MSI Z270 SLI Plus LGA 1151 Motherboard Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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MSI Z270 SLI Plus LGA 1151 Motherboard Review

MSI brings to the table, one of the least expensive SLI capable motherboards based on Intel’s Z270 Express chipset available today. While not totally stripped, it does sacrifice a few things to keep costs down. That said, it’s also got a solid foundation and offers a ton of value for the money. If you are looking to build an LGA 1151 rig, you won’t want to miss this one.
 
Great review, as always.

MSI has been dominating quality intel boards for the past 2 years now ish

Dan, the Z170 PLUS version IMHO was amazing too for its price point. A few quirks here and there but it was damn solid for the price, it literally cost peanuts compared to boards with a 'little' more features. It wouldn't accept a windows install from anything other than a CD/DVD (I didnt update the bios straight away) and suffered from quirks until I did update the BIOS... Amazing board nonetheless.


Thanks for the review guys.
 
This is the type of motherboard I like. All the necessary stuff, but saving money on things I won't use. They could have ditched even more LED's to save costs and I'd still be happy.
 
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Did I miss something or did you not actually test that using two GPUs in SLI and three in XF actually worked?
 
Quartz-1 said:
Did I miss something or did you not actually test that using two GPUs in SLI and three in XF actually worked?
Click to expand...
I test today to make sure they will actually work but do not do any benchmarking on SLI.
 
JoseJones said:
Humm, great review! Very helpful and I really like the cut down version eliminating crap I won't use yet keeping the goods and some nice features for a very reasonable price.

I am curious about an AM4 comparison now:

MSI X370 SLI PLUS AM4
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144024

What are the chances?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, not a straight apples-to-apples comparison. That AM4 board has only 1 M.2 slot, has ALC892 audio, and Realtek NIC. To get the 2 M.2, ALC 1220, and Intel NIC, with the MSI AM4 boards, it looks like you have to step up to the MSI X370 GAMING PRO CARBON, which also comes with the "fluff" features and an increased price tag. Looks like that's also the lowest end AM4 board from any vendor that comes with 2 M.2 slots.
 
Nice review and not just because Hardocp is liking lean and mean.
MSI gets it. They understand we don't need 10+ sata, 2 lan ports with wifi and more cow bell. They also understand that enthusiates want OCing, a couple of graphics cards and M.2. I even dig why they would put 2 Sata port face up! Yes, there are enthusiate that don't want to drain their bank account to get a decent rig. I actually hope they go back to using high quality Creative sound solutions or drop on-board audio.
 
FWIW, I am setting up a new VR testing system and I went to this motherboard for system. Easy peasy.
 
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This is the mobo I keep looking at when "window shopping" online.

These are the types of mobos I look for.... minimal blinky lights, no wifi, no other junk I don't need on a desktop system.
Just a solid, reliable mobo at a good price. I think MSI is covering that market pretty well.

I have two systems based on the MSI Z97 PC Mate and they have both been very solid, no complaints.
Just thinking I'll skip Skylake, Kabylake, Z270, and go to Z370 Covfefelake (maybe 6 core) to upgrade the main system.

I'll be looking for the MSI Z370 equivalent of the Z270 SLI Plus.

ETA: Good to see MSI dropping the big dragon logos on their stuff too. The dragons aren't really a thing in
the US market like they are in Asia. I think they're getting better with that.

.
 
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Thanks for the review. I love seeing these off niche kind of things that can go easily overlooked.

As I type this on a rig with a MSI Z68 GD65 SLI motherboard that originally started with 2xPNY 560TI OC editions but now a single Strix 1080TI OC, I can say this is what I'd go for if I still sought SLI. I know OC genie can be hit or miss but overall it's a handy way to get that extra oomph a rig might have. Still not happy with their laptops(I've got a Titan 980m SLI) but their motherboard and GPU's always seem to have at least a couple gems per generation. My first MSI board was the last for my P4 build and loved that one too.
 
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Thank you for the review, i was just asking about this board a little while ago (8/8/17)
 
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