MSI Z170A Gaming PRO CARBON Review - Product Showcase

Product Showcase

The MSI Z170A Gaming PRO carbon follows a standard form factor (30.5 x 24.4 cm / 12 x 9.6 in). The motherboard is located in the Gaming PRO range and is considered to be a mainstream product within this new Skylake desktop processor range. 

Check that out, not bad for just over 150 bucks, eh? Included with the motherboard are the regulars including; manuals, driver CDs, SATA cables and a rear IO plate. And you haven't seen the LED RGB system just yet.

• CPU support: Skylake Desktop class Intel Core processors
• Chipset: Intel Z170 Chipset
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel)
• Storage: 
• 6x SATA 6Gb/s Intel
• 1x M.2, PCIe 32 Gb/s (up-to 8cm long)
• Connectivity: 
• 3x PCI-E 3.0 x16  (single at x16 / dual at x8 / triple at x8 - x8 - x4)
• 4x PCI-E 3.0 x1
• USB 3.0 / 3.1 
• 8-channel Audio ALC1150 Realtek

Included in the bundle is one interesting looking motherboard and gear like: two SATA cables, a SLI connector, REAR I/O bracket, the driver CD and a set of manuals. Pretty basic but sure, all we need really.
 

The I/O back panel reveals a flurry of 3.1/3.0/2.0 ports. A Realtek ALC1150 high definition audio codec is the main source for audio. You will spot one 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet jack (Intel l219-V). Included is a PS/2 port for a keyboard and mouse. You  get six analog audio jacks and a SPDIF optical output. If you plan to use the integrated IGP of the processor, you can make use of a HDMI or DVI connector. There is no DP present. This motherboard unfortunately does not come with a WIFI solution. There one full USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and then a Gen 2 with type C connector as well (next to the regular 3.1 Gen = USB 3.0 5Gbps) ports. 

The board has 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots which can be arranged in these slot configurations with graphics cards:

• 1-way mode - x16 / x0 / x0 
• 2-way mode - x8 / x8 / x0
• 3-way mode - x8 / x8 / x4

As you can see these are PCI Express Gen 3.0 configurations, that's plenty for regular graphics card setups up-to 2-way SLI/Crossfire. 

The motherboard comes with an 8-pin power connector. You'll get four DIMM slots that can be used for up-to 64 GB of dual-channel memory. We use a 3,200 MHz kit from Corsair which we'll feature in detail in this review.
 

Back Panel I/O Ports

• 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port
• 4 x USB 2.0 ports
• 1 x DVI-D port
• 2 x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports 
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 port
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
• 1 x HDMI™ port
• 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
• 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
• 5 x OFC audio jacks

And yes, the front-side has RGB configurable LEDs and the backside has an LED (red) trace running upwards.  The lower left side is RGB configurable, but we'll show you that in a video in a separate chapter of this review.