Z170 OC Formula m.2 mounting questions?

Glad that helped you.

I have not sure why the middle M.2 port does not have the same mounting points for an M.2 SSD as the other M.2 ports.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it seems as if the middle M.2 port may be different and lower than the other two. That would explain why the mounting "nuts" as they are called (which are NOT the standoffs) are on the other side of the board.

Still, the missing standoff is strange, as well as the missing screws for M.2 drives. Either a problem at the packaging facility, or someone took those parts from the box, I guess.

Your board is missing the middle M.2 mounting standoff and screw, as you know.

From the factory, a sealed box board should have the M.2 standoff screws (three for your board) in a clear plastic bag. The standoffs are pre-mounted as you can see in M.2 slots 1 and 3. It looks like not only is the standoff missing, but also the base for the standoff for each of the holes in the board for the second M.2 slot. ASRock calls that part the standoff nut.

I have a Z170 Extreme7+ board, that has three M.2 slots. That board had three standoffs mounted on the board, and a bag with three tiny screws for the standoff. So I would assume the Z170 OC Formula would be shipped the same way.

But looking at the Newegg picture, that does not seem to be the case. My guess is the middle M.2 mounting is lower or closer to the board than the other two M.2 slots. That would be done for a clearance issue, again a guess.

Checking the product page for your board at ASRock's website, the picture of the board from above looking down is identical to the Newegg picture. The standoff for the second M.2 port is not there, and the nuts for the standoff are also missing compared to the other slots.

Then I noticed something in the Newegg set of pictures. Did you look at the bottom of the board yet? Either way, look at the underside of the board in the area of the second/middle M.2 slot. If your board is like the one in the Newegg image, I can see the nuts for each of the holes, and I believe the standoff too. Why the board was assembled this way, I don't know, but it looks like the standoff nuts are on the underside of the board. Hopefully the standoff is there too.

The missing screws is another situation. You can contact ASRock support here:

First is the Repair/RMA link: http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA

I imagine this group would have faster access to replacement parts than the technical support department, which is here: http://event.asrock.com/tsd.asp

At the very top of every page of this forum, on the right hand side is a group of links, including Support in orange text. Click on Support to find a list of helpful links, including the two I've included.

The bracket and screws you found are the WiFi module bracket, which is listed in the Package Contents section of the manual, and are not related to the M.2 SSD mounting.

Hello,