Page 14 - Computer Power User - February 2017

“. . . it bears a level of
sophistication that you
don’t see in many
mid-range motherboards.”

MSI Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON

o compete in today’s motherboard market, includes two M.2 slots that support Intel’s CARBON includes both a standard Type-A
T it’s no longer enough for a mainboard Optane technology, as well as RAID and a reversible Type-C USB 3.1 port on
to support the latest hardware and up- configurations. For the latter, MSI provides its its rear panel. The USB 3.1 ports, as well as
and-coming standards. Nor are enthusiasts M.2 GENIE utility that lets you easily create one of the USB 3.0 ports, are equipped with
surprised to see high-end amenities for RAIDs with any PCIe SSD, including add-in MSI’s VR Boost technology to produce a
onboard audio and networking—or other cards (via the bottom PCIe x16 slot) or a U.2 clean, strong signal when you connect VR
fancy gaming extras. Truly outstanding SSD (requires optional Turbo U.2 host card). cables 10 feet or more in length.
motherboards must now also look exceptional The top M.2 slot supports 2242/2260/ When it comes to performance parts,
and be customizable to a build’s color scheme. 2280/22110 form factor M.2 SSDs, and the the Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON
The Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON is bottom M.2 slot is slightly shorter and only matches up well with other mid-range
one of the most stylish options in MSI’s Z270 supports 2242/2260/2280 form factors. To Z270 motherboards. There are four
lineup. Carbon fiber on the heatsinks and rear reduce the chance of thermal throttling on DDR4 slots that support up to 64GB of
I/O panel give the black PCB a nice finish, your M.2 SSD, MSI includes an M.2-sized 3800MHz memory. The board supports
and MSI’s Mystic Light RGB illumination heat spreader that should work with any M.2 up to a 3-way CrossFire or 2-way SLI
adds some subtle flash to several areas of the SSD. The metal cover is similar to the heat GPU configuration, and if you install
motherboard, or you can turn them off if you spreaders you see on system memory, and two cards, each will operate at x8 speed.
want. A 4-pin header on the board also lets it includes a thermal pad to transfer heat As we mentioned earlier, the board’s
you match the board’s lights to a third-party away from the NAND. MSI also includes an bottom PCIe x16 slot can also be used
12V RGB LED strip. X-Boost utility that can further speed up the with a PCIe add-in card SSD, and this
With the Z270 chipset in tow, performance of storage and USB devices. slot doesn’t share bandwidth with the
this motherboard features several big MSI provides USB 3.1 connectivity board’s M.2 or the SATA ports. The
improvements over MSI’s Z170A GAMING by adding ASMedia’s 2142 USB 3.1 Gen majority of the memory, GPU, and M.2
PRO CARBON. The previous-generation 2 controller, which is said to double the slots are protected by MSI’s Steel Armor
board, for example, only has one M.2 slot, bandwidth when you connect multiple USB technology that strengthens the slot and
while the Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON 3.1 devices. The Z270 GAMING PRO shields it from EMI.

14 February2017 / www.computerpoweruser.com