Asus Z170-Pro questions

[Pilsner73]

I finally have my new pc built and have some questions about about the Asus Z170-Pro (non gaming) motherboard.

1) How can I tell the Intel 3.1 usb ports (type a and c) are installed? I don't see anything under device manager but 2.0 and 3.0 for USB.

2) I bought g.skillz ddr4-3000 memory, do all I have to do is load the xmp profile? ARe there any other settings I should set/change with my I5-6500?

Thanks

 

[UsandThem]

1. I believe my USB 3.1 is listed under the universal serial bus controllers, and not with USB 2.0/3.0 controllers. If you don't have any yellow exclamation items under your device manager, they probably automatically installed if using Windows 10.

2. Yes, you just have to load the XMP profile. On my Asus board, there is a manual switch on the board that automatically loads the profile. Not sure if you have the switch on your board, but it can also just be done in the BIOS.

There's not really much more to set unless you want to manually adjust CPU or ram settings. Asus probably has the most options in their BIOS compared to other manufacturers. I use Gigabyte mostly, but I just built an Asus z97 system for my son, and after going into the BIOS I was blown away with all the options they give. You can run the '5-Way Optimization' thing in your BIOS, but with a i5-6500, it really isn't going to that much for you. You could always Google that board and see what other settings are tinkering around with. For me, I would just enjoy the stability and your system should easily handle anything you throw at it right now.

 

[Pilsner73]

Ok when I first posted this message I had the following showing
usb 2.0 & usb 3.0 and if I tried, the usb 3.1 port had power but no data transfer.

I removed both ports and rebooted. After reboot I saw usb 3.1 and 3.0 but no usb 2.0 listed (all ports seem to work though). But if I removed 3.1 again and reboot the 3.1 won't show up until I pull the computer from power and wait a bit then reboot.

I also noticed when building my computer the Asus Q shield (the back plate that covers the motherboard connectors) had a metal tab that rubbed right up against the usb 3.1 port. I thought this was on purpose but am wondering if that metal tab should be bent back so it doesn't contact that port. Any ideas? See the q shield image on this page and the ones with the circle showing the metal tab is what I'm describing - https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M3A/

 

[surya kumar]

I'm building a new pc and would like some advice. I was stuck in the Asus z170 maximus viii hero but have been thinking it might not be the best value for me. That got me looking into the z170-pro which looks like it has everything I need. The only problem is I can't find many reviews of much info on it. It's the any reason I should not be considering it? Is it just that new that there isn't much info/reviews?

This build will mainly be used for photo and video editing but I have been known in the past to get hooked on games.

Components I have so far are :

I7 6700k
32gb DDR4 Crucial Vengeance LPX

Looking at gtx 960 video card.

Any advice on this board or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Captante]

Any advice on this board or suggestions would be appreciated.

z170 Pro is the best bet for all-around computing performance & stability plus its a decent overclocker. Also its a very nice looking board if that matters to you.

Maximus Hero is close to the same quality with emphasis on overclocking and gaming performance.

z170 Pro Gaming is a notch down in build quality and features, plus has a substantially lower price, but should still overclock & perform well.


z170 Pro review:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7592/asus-z170-pro-intel-motherboard-review/index.html


ROG Maximus Hero review:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/72...hero-intel-z170-motherboard-review/index.html


Less comprehensive review of z170 Pro Gaming:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/2015/08/asus-z170-pro-gaming-review/

 

[UsandThem]

Ok when I first posted this message I had the following showing
usb 2.0 & usb 3.0 and if I tried, the usb 3.1 port had power but no data transfer.

I removed both ports and rebooted. After reboot I saw usb 3.1 and 3.0 but no usb 2.0 listed (all ports seem to work though). But if I removed 3.1 again and reboot the 3.1 won't show up until I pull the computer from power and wait a bit then reboot.

I also noticed when building my computer the Asus Q shield (the back plate that covers the motherboard connectors) had a metal tab that rubbed right up against the usb 3.1 port. I thought this was on purpose but am wondering if that metal tab should be bent back so it doesn't contact that port. Any ideas? See the q shield image on this page and the ones with the circle showing the metal tab is what I'm describing - https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M3A/

The metal tabs will contact the connections on the outside, but they shouldn't go into any of the actual connections. I do know the IO shield on my son's computer I built with the z97-a/usb3.1 was the absolute worst shield I ever used. I had to manually bend back many of the little metal strips so I could actually get the motherboard to fit into them. Even after the manual bending, it still took more force than I'm used to having to apply.....and I've been building my own computers since 1998.

If everything is working properly, your various USB controllers (2.0, 3.0, and 3.1) should always show in device manager and should not appear and disappear.

I'd check in your BIOS to make sure everything is enabled (load optimized defaults). After that you could right-click on the USB 3.1 controller, select update driver, find automatically, and make sure the correct driver is installed (mine installed automatically with Windows 10).

 

[Pilsner73]

Thanks for the update

So the metal tab on the q shield is ok to contact the usb port external housing just not go into the usb 3.1 port itself. I just wondered if this was creating an issue with ground or something if the metal exterior touched the q shield.

As for the devices I only now see usb 3.0 and usb 3.1n no 2.0. If i removed usb 3.0 and 3.1 and reboot the pc only shows usb 3.0, even if i scan for hardware changes/added. Nothing is showing as missing. Now if I pull the power from the pc and wait a bit and reboot usb 3.1 along with 3.0 appears.

Very odd and my concern is - is this normal for the z170 pro with intel alpine ridge usb or abnormal.

The metal tabs will contact the connections on the outside, but they shouldn't go into any of the actual connections. I do know the IO shield on my son's computer I built with the z97-a/usb3.1 was the absolute worst shield I ever used. I had to manually bend back many of the little metal strips so I could actually get the motherboard to fit into them. Even after the manual bending, it still took more force than I'm used to having to apply.....and I've been building my own computers since 1998.

If everything is working properly, your various USB controllers (2.0, 3.0, and 3.1) should always show in device manager and should not appear and disappear.

I'd check in your BIOS to make sure everything is enabled (load optimized defaults). After that you could right-click on the USB 3.1 controller, select update driver, find automatically, and make sure the correct driver is installed (mine installed automatically with Windows 10).

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks for the update

So the metal tab on the q shield is ok to contact the usb port external housing just not go into the usb 3.1 port itself. I just wondered if this was creating an issue with ground or something if the metal exterior touched the q shield.

As for the devices I only now see usb 3.0 and usb 3.1n no 2.0. If i removed usb 3.0 and 3.1 and reboot the pc only shows usb 3.0, even if i scan for hardware changes/added. Nothing is showing as missing. Now if I pull the power from the pc and wait a bit and reboot usb 3.1 along with 3.0 appears.

Very odd and my concern is - is this normal for the z170 pro with intel alpine ridge usb or abnormal.

Yeah, the little metal tabs are ok to touch the outside of your connections. From what I read, Asus does this and makes it extra snug to keep it grounded and in place.

I am still working to get my USB 3.1 ports working correctly. It works with USB 3.0 devices, but putting anything in there USB 3.1 causes issues.

There are still some growing pains with USB 3.1 right now. I just recently saw Gigabyte released new USB 3.1 firmware for my board, but to do it I also have to move to the latest their BIOS (which I like to wait for a little bit to do until others do it to see if there are any issues).

 

[Pilsner73]

Yeah, the little metal tabs are ok to touch the outside of your connections. From what I read, Asus does this and makes it extra snug to keep it grounded and in place.

I am still working to get my USB 3.1 ports working correctly. It works with USB 3.0 devices, but putting anything in there USB 3.1 causes issues.

There are still some growing pains with USB 3.1 right now. I just recently saw Gigabyte released new USB 3.1 firmware for my board, but to do it I also have to move to the latest their BIOS (which I like to wait for a little bit to do until others do it to see if there are any issues).

I see, do you have the alpine ridge on your gigabyte mobo?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

What operating system are you guys using? Pretty sure Z170 is Windows 10 only.

 

[Pilsner73]

Win 10 home

What operating system are you guys using? Pretty sure Z170 is Windows 10 only.

 

[UsandThem]

I see, do you have the alpine ridge on your gigabyte mobo?

Yes it does. I have the ga-z170x-ud5.

 

[Pilsner73]

Yes it does. I have the ga-z170x-ud5.

That was one of the motherboards I looked at prior to buying the z170-pro. How do you like it?

 

[UsandThem]

That was one of the motherboards I looked at prior to buying the z170-pro. How do you like it?

I love it outside the USB 3.1 issue (which should be fixed once I do the firmware update). It has been very stable for me, and just felt really heavy and solid when installing it.

Plus, the included I/O shield was so much nicer than the Asus ones, and without all those little metal flanges sticking out everywhere.

When I did my build last year, I considered the Asus z170-a because it was $40 cheaper, but it was getting hammered by bad user reviews at the time, so I went Gigabyte instead.

 

[Captante]

What operating system are you guys using? Pretty sure Z170 is Windows 10 only.

Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 should both install and function without issue on the z170. The one reason you might want to make sure to go with 10 would be DX-12 but as of now its not a big factor.

Windows 7 will require jumping through a few hoops to get installed especially if you go the USB route, but it should work too.

 

[Pilsner73]

I think I discovered what caused the usb 3.1 issue and how to resolve.

My Win 10 install usb is prior to some major updates for Win10 and I think on intial load of it that it didn't see the Intel USB 3.1 correctly. My solution:

Disable USB 3.1 in bios
Install windows 10
Update drivers and chipset
Get Win 10 updates
Enable USB 3.1 in bios but do a shutdown after change saves and reboot starts before windows loads.
Wait a few minutes with power off
Start computer and you should see both usb 3.0 and usb 3.1 under usb devices.

 

[SelenaGomez]

What is this talk about Windows 7 and z170?? Why would there be any issues with installing Windows 7 with z170's??

 

[nerp]

What is this talk about Windows 7 and z170?? Why would there be any issues with installing Windows 7 with z170's??

Because Windows 7 is years old and hardware manufacturers are not spending much time developing drivers and refining support for a dying operating system that is close to its end of life. Plus Windows 10 is faster and runs better on older hardware, no less.