The biggest thing that the MSI Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON has going for it is value. It actually has more than just value going for it, but if I had to pick one overly strong aspect, it would have to be the value (as I just said). Aside from this, this motherboard has a good and sleek aesthetic which includes a few key focal areas. First of all, the Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON features MSI’s Mystic Light RGB functionality. This means you can create near endless combinations of colour schemes which should be good to fit in any type of custom build. Next, the MSI Steel Armour might be a little gimmicky, but it does look fantastic and fills the gaps between the DDR4 DIMM slots given a nice look when memory is installed; or even when not installed!
Performance-wise, the MSI Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON does a good job all-around and even though the board isn’t topping the graphs, the results/performance in the graphs (watch the video above) are subjective, to say the least. Obviously, they do count for something, but they aren’t the be all and end all of things; especially given how marginal the results can really be. That being said, the CARBON sits consistently towards the middle of the graphs and given the sub £170 price tag, that’s acceptable in my book.
Touching more on the price, MSI has a serious winner here in terms of value. Ok, £160-170 is still outside the budget range of motherboards, but when you consider all of the features such as dual M.2 ports, a good software package, and fully customisable RGB lighting, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal; it’s a really good deal in fact and easily gets our value award today.
The MSI Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON might not be the best Z270 motherboard, nor might it be the best looking, but it’s consistently good in all of the 3 key areas (performance, design and value) which make it a very desirable and an easy board to recommend for you all to purchase. If you’re on a fairly tight budget and can’t stretch towards the Z270 GAMING M5 or M7 motherboards, the PRO CARBON offers a very nice alternative and for the price, you will struggle to find a better motherboard!
Huge thanks to MSI for sending the Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON motherboard in for review.
-
Performance
-
Design
-
Value
Summary
Pros:
– Nice carbon effect on the heat sinks makes this board unique
– MSI Mystic Light RGB is very easy to use and looks brilliant; some of the best motherboard RGB implementation
– MSI Steel Armour on the memory slots is a very nice touch
– Decent performance
– Offers exceptional value overall
Cons:
– Bottom PCIe slot lacks the metal shielding the other 2 do!
– The 2 straight angled SATA ports would serve better as right angled ones for aesthetics when cable managing your system.
