While Intel’s top end Core i7-6700K is currently retailing for silly prices that even make a decent X99-based system good value for money, prices aren’t too bad if you’re not looking for a highend motherboard and are happy with the Core i5-6600K. What’s more, with recent news about simple BIOS updates now allowing non K-edition CPUs to be substantially overclocked using just the base clock, budget Skylake builds are becoming a reality, which is where MSI’s Z170A SLI Plus comes in.
At just £110 it’s the joint cheapest Z170 motherboard we’ve reviewed, with the similarly priced ASRock Z170 Extreme4. At face value, there isn’t a lot missing compared with more expensive boards either. You get an M.2 slot capable of handling up to 80mm SSDs, which is handily located above the primary 16x PCI-E slot for easy access, and there’s also isolated audio circuitry and even a USB 3.1 Type-C port. Both boards have a trio of 16x PCI-E slots and 1x PCI-E slots too, with one of the latter located above the primary 16x slot, so you should always be able to use it.
However, there are a few missing features compared with the ASRock Extreme4. The latter managed to cram in the full complement of overclocking and testing tools – power, reset and clear-CMOS buttons, plus a POST code LED display. Like the MSI, the ASRock includes a USB Type-C port, but also a Type-A port, as well as four more USB 3 ports on the rear panel compared with the MSI board.
The Z170A SLI Plus does sport a black PCB and MSI’s steel PCI-E slot covers, though, and as such, it looks great. However, the ASRock board isn’t exactly bad-looking either. Both boards have six SATA 6Gbps ports and, while SATA Express is basically useless now, the ASRock board offers three SATA Express ports too. Thankfully, one area where the MSI definitely has the upper hand is the EFI. It’s relatively easy to navigate through the Extreme4’s EFI, but the MSI board’s EFI is better laid out, clearer and has all the usual overclocking settings on a single page, whereas they’re spread over three pages on the ASRock board.
One area where MSI has cut back is the audio circuitry. With a dynamic range of 96dBA, this board was some way behind the 103dBA recorded by the Extreme4. Meanwhile, in the speed tests, it was neck and neck for the most part, with barely 100 points separating the stock speed system scores in our RealBench 2015 suite. The MSI board did consume less power than the ASRock though.
Thanks to the MSI’s aforementioned excellent EFI, we had no trouble finding the limits of its overclocking prowess. Sadly, it wasn’t quite as high as we’d hoped, though, hitting a wall at 4.7GHz with nothing we tried getting us any further. This overclock required 1.38V too, which is a little higher than the voltage required by many pricier boards to reach 4.8GHz.
Comparatively, the Extreme4 did manage to hit 4.8GHz, but only when we pumped a hefty 1.48V through the CPU, which isn’t recommended with Skylake CPUs for long-term use, but it’s enough to get some benchmarks.
With a 100MHz deficit in overclocked clock speed, the Z170A SLI Plus was a little off the pace in our benchmarks across the board, although its overall system score was only 2 per cent off the score of the ASRock Extreme4.
There’s a lot to like about the MSI Z170A SLI Plus. It offers great value for money, has an edgy black PCB, an excellent EFI and overclocks reasonably well too. It’s definitely a board for everyday modest overclocks though; you wouldn’t want to push it to its limits on a regular basis. However, ASRock’s Z170 Extreme4 pips it to the post in a number of areas, with more ports, overclocking tools, superior audio performance and slightly better overclocking abilities. As such, it’s a better buy, unless you really want a black motherboard to match your PC’s colour scheme. ANTONY LEATHER
VERDICT
A good value Skylake board with an excellent EFI, but it lacks too many features compared to the similarly priced ASRock Z170 Extreme4.
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset Intel Z170
CPUsocket Intel LGA1151
Memorysupport 4 slots: max 64GB DDR3 (up to 3733MHz)
Expansionslots Three 16x PCI-E 3, three 1x PCI-E 3
Sound Realtek ALC1150
Networking Intel Gigabit LAN
Overclocking Base clock 98–341MHz, CPU multiplier 8-83x; max voltages, CPU 2.155V, RAM 2.2V
Ports 6 x SATA 6Gbps (Z170), 1 x M.2, 2 x USB 3, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 2 x USB 2, 1 x LAN, 8-channel surround audio out, line in, mic, 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x DVI-D, 1 x VGA, 2 x PS2
Dimensions (mm) 305 x 244