Z170 tech specs

There should be no problems with clearance on either board unless you are using some kind of aftermarket GPU cooler and backplate that protrudes more than commercial models like the Arctic Accelero Xtreme series which sticks out about a whole slot or more on the backplate and even then it should still fit.

I see what you mean by the shroud. I would imagine it should still fit. Even if it does not you can easily remove the shroud and if necessary trim it down a little, though I am not sure how that may effect the warranty. By the look of it and blowing up the image to near enough scale it should accommodate my GTX 960 G1 Gaming's backplate. 

Edited by Xaltar - 19 Oct 2015 at 9:49pm

Short answer: No, you can't connect your GPU to any of the "x16" slots.Long answer: Be careful regarding multiple PCIe x16 slots!  In fact only 1 is a true x16 slot.  The rest are made to look like x16 but they are actually x8 or lower.  When you look closely at the board you can see that the pins are actually missing from the slots.  In my opinion it's false advertising - take a closer look at the specs.  I copied this from the Extreme7+ specs page:

If You ask me, I like the Ex7 more than the OC-F.
Why? Colors are great, and the layout is similar.

There will be no difference if You don't overclock on DICE/LN2,
and use 1-2 GPU's.

vannex wrote: Short answer: No, you can't connect your GPU to any of the "x16" slots.   Long answer: Be careful regarding multiple PCIe x16 slots!  In fact only 1 is a true x16 slot.  The rest are made to look like x16 but they are actually x8 or lower.  When you look closely at the board you can see that the pins are actually missing from the slots.  In my opinion it's false advertising - take a closer look at the specs.  I copied this from the Extreme7+ specs page:   - 4 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE6: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4); triple at x8 (PCIE2) / x4 (PCIE4) / x4 (PCIE6). PCIE3: x4 mode)*

You are correct about the difference between the physical slot size (x16) and the electrical connections of each physical x16 slot. But limitations of the Z170 platform are factors in the number of PCIe 3.0 lanes assigned to each slot.

Skylake processors provide just 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, so providing all 16 lanes to every x16 slot has limited significance.

A two video card SLI or CrossFire configuration results in eight PCIe 3.0 lanes for each card. Three card Crossfire further reduces the maximum lanes available for each card.

If each x16 slot had 16 PCIe 3.0 lane connections, the ability to assign lanes to each x16 slot is required. That adds complexity and cost to a mother board. That flexibility would be nice, but is the additional cost worth it for every owner, given only 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes are available?

Physical x16 slots must be used regardless of the number of PCIe 3.0 lanes available. Otherwise how can x16 physical cards be used in a physical x8 or x4 slot?

To quote the specs again, "4 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE6: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4); triple at x8 (PCIE2) / x4 (PCIE4) / x4 (PCIE6). PCIE3: x4 mode).

Note that the word Slots is used, which is a physical description. We may interpret x16 slot as also describing the electrical connections used, but is that truly correct? IMO, no.

So is this false advertising? Or a less than accurate interpretation by the reader?

Can we connect a video card to any of the x16 slots? Yes we can. But the number of PCIe 3.0 lanes available electrically in each x16 slot varies both by the design of the board and the number of video cards being used.

Will a video card's performance be reduced when fewer than 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes are available to the card? The general consensus is eight PCIe 3.0 lanes for most if not all current video cards does not limit performance by a significant amount, if at all. Only four PCIe 3.0 lanes will reduce performance.

The number of PCIe lanes available on "Mainstream" and "Performance" Intel platforms, which includes Z170 boards, is nothing new and has been 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes since Ivy Bridge. PC builders should be familiar with these specifications and the limitations of PCIe lane to PCIe slot assignments.