Question 1

Will the Samsung SSD 950 Pro work in this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I have the Samsung 951. The slot on the back of the motherboard does NOT officially support full length M.2 cards. There is no screw hole for that size, only for the smaller two versions. However, it does technically work if you're able to secure it yourself.

Question 2

Can this motherboard output the BIOS screen to the integrated HDMI port on first bootup?  Or does it need some drivers to make the HDMI work?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the HDMI port is active on first boot.  I only have an HDMI monitor & had no issues turning on & configuring the system after building it.

Question 3

Is this capable of supporting 32 gigs ram? I am hoping to upgrade but I'm not sure how to go about it.

Accepted Answer

Yes, but only with two 16gb sticks because there are only two slots. I happen to have two 16gb sticks of G.SKILL Trident Z ram running flawlessly on XMP @ 3200Mhz

Question 4

How much space around the socket is there to mount an aftermarket cooler?  Any recommendations?

Accepted Answer

I agree with Zarchary's answer above. I am using a Corsair H60 with is perfect if you want a small water cooler that fits well with some of the smaller ITX cases. I had no issue with the space around the CPU when setting this up in my build ... where the challenge comes in, is making sure you case has enough space to mount the radiator & fan.

Question 5

I was curious about the builds you all had for this board?  Any difficulty with installing a large single graphics card and any case recommendations?

Accepted Answer

It's a little troublesome to work with, but that's dependent on the case you choose. (I have a Corsair 250D)
And my MSI 980ti fit just fine, just a little cozy is all.

As with any case, it's mostly preference. But I like my 250D and would recommend it because it's super easy to work with, has lots of features and is sleek looking. (Again, looks are preference but that's part of the reason I chose it)

Question 6

Is the M.2 slot x4? What card sizes can be installed?

Accepted Answer

According the to the manual it supports 4.2 and 6cm sized M.2.  Wish I had done that research before I bought mine.  I still kludged a mount together for the SM951 (too long).

Question 7

how many fans does this motherboard support?

Accepted Answer

2 in total. 1 CPU fan & 1 Additional Fan.

I wanted to configure my build with the 3 fans my case supported so I added an NZXT GRID+ X2 Fan Controller.

Question 8

Is the on board USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (the one that supports additional 2 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports on case) backwards compatible with a usb 3.0 connector for 3.0 front ports on a case?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I've used multiple USB 3.0 devices plugged into my case which feed into that connector and they work just fine.

Question 9

What version spec is the display port? 1.2?

Accepted Answer

I don't actually see it listed in any of the documentation with the board. This is all I see on the MSI website also: 1 x DisplayPort, support a maximum resolution of 4096x2304@24Hz, 2560x1600@60Hz, 3840x2160@60Hz, 1920x1200@60Hz.

Hope that helps.

Question 10

How is the WiFi gaming performance on this board?

Accepted Answer

Perfect on 2.4ghz, haven't tried 5

I normally connect to my router with a cable, I just skipped it this time around, wi-fi does the job well

Speedtest pings are 10ms, so the wi-fi doesn't add a noticeable delay

Brand	MSI
Model	Z170I Gaming Pro AC

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1151
CPU Type	Celeron / Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 / Intel Core 6th Gen (LGA 1151) / Pentium
Supported CPU Technologies	* Not Compatible with Intel 8th Gen CPUs

Number of Memory Slots	2x288pin (DDR4)
Memory Standard	DDR4 3200(OC)/ 3000/ 2800/ 2600*/ 2400/ 2133
Maximum Memory Supported	32GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

Serial ATA (SATA)	4 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA Express	1 x SATAe port (PCIe 3.0 x 2)
M.2	1 x M.2 slot (on the botton of the motherboard)* * SATAe port is backward compatible with SATA.
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC1150
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

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MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI USB 3.1 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

UNMATCHED MEMORY PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY

INTEL® WI-FI AC & BLUETOOTH

DEDICATED GAMING LAN WITH INTEL®

GAMING OPTIMIZED BANDWITH MANAGEMENT

STUDIO GRADE SOUND WITH AUDIO BOOST 3

USB Audio Power PRO

VGA ARMOR: REINFORCED PCI EXPRESS SLOTS

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LAN Chipset	Intel I219-V
Max LAN Speed	1Gbps
Wireless LAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) up to 867Mbps speed
Bluetooth	Dual Mode Bluetooth 2.1, 2.1+EDR, 3.0, 4.0 BLE, 4.2

Back I/O Ports	1 x DisplayPort / 1 x HDMI / 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out / 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo / 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 / 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
HDMI	1 x HDMI
RJ45	1 x LAN (RJ45) port
DisplayPort	1 x DisplayPort
USB 3.1	4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
USB 1.1/2.0	3 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical
Audio Ports	5 x OFC audio jacks
Antenna Connectors	2 x antenna connectors

Onboard USB	1 x USB 2.0 connector (supports additional 2 USB 2.0 ports) 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports)
Other Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors 1 x 4-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 Clear CMOS jumper

Form Factor	Mini ITX
Dimensions (W x L)	6.7" x 6.7"
Power Pin	24 Pin

Item#: 9SIC70ZM1F2973