The ASUS Z170M-PLUS Micro-ATX Motherboard offers support for Intel's 6th-generation processors and the Z170 chipset. It comes with four DDR4 DIMM slots that hold up to 64GB of RAM, which can be overclocked to 3466 MHz. The single onboard M.2 connector operates on the PCI Express lanes to deliver a 32 Gb/s data transfer speed. To support storage and optical drives, this motherboard provides six SATA 6 Gb/s connectors. In addition, you get a SATA Express connector that is backwards compatible with up to two SATA drives.
This Z170M-PLUS motherboard is outfitted with two PCI Express x16 slots for supporting dedicated graphics cards in an AMD CrossFireX configuration. In addition, there are two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. To complete the multimedia experience, this motherboard comes built with Realtek ALC887 that offers immersive sounds through the three audio jacks. For connecting with printers and external storage drives, it has a total of two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, and one of these USB ports is designed with a type-C form factor. It also comes with one PS/2 keyboard port, one PS/2 mouse port, and a single Intel I219V Gigabit LAN port.
Hardware Safeguards
ASUS has designed this motherboard with 5X Protection II that employs reliable components and an efficient circuit design as well as exacting standards to provide long-term durability and all-round protection.
LANGuard
ASUS LANGuard is a hardware-level network protection that utilizes signal-coupling technology along with anti-EMI surface-mounted capacitors to help ensure a more reliable connection and better throughput. Additionally, electrostatically-guarded and surge-protected components provide greater tolerance to static electricity and greater protection against surges.
Overvoltage Protection
This motherboard comes with an exclusive circuit design along with built-in voltage regulators to protect your chipset, connectivity ports, and audio codecs from damage caused by unexpected voltages from unstable power supplies.
DRAM Overcurrent Protection
Onboard resettable fuses prevent over-current and short-circuit damage. This protection extends beyond the I/O ports to the DRAM to safeguard the lifespan of your system and connected devices.
DIGI+ VRM
ASUS DIGI+ VRM intelligently delivers power to the processor based on real-time demands, thereby reducing energy waste and improving system stability.
Stainless-Steel Back I/O
The corrosion-resistant stainless steel back I/O panels have been bonded with chromium oxide to ensure a lifespan that's three times longer than ordinary panels.
ESD Guards
ASUS employs an active protective circuit design that guards your system against electrostatic interference and damage. ASUS offers ESD Guards that are rated for up to +/- 10kV for air discharge and +/-6kV for contact discharge. These ESD Guards help protect the USB, VGA, keyboard, and mouse connectors as well as the LAN port.
DDR4
ASUS provides a 2nd generation T-Topology that enables DDR4 memory to reach higher heights. You can overclock the memory modules up to 3466 MHz with all memory slots populated. Featuring a customized trace layout for reduced crosstalk and coupling noise, the 2nd generation T-Topology ensures a time-aligned signal transfer for improved memory stability and compatibility.
UEFI BIOS
The BIOS offers a mouse-controlled graphical interface along with EZ and Advanced Modes so you can find your way quickly and easily.
EZ Mode
Advanced Mode
- EZ Flash 3 - lets you update the BIOS via the Internet and from within the BIOS
- S.M.A.R.T - checks your device's Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology logs to gauge reliability and even determine if they're about to fail
- EZ Tuning Wizard - OC and RAID - allow you to select your hardware and apply different scenarios to tune system performance, or streamline your RAID configuration
- My Favorites - provides a list that contains your preferred tuning options and tools
EZ Mode
- Intuitive Graphical Fan Control: Adjusts the spin speed for each fan by dragging a curve with the mouse
- EZ XMP Settings: Improve DRAM performance
- SATA Information: Each SATA port has details displayed, so you can easily recognize devices
- Fast Clock Adjustment: Change the time and date in EZ Mode using the mouse
Advanced Mode
- GPU Port: Automatically detect selected ASUS graphics cards to view detailed information
- Secure Erase: Restores your SSDs to the day you first received them
- Last Modified Log: Track last change and save preferred profiles onto a USB drive
- SATA Port Renaming: Rename the SATA ports for easy identification
SATA Express
This motherboard comes with a SATA Express connector that is backwards compatible with up to two SATA drives.
M.2 Slot
With x4 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 bandwidth, M.2 supports up to 32 Gb/s data-transfer speeds. It is suitable for use as an operating system or application drive connection, making your whole PC work that much faster.
USB 3.0 Connection
This motherboard features USB 3.0 headers that support up to four USB 3.0 ports on the front panel of your chassis. USB 3.0 is plug-and-play compatible and transfers data up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0.
USB Type-C
This USB type-C port features a reversible design that lets you connect the first time. Additionally, it is a third smaller when compared to a type-A port. Once connected, it transfers data at a rate up to 5 Gb/s.
Gaming Audio
ASUS has provided audio shielding on this motherboard to help ensure analog/digital separation and reduce multi-lateral interference. The left and right audio tracks are separated so both channels can deliver consistent and equal quality. Furthermore, Japanese audio capacitors provide warm, natural, and immersive sound with clarity and fidelity.
Component-Free Areas
The areas around the case-mounting holes are free of components to help minimize the risk of damage and short circuits caused by contact.
Q-Slot
The PCI slots feature large-winged clips so you can easily remove your PCI express cards.
Q-DIMM
The RAM slots have one-sided clips that can be pushed down for easily removing RAM modules.
Fan Xpert 3
With onboard thermal sensors and hardware-level 4-pin/3-pin PWM/DC mode detection, Fan Xpert 3 makes sure every fan achieves a better balance of cooling performance and low noise.
- Auto-Tuning Mode: Scans and detects all fan characteristics for single-click customization
- Extreme Quiet Mode: Reduces the CPU fan speed to below the default minimum, for quiet operation and power savings during light loads
- RPM Fixed Mode: Lowers noise levels to near-0dB silence, allowing to you fix the fan's speed
Additional Features
- Push Notice - instantly sends an alert to your table or smartphone when your PC's status changes. It can also send a webpage or memo to your mobile device
- Media Streamer - streams the content on your PC or online storage to your connected devices
- AI Suite 3 - is an all-in-one app that consolidates all ASUS features, allowing you to supervise overclocking, energy consumptions, fan speeds, voltages, and more
- Mobo Connect - allows you to share the PC's keyboard and mouse with your smart device or streams audio playback from a smart device to a PC. It even charges your mobile devices
- PC Cleaner - cleans up unused, unwanted files and programs that take up space on your storage drives so you can work faster and startup quicker
Intel Z170 Express Chipset
The Intel Z170 Express features a single-chipset design that supports 6th-generation Intel LGA1151 Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron processors. It provides improved performance by utilizing serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. It also supports integrated-graphics (iGPU) functions, so you'll enjoy Intel's integrated graphics performance. This motherboard has two USB 3.0 ports and two internal USB 3.0 connectors, which support four additional USB 3.0 ports. It features six SATA III 6 Gb/s ports, four two-channel DDR4 DIMM slots, and two PCI Express 3.0 slots as well as a 32 Gb/s M.2 interface for faster data retrieval.