Question 1

Is there enough clearance for a waterblock? More specifically, is there room for an H100i and the tubing?

Accepted Answer

I think so. I have the NZXT Kraken X61 and there is space around the waterblock/pump. I have the full tower Enthoo Luxe case and thank you for the question which forced me to look within. I noticed my tubing is resting on the end of my EVGA 780ti card. I have the backplate installed but next time I'm in the case will get the tubing off just in case the weight is putting strain on the card.

Question 2

i just got this board, and noticed when connecting the psu that there are 2 8 pin cpu connections on the board. the psu I purchased with this board is a seasonic. (see below). it only has one 8 pin cpu connector. it does however have 2 modular connections that says pci-e/cpu on the psu itself.

1) do i need to connect the second 8 pin cpu connection or is a single connection ok if not overclocking?
2) can an adapter cable be used from the pcie/cpu output of the psu to the 8 pin cpu MBconnection. and is that available?

thank you...

(SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready)

Accepted Answer

Yes you can use just one 8 pin the second is for extreme overclocking and not needed for 95% of people who buy this board , I have both connected on mine I use my atx 12v 8 pin and then my pcie 8 pin I use on the second one , as long as your power supply suports a 8 pin pcie you can use that , but if I were you I would not bother just use the one atx 12v

Question 3

i jsut bought this board but no raid..
 ctrl + i not working some reason..
do you know whY?

Accepted Answer

from what I gather from the manual, you have to use Easy RAID Installer which helps you to copy the RAID driver from the support CD to your USB storage device. After copying the drivers please change the SATA mode to RAID, then you can start installing the operating system in RAID mode.

you find that option in the bios under Advanced. Sata Mode Selection, ensure that Sata Controller is Enabled in bios as well under the same menu

Question 4

Can you tripple crossfire without the bridges with this motherboard? if i do, what will happen?

Accepted Answer

You need the bridges. It wont work otherwise.

Question 5

What are options for wireless broadband?  I don't see it set up on the board, and with only x16 pcie slots, it could be difficult finding a wireless broadband card that would work with this mobo.  Any ideas?

Accepted Answer

The board comes with a slot for mini wifi add-on card on the motherboard. Also nowadays most desktops have usb ports and you can put usb wireless broadband adapters in them such as Netgear A6200 WIFI USB adapter

Question 6

does this board support sli 16x16 and the use of the ultra m.2 with the Samsung xp941 ssd at the same time?

Accepted Answer

yes it supports 16x16 in sli, but it is ony worth 1-3% over 16x8.

from the asrock web site,>     - 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)
- 1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3 (M2_2), supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)

Question 7

does your raid controller allow for auto restriping so that i can expand a raid 0 array later without hassle?

Accepted Answer

Well I do not have a raid setup, but I would imagine that making the change shouldn't require too much hassle. Sorry I couldn't be of more help

Question 8

What are the options for wireless internet connectivity on this mobo?  I don't see any specs for an on-boards wireless controller, and with only x16 pcie slots, I don't know how easy it will be to find a pcie wireless internet card.  Any ides?

Accepted Answer

One really good choice here with two mounting options:

Intel 7260HMWDTX1 Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 PCIe plus Bluetooth 4.0 AC1200 Wireless adapter

You can remove the mini-PCIExpress card from this card and install it directly in the mini-PCIExpress slot provided near slots 3/4 or simply install it as is - it will work in any of the standard slots.

Question 9

Is the audio on this board the same as on the Asrock Extreme6, or is it better? (I am audiophile I suppose, but would consider using on-board audio if it were really good.)

Accepted Answer

Essentially the same, and yes, it is pretty good. I have Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Ultra THX Certified speakers, and the sound is almost as good as what I used to get from my dedicated card Soundblaster X-Fi Ti.

Question 10

For any combo of single or multi GPUs, PCIE slot #1 is always required. One of the XXL aluminum heat sinks is positioned right above slot #1. It seems that the heat sink will extend quite a distance over any GPU inserted into slot #1.

Will the heat generated by this XXL heat sink radiate heat into VRM section of a GPU (R9 290x Ref.) inserted into slot #1?

Accepted Answer

with proper case airflow this should be no issue

Brand	ASRock
Model	Z97 Extreme9

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1150
CPU Type	Celeron / Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 / Intel Core 4th Gen (LGA 1150) / Intel Core 5th Gen (LGA 1150) / Pentium / Xeon (LGA1150)

Number of Memory Slots	4x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066
Maximum Memory Supported	32GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	4 (single at x16; dual at x16 / x16; triple at x8 / x8 / x16: quad at x8 / x8 / x8 / x8)
PCI Express 2.0 x16	1 (x2 mode)
Mini Card Slots	1 x Mini PCIe

Serial ATA (SATA)	10 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA Express	2 x SATA Express
M.2	1 x M.2 (NGFF) 1 x Ultra M.2 Gen3 x4
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

ASRock Z97 Extreme9 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

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Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

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Manufacturer Contact Info

LAN Chipset	Intel I218V
Second LAN Chipset	Intel I211AT
Max LAN Speed	2 x 1Gbps

PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
HDMI	1 x HDMI
RJ45	2 x RJ45
DisplayPort	1 x DisplayPort
USB 3.0	4 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0	4 x USB 2.0
eSATA	1 x eSATA
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical
Audio Ports	5 Ports

Onboard USB	4 x USB 3.0 + 4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors	1 x COM Port Header 1 x TPM Header 1 x Power LED Header 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin) 3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 2 x 3-pin) 1 x Power Fan Connector (3-pin) 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector 2 x 8 pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector) 1 x HDD Saver Connector 1 x PCIe Power Connector 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector 1 x Thunderbolt AIC Connector 1 x Dr. Debug with LED 1 x Power Switch with LED 1 x Reset Switch with LED 1 x BIOS Selection Switch

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC1150
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

Physical Spec
Form Factor	ATX
Power Pin	24 Pin

Item#: N82E16813157527