The last couple of weeks, all the hype has been on AMD and their new Ryzen platform, but that doesn’t mean that we forget what’s going on in the Intel corner. In that regard, MSI launched their newest Z270 motherboard and it’s both a looker and a feature packed bundle. The new Z270 Gaming M6 AC is the newest family member to MSI’s enthusiast gaming series and it comes with all the great and well-known MSI features.
The general layout was inspired by futuristic armoured spaceships with its multilayer plating, wings and armaments. The complete motherboard and heatsink design offers a strong look and feel and uses heavy quality components to deliver the best performance and stability as the base of any gaming rig. Oh, and let’s not forget the RGB.
The MSI Z270 Gaming M6 AC motherboard features the Audio Boost 4 with Nahimic 2, Twin Turbo M.2 with M.2 Shield, VR Boost, Killer LAN & Intel WIFI AC as well as the option to fully customise the RGB LEDs to any colour using Mystic light. Getting the best performance and overclocking your CPU should be a breeze with the built-in helpers such as the DDR4 Boost while the Audio Boost 4 delivers a great audio experience with its isolated audio PCB.
Both the memory slots and the main PCIe x16 slots feature the steel armour for increased durability and a sweet look while the M.2 shield provides an added protection for your installed M.2 drive. Speaking of storage, you can install two M.2 drives and both slots support Intel Optane technology. There’s also a fast U.2 port and six SATA3 ports.
The wired network connection comes from a Killer E2500 Ethernet controller and MSI also bundled a WiFi and Bluetooth add-in card with this motherboard. It is an Intel-powered card (8265) with Wireless-AC dual-channel networking up to 867 Mbps and MU-MIMO support that also features Bluetooth 4.2.
Whether you want to connect USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or USB 3.1 Gen.2 devices, the board will take it all. There’s also an HDMI and DP port for iGPU usage, although I doubt many owners of such a board will run it without a dedicated graphics card. The motherboard is also VR ready with ports that deliver enough power for the virtual headsets and MSI’s own VR Boost chip to prevent signal interruptions.
MSI didn’t reveal a price on the motherboard at this time.
