Re: Crash and burn
So, the good news — you got an Asus Z170 which is exactly the platform i have. The Intel CPU architecture supports 1, 2 or 4 DIMMs, but the number is also dependent on the type of DIMM your 2400’s are supported in the 1,2,4 configuration. Sticks 1 and 2 go into slots A2 and B2 first, DIMMs 3 and 4 go into A1 and B1 last. There is no support for a 3 DIMM configuration.
On the booting screen issue — I *think* the MB is designed to only POST to the VGA/HDMI ports; an display port would require a driver to load and hence would make sense why you dont see anything until the Windows boot screen.
Also, remember to install your GTX960 into the PCIe16x slot *closest* to the CPU. This is a non-shared slot and will give you a full channel to the card.
I am running a new GTX970 and hitting 120fps at full max on all selections. Its a nice setup for sure.