The MSI Z170A Gaming Pro is no powerhouse but is a perfectly adequate Z170 motherboard with a stylish look. Plus the addition of a PCI slot makes it potentially attractive to those with older expansion cards they’d still like to use. Still, it’s a perfectly adequate board, particularly if you’re not overly interested in heavy overclocking and it certainly does look the part. Its price is fairly modest but its feature set and performance is a step below what’s offered by other models at this price – it does seem slightly compromised by that LED strip. There’s not a lot that really stands out about the Gaming Pro other than its design. For comparison the best results I’ve obtained so far are 659 for Cinebench and 10802 for 3DMark.Ĭompounding the slightly underwhelming performance results is that this board consumes the joint most power at idle – 40W, although it actually consumes the second least while under load – 278W. Its score of 10723 in 3DMark FireStrike is also second from bottom of the five Z170 motherboards I’ve tested so far. To system performance – it’s all about overclocking potential – thisīoard nonetheless came last in our Cinebench R15 multi-core CPU While at stock speeds a motherboard only makes a minimal of difference This modesty in specification is reflected in this board’s performance. Model that offers support for these features. Processor, an option for prioritising network traffic, and a utility toĪssign hotkeys and macros to your keyboard even if it’s not a gaming There’s a one-button tool for overclocking the Onboard features are modest, there are quite a few things you can do You do at least get gold-plated audioĬonnections and an illuminated LAN port though! Headers) and two USB 2.0 ports (four more via headers).Īlso no DisplayPort onboard Intel graphics, which for most users won’tīe a concern as they’ll be using a separate graphics card, but it’s a You otherwise get four USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel (two more via Rear IO panel (two more via headers) – but there’s no Type-C connector. You do get USB 3.1 support – with two ports on the Other expansion cards, plus an old PCI slot for legacy hardware – idealįor those still rocking old sound cards for instance.Ĭonnectivity, this is another area where this board trails theĬompetition a touch. With dual-GPUs) or alternatively there are three x1 PCI-E slots for Three graphics cards for up to 3-way Crossfire or quad-SLI (two cards Without having to remove a graphics card. M.2 SSD slot, and it’s positioned so you can just about access it They’re most conveniently placed for attaching to top- and front-mountedĪt least the sole SATA Express socket is on the bottomĮdge where it’s a little easier to tuck cables away. There’s also a dearth of fan headers at the top of the board where Won’t be as easy and they’ll trail over the lighting strip anyway. PCB light up – mean none of the SATA ports are on at a right-angle but Which are actually embedded into the PCB, making the whole edge of the Miss out on any onboard extras like power switches, LED post readoutsĪnd overclocking buttons, plus the audio chip is pretty basic. That modest approach is also reflected in the overall feature set. Looks so I’d much rather the money were spent elsewhere. A more sensible colour might have been silver or white.Īlso don’t get a shroud of any sort over the rear IO, which IĬertainly don’t mind but judging by all the other boards I’ve recently It’s actually a slightly odd decision to goįor red trim on some of the components as the matching-by-default LEDsĬan actually be changed to a different colour, meaning the red bits Minimalist way as possible, aside from the great big strip of light down Like many, it sports a black and red theme but here it’s done in as Gaming Pro is one of the best looking motherboards I’ve tested so far. No go? MSI Z170A Gaming Pro – Design and Features Motherboard to the rest of your PC’s lighting scheme. User desires, they’re designed to make for the ideal way to match your From rivals by serving up chunky heatsinks, whacky colours and of courseĪn array of extra features, but MSI’s Z170A Gaming Pro breaks the mouldīy dedicating a centimetre or so of its entire right-hand side to a
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