MSI X99S SLI Motherboard Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion

So now it has come the time to wrap the review up. I am having a bit of a hard time with this one. Normally when I review a motherboard it is just the motherboard I have to get used to, I already know what my RAM and CPU are capable off. However, this is a whole new chipset with new CPU and RAM I had never used before but from what I can see, all went OK.

First I want to start with the aesthetics of the X99S SLI PLUS which is very pleasing, to me anyway. The board has been ‘Murdered’ out and is all black with a few minor exceptions. This is a great look and I think MSI knew what they were doing when designing it. As it is a budget board of types, if you can really call any X99 board a budget board, I am guessing MSI wanted to do their best in making sure it would match most users build needs.X99 is an enthusiast platform so users will most likely still be following some sort of colour scheme, even when using the more budget friendly options and MSI have got it right. Having the board all black leaves it pretty much open to matching almost any colour scheme users can think of, great job by MSI if you ask me.

When it came to the performance side of things, I was not quite sure how to feel. While I was personally happy with the performance I received and the overclock achieved on the 5820K I couldn’t help but feeling if there should be more! While looking around the web it seems everything was in order as it should be, personally I never feel justified until I have tested a few similar products out. As said though I was very happy and please with everything, the extra 1GHz overclock was definitely a nice touch. As far as benchmarks go I personally have nothing to compare them to but have a feeling it won’t get too much better except maybe the case of overclocking on boards designed specifically for overclocking like the MSI x99 MPOWER board.

As far as value goes I have to say I am impressed with the X99S SLI PLUS as it is in fact one of the cheapest X99 boards out there at the moment. It doesn’t seem to lose any performance from what I can tell over more expensive boards it just does not come with all the bells and whistles which are just fine with me. For a so-called budget board it offers a great host of features and will allow users to make the most out of their X99 based system depending on the rest of their hardware.

When it all comes down to it, MSI have done a fantastic job of creating a budget board for an enthusiast platform. The X99S SLI PLUS will allow for users to get their feet wet into the pool that is X99. While it may not have all the features of the boards that cost quite a bit more, its overall performance shouldn’t be lacking in any aspect. If you are in the market for an entry level board into the X99 platform the MSI X99S SLI PLUS has you covered.

I would like to thank MSI for sending the X99S SLI PLUS in for review and look forward to seeing more from them in the future.