4 2400 RAM and a R9 380X Graphics Card, correct?

Accepted Answer

Yes.

Question 7

How much memory can this board support?  I assume at least 64gb since the biggest Ram sticks are 16gb and this has 4 slots?  128gb in the future? Seems odd to not be listed

Accepted Answer

It is listed on the manufacturer's site (as 64 GB).  It's possible that this listed as such only because they haven't tested any more memory.

http[://]www[.]msi[.]com/product/motherboard/Z170-A-PRO.html#hero-specification

Question 8

Is this motherboard RAID 0 compatible?

Accepted Answer

Both the Specifications tab on newegg.com and this page say yes: http://www[dot]msi[dot]com/product/motherboard/Z170-A-PRO.html#hero-specification

Question 9

Could someone tell me what is supposed to be in the box?  There's no list of contents that I can find and all I got was a board, a back panel I/O adapter plate and two Sata cables.  Other MB's I've purchased had more accessory parts.

Accepted Answer

2 CD's an instruction booklet, 2 sata cables and of course the board and the plate you mentioned.   I bought 2 of these boards and tried to use the first one but the OS stops midway when I try to install it.  MSI customer service told me several times they never heard of this problem. I tried to instal win 7 and 8.1reading the booklet several times and calling MSI several times. I'm hopeing MSI will read this.  I built at least a dozen computers and never had this problem before.

Question 10

It says this motherboard is compatible with Intel i7, i5, i3, the Pentium but what about Intel Core 2 Duo?
I plan to get the Intel Core Duo e8500 Wolfdale CPU

Accepted Answer

This motherboard supports current processors that are LGA 1151.  The E8500 is an LGA 775 so it will not fit in the CPU socket.

Brand	MSI
Model	Z170-A PRO

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1151
CPU Type	Celeron / Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 / Intel Core 6th Gen (LGA 1151) / Pentium

Number of Memory Slots	4x288pin (DDR4)
Memory Standard	DDR4 3200(OC)/ 3000/ 2800/ 2600*/ 2400/ 2133

PCI Express 3.0 x16	2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/ x4 modes)
PCI Express x1	4 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports* * SATA1~2 ports will be unavailable when installing the M.2 SATA interface module in M.2 slot. SATA3~4 ports will be unavailable when installing the M.2 PCIe interface module in M.2 slot.
SATA Express	2 x SATAe port (PCIe 3.0 x2)* * SATAe port is backward compatible with SATA.
M.2	1 x M.2 slot* - Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe Mini-SAS SSD with Turbo U.2 Host Card The Turbo U.2 Host Card is not included, please purchase separately.
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

MSI Z170-A PRO LGA 1151 Intel Z170 USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard

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Manufacturer Contact Info

Back I/O Ports	1 x DisplayPort / 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo / 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 / 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
Video Ports	1 x VGA port 1 x DVI-D port
RJ45	1 x RJ45
DisplayPort	1 x DisplayPort
USB 3.1	4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
USB 1.1/2.0	2 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports	6 Ports

Onboard USB	2 x USB 2.0 connectors (support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports) 2 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (supports additional 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports)
Other Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors 3 x 3-pin system fan connectors 1 x Front panel audio connector 2 x Front panel connectors 1 x TPM module connector 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector 1 x Serial port connector 1 x Parallel port connector 1 x Clear CMOS jumper

Form Factor	ATX
Dimensions (W x L)	12.00" x 8.90"
Power Pin	24 Pin

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC892
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

Item#: N82E16813130892