I really ended up liking the ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 GAMING K6+. It is simple on looks and easy on the wallet, but ready to rock whatever gear you want to throw at it, including USB 3.1 stuff and PCIe M.2 drives. It can overclock more than a bit and doesn't need lights all over the place to make it look good in a case with a window. It will happily blend right into the dim interior ready to do your bidding, making it a good tool in your belt to fight off hordes of bad guys coming at you on your screen.

Of course, I don't like the fan-control software, but it does work, and the BIOS makes overclocking require lessons in another language, but if you simply want to throw this board in your gaming rig and forget about it, the ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 GAMING K6+ is a decent option within its price range. A big part of that, for me, is the bundled USB 3.1 front panel box, so you can access these high-speed ports without having to reach around to the back of the case. USB 3.1 carries enough power for such things as steering wheels and flight sticks since it has 100W on tap. As such, you might not need external power to power it all, and if you're like me and like to play more than one type of game, swapping controllers can be much simpler, with far less of a cable clutter. That forward-looking functionality is important if you plan on using this board as the base of your gaming rig over the next couple years. Got one yourself? Let me know what you think in the forums!