Connectors and I/O
In total, MSI equipped the Z170I Pro Gaming AC motherboard with four SATA 6Gbps connectors, which have all been natively wired to the PCH. This
means you get four native SATA-III ports, whereas two can be combined to one SATA Express connector. On the back of the PCB there is one M.2 x4 Gen 3 slot. In this position it's nicely out of the way so it doesn't eat up any space on the front side of the PCB, which could be used in a better way. With this motherboard you also get one black PCIe
x16 Gen 3.0 slot.
Unfortunately there are no
practical onboard power- and reset-buttons and there is also no debug LED.
The MSI Z170I Pro Gaming AC motherboard features a total of two fan headers,
which is basically enough to provide a small rig with
fresh air. A closer look at the pictures below shows where they have
been placed. Both fan headers feature 4 pins and support PWM functionality. Therefore it's possible to control fan speeds from within Windows as well as the BIOS.
Looking at the external connectors placed directly at the I/O-panel, MSI
equipped the new Z170I Pro Gaming AC motherboard with a P/S2 connector, four USB 3.1
ports, three USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, one Display port and an HDMI port as well as an analogue audio
panel with optical out. Apart from that there is also a WiFi Module, which supports the AC standard.