Page 14 - Computer Power User - February 2017
P. 14

“. . . 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
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