people need to realize that z270 and intel are still a great buy for regular users. its not a bad investment. i just prey that 6core comes in time to consumers.
That would be a new one for intel ;) If that happens, I guess "competition". For years now, intel has been artificially limiting chipset compatibility to squeeze extra chipset sales by obstructing upgrades.
It's incredible that they can market something so complex, with so many precision parts, materials, and process steps - not to mention all the ICs - for a delivered price of $140! These are the benefits to us of mass production and sadly low foreign wages. Given that I'd use such a mobo heavily for hours every day, for years, I'd willingly pay more if I knew the workers got more.
Nice write up Thank You. I just looked the MSI board up at Memory Express in Canada it goes for $209.99 CAD which sounds about right after exchange rate.
I like how the asrock has a pice slot above the gpu slot. Why don't more motherboards have more space between the cpu connected slots for sli/crossfire? I'll never buy another board that doesn't have 3 slot spacing for cpu's again!
Usually that top PCIe 1x slot is where my audio card gets seated. It used to be recommended due to latency, no clue whether that reason still holds though, it became quite a custom for me.
The article specifies the MSI board's VRM circuit as a 10 phase design and the ASRock as an 8(6+2) phase design. However, visual inspection (see photo of the CPU socket area with VRM heatsink removed) reveals both boards have the same number of chokes and MOSFETs under those VRM heatsinks. I presume I must be missing something. Please explain.
Amazing job on the review Can anyone tell me the height of the heatsinks around the CPU? I want to use a Noctua D15 cooler and I dont know if the rams will fit underneath it, so I was thinking about rotatig it so the fan will be on top of the heatsinks instead of the rams. The space under the fan is 32mm. Thanks in advance
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20 Comments
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A5 - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
Nice article, more mainstream reviews are always appreciated.austinsguitar - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
people need to realize that z270 and intel are still a great buy for regular users. its not a bad investment. i just prey that 6core comes in time to consumers.ddriver - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
Aside from the fact it is highly unlikely it will accept more than a single generation of processors.Cygni - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
Seems pretty likely that Coffee Lake is intended to be compatible with Z270.ddriver - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
That would be a new one for intel ;) If that happens, I guess "competition". For years now, intel has been artificially limiting chipset compatibility to squeeze extra chipset sales by obstructing upgrades.[email protected] - Sunday, May 7, 2017 - link
Thats not what I've been reading....New Intel Coffee Lake 6 Core CPU's will need the 300 Series Chipset which means....New Motherboard ![email protected] - Sunday, May 7, 2017 - link
The Inter Coffee Lake 6 Core CPU's will need the 300 Series Chipsets which means...New Motherboard !fanofanand - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
Totally agree, more reviews of the volume pieces would benefit far more readers. I won't be buying either of these but at least now I know why.Arbie - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
It's incredible that they can market something so complex, with so many precision parts, materials, and process steps - not to mention all the ICs - for a delivered price of $140! These are the benefits to us of mass production and sadly low foreign wages. Given that I'd use such a mobo heavily for hours every day, for years, I'd willingly pay more if I knew the workers got more.rocky12345 - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link
Nice write up Thank You. I just looked the MSI board up at Memory Express in Canada it goes for $209.99 CAD which sounds about right after exchange rate.MarkieGcolor - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link
I like how the asrock has a pice slot above the gpu slot. Why don't more motherboards have more space between the cpu connected slots for sli/crossfire? I'll never buy another board that doesn't have 3 slot spacing for cpu's again!HollyDOL - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link
Usually that top PCIe 1x slot is where my audio card gets seated. It used to be recommended due to latency, no clue whether that reason still holds though, it became quite a custom for me.ImSpartacus - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link
Do you actually anticipate using sli or crossfire?I'm beginning to get the feeling that they are antiquated.
tsk2k - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - link
The distance from the top PCIe x16 slot on the MSI to the CPU is the same as ASrock.GT710M - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link
so much detailsATC9001 - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link
Why no overclocking for a comparison?BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - link
The article specifies the MSI board's VRM circuit as a 10 phase design and the ASRock as an 8(6+2) phase design. However, visual inspection (see photo of the CPU socket area with VRM heatsink removed) reveals both boards have the same number of chokes and MOSFETs under those VRM heatsinks. I presume I must be missing something. Please explain.blacksun123 - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - link
From the test result, ASRock's power efficiency is much much better than MSI.blacksun123 - Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - link
Does MSI provide SLI bridge for this MB? Does it really support SLI? It costs USD$25~40 to buy a SLI HB bridge in the market.zafos888 - Saturday, September 9, 2017 - link
Amazing job on the reviewCan anyone tell me the height of the heatsinks around the CPU?
I want to use a Noctua D15 cooler and I dont know if the rams will fit underneath it, so I was thinking about rotatig it so the fan will be on top of the heatsinks instead of the rams. The space under the fan is 32mm. Thanks in advance