I see what look like additional traces of its server origin in the 4th/5th PCIe slots being x4 physical instead of the normal x1. Are they also x4 electrical?
The RS232 header also leans that way; although at this point is it actually used much in that market or has the push to remove it for cost reasons just not been there. I didn't think it was still used much anywhere outside of the embedded/industrial world at this point.
Not using the 2nd USB3.1 port on the back seems exceptionally odd since the board only has 4 conventional A ports and does have room to fit several more (move the lan to above the DVI).
The DVI port is especially odd given that this (at least according to AnandTech) is a purely multi-GPU focused board. Why give anything more than the bare minimum of HDMI+DP on such a board? Would free up a lot of I/O space.
They exist although they're much less common. Newegg has ~450 DVI models vs ~50 HDMI and ~40 DP. OTOH if they were going for a lowest common denominator for a hardware KVM, the old DSUB port (or a DVI-I port at least) would make a lot more sense because VGA KVMs are much cheaper than any of the digital ones.
Sicccckkk...this mobo brings back some nostalgia....when overclocking was about getting low cost components to outperform the halo technology of the day. Somewhere along the way we traded that original notion for LED's, $1000 water cooling loops and $500 motherboards with extremely buggy firmware full of 500 features you don't even need and photoshopped pictures of "build logs"
Keep up the good work super micro!
Bare bones, no flashy lights, high end components, competitive price, and bottom line performance.
Z170 provides up to 10 USB3 ports and this board supplies a grand total of... four, 2 external and 2 internal. Z170 provides up to 14 USB2 ports and this board supplies a grand total of... six, 2 external and 4 internal. There is a grand total of 4 USB ports on the back panel (type-C doesn't count because there are no peripherals for it yet), when 6 should be the absolute minimum. And SuperMicro wants THREE HUNDRED freaking dollars for this?
I can see SuperMicro exiting the desktop board market as quickly as they tried to enter it.
I see in the image from supermicro here it shows sli support, but in more recent images that is gone and the one newegg review claims there is no sli support on this motherboard?
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DanNeely - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
I see what look like additional traces of its server origin in the 4th/5th PCIe slots being x4 physical instead of the normal x1. Are they also x4 electrical?The RS232 header also leans that way; although at this point is it actually used much in that market or has the push to remove it for cost reasons just not been there. I didn't think it was still used much anywhere outside of the embedded/industrial world at this point.
Not using the 2nd USB3.1 port on the back seems exceptionally odd since the board only has 4 conventional A ports and does have room to fit several more (move the lan to above the DVI).
Valantar - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
The DVI port is especially odd given that this (at least according to AnandTech) is a purely multi-GPU focused board. Why give anything more than the bare minimum of HDMI+DP on such a board? Would free up a lot of I/O space.mctylr - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
I believe because I don't think there are any HDMI or DP based KVM, or I didn't see any the last time I bought a KVM.LauRoman - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
It also rules out a lot of KVMs since the only other video port is DVI-DDanNeely - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
They exist although they're much less common. Newegg has ~450 DVI models vs ~50 HDMI and ~40 DP. OTOH if they were going for a lowest common denominator for a hardware KVM, the old DSUB port (or a DVI-I port at least) would make a lot more sense because VGA KVMs are much cheaper than any of the digital ones.Samus - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
All the KVM's I use in the field are ConnectPro UR12+ or UR14+ (HD15/VGA) with DDM. Even with 30ft KVM cables the resolution is solid at 1920x1200@60.Using DVI-D instead of DVI-I is a severe oversight of this otherwise astonishing $300 board. Having no analog output just boggles the mind.
danielkza - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
IIRC Skylake itself doesn't have VGA output support, so it isn't surprising motherboards don't provide analog connectors.DigitalFreak - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
Why? There's nothing stopping you from using a DP to VGA adapter.dsumanik - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
Sicccckkk...this mobo brings back some nostalgia....when overclocking was about getting low cost components to outperform the halo technology of the day. Somewhere along the way we traded that original notion for LED's, $1000 water cooling loops and $500 motherboards with extremely buggy firmware full of 500 features you don't even need and photoshopped pictures of "build logs"Keep up the good work super micro!
Bare bones, no flashy lights, high end components, competitive price, and bottom line performance.
The market is dying for this breath of fresh air.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - link
Hear hear! Looks like a very interesting board, and a good price.extide - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
Sure, but it's extra cost.eek2121 - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
FYI i have a DP based KVM.DigitalFreak - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
The x4 slots are x1 electricalHollyDOL - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
So, how many "Super" can you count on the motherboard photo? :-)10101010 - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
In the previous generation, ASRock made a reasonably priced x8/x8/x8/x8 board also using a PLX chip:http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.as...
MarkieGcolor - Monday, January 18, 2016 - link
Why not just buy x99?The_Assimilator - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
Z170 provides up to 10 USB3 ports and this board supplies a grand total of... four, 2 external and 2 internal. Z170 provides up to 14 USB2 ports and this board supplies a grand total of... six, 2 external and 4 internal. There is a grand total of 4 USB ports on the back panel (type-C doesn't count because there are no peripherals for it yet), when 6 should be the absolute minimum. And SuperMicro wants THREE HUNDRED freaking dollars for this?I can see SuperMicro exiting the desktop board market as quickly as they tried to enter it.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - link
I doubt most users really need that many ports.Lord of the Bored - Friday, January 22, 2016 - link
This isn't targeted at "most" users, though. And I've got way more than four USB ports occupied on the back of my system right now.ChristopherF - Friday, March 11, 2016 - link
I see in the image from supermicro here it shows sli support, but in more recent images that is gone and the one newegg review claims there is no sli support on this motherboard?wadesmith2025 - Thursday, January 2, 2020 - link
Keep up the good work super micro!Bare bones, no flashy lights, high end components, find the best <a href="https://instagramcaption.in/love-captions-for-inst... captions</a> competitive price, and bottom line performance.