So anyway, was looking at new motherboards tonight and this one caught my eye. I notice there is many omissions from the front panel connections, it doesn't even really mention those connections as such - for the sake of sanity I do hope it has at least a power and reset header. Further down the product page it mentions this it turns out.
 
Clearly the aim of this motherboard is to be rid of old optical and mechanical drives although I guess this still an option for people. I'm also going to need a EPS 4-pin 12V x 2 extension to try to keep that part of the build tidier. It recommends you use a 500W PSU for this motherboard which is an average with the most powerful processor being used full load with other components I am guessing.

Currently I have a 750W Modular PSU from Akasa which has served me well for years now....don't really want to change that if I can avoid it.
 
Another thing which has bemused me is the I/O shield or lack of one......do you just plonk in the motherboard and tighten things up these days....
 
I'm sure I will find out in time.

Edited for clarity.

I am not sure what you mean by your post...
 
Sure the board has a "standard" set for front panel (LEDs, power, reset, speaker, etc.) as well as from USBs. And all that is documented. Plenty of SATA ports as well (for "optical and mechanical drives").
 
But since this forum is not for gamers (I mean "looks cool, support SLI and can be death over-clocked" are not relevant for music software), may be you can clarify what exactly attract you to this board. Thunderbolt (with which audio interface?), disk speed improvement with NVMe RAID (for which VST?). Then there is a chance someone has already tested particular combination and can give you some advise.
 
In general, if you want to keep some PSU which "has served you for years" (and was not top model when it was new), there should be a pretty good argument to look for bleeding edge full features packed gaming motherboard...

My psu is still pretty good. 83 percent efficient at full load. However I don't expect that to be a constant. I am not looking for a gamers board nor workstation board. S8nething middle of the road in a way bit not limited in expandability. I like to be fully ssd add some stage with mechanical drives for backup.

I plan to build some external hardware for sound purposes. Universal Audio, SSD drives for the purpose of East West sample libraries and other large things like drum packages. Not really into synths that much these days although some NI komplete applications would also suit me.
 
Not being made of money and all of that I have to do this stage by stage.
 
There is still a few options out there but Asus and Gigabyte boards have never let me down touch wood (MDF).
 

I would just start by researching the most recent chipsets and sockets for future-proofing.  Just make sure they support the features you need.
 
Then look up the motherboards that are built around those chipsets.
 
You don't need to bother with SLI or overclocking features.  Just a well made, stable board with plenty of slots and ports should be a fine platform to build a DAW on.
 
A good baseline example to follow would be Jim Roseberry's custom DAWs.  http://studiocat.com/opencart2/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=56
 
The Pro Studio model is built on the Intel Z270 chipset.

Intel® Z270 Chipset
https://ark.intel.com/products/98089/Intel-Z270-Chipset
 
PCPartPicker - Choose a Motherboard
https://pcpartpicker.com/..ucts/motherboard/#c=119
 
 
 

I was wanting to build a dedicated itx system in the future. For gaming and entertainment purposes like web streaming and non-critical things.

Oh thanks for the links.

interpolated
I was wanting to build a dedicated itx system in the future. For gaming and entertainment purposes like web streaming and non-critical things.

GA-Z270X-UD3 is ATX.
 
I built a MicroATX system for my living room that works well.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroATX
 
Used this $30 case ...
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147123