MSI Z97A Gaming 6 Motherboard Review

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Conclusion

So here we are, end of another Z97 motherboard review and although this might potentially be the last from our chipset, it surely wasn’t boring; quite a bit to touch on and lots of opinions to be shared.  So MSI have a huge range of Z97 Gaming motherboards currently available; this is pretty much the final one for us to see and although the majority of them have won awards, will the Z97A Gaming 6 have something worthwhile about it?  Or are MSI saturating their own motherboard range?  Let’s get on with it…

Performance

Focusing on synthetic benchmarking performance, the MSI Z97A Gaming 6 pulls quite a lot of MSI magic out of the bag and does exceptionally well; of course driver updates have matured since our last review on a Z97 motherboard, but overall, everything is in order.  The biggest result was via 3DMark 11 Performance and due to improve on-board video drivers, this increased the result a bit!  Although there is nothing really we can do with USB 3.1 currently, I assume it will be a big hit and with MSI releasing a new range of Z97A boards to cater for this, MSI are winning in my opinion!

Design

Going into detail about the design, I feel the MSI Z97A Gaming 6 is hit and miss on a few aspects; I’ll of course start with the positives.  This board has a lot going for it in terms of specifications such as the included M.2 support for those ultra-fast 10GB/s SSDs and the USB 3.1 Type C port inclusive courtesy of MSI.  Add the red and black gaming design which might be marmite to some, I like how MSI follow the design throughout their entire range such as their graphics cards, notebooks and even down to their limited edition SteelSeries mice/headsets; nothing beats a bit of matching gaming bling!

However there is one main pitfall which does kind of leave me wondering what happened; this is of course the rear I/O which has a pitiful amount of available connections.  In fact the Gaming 6 offers more USB connectivity via front panel headers than it actually does on the rear of the board and although the USB 3.1 Type C port is a welcomed addition, the board is just lacking USB real estate which does leave me pretty disappointed; even my MSI Z87I ITX motherboard has more rear I/O USB ports than this full size ATX board.  Aside from that however, I am pretty happy with the layout overall and the board does look pretty great; full black PCB is gorgeous and although rarely seen installed inside a case, I know it’s looking gooood!

Value

The MSI Z97A Gaming 6 has a lot of competition at its current price point (£120-130) and I’ll be honest, it comes in too close for comfort to the already released Z97A Gaming 7 from MSI which features much more in the way of USB 3.0 ports on the back; as well as slightly better specifications.  Of course the price is pretty much spot on for a board of this calibre and although it isn’t a dynamo like the XPOWER or Gaming 9 AC, it certainly brings other options to the market, I’m just struggling to find anything that stands out other than of course the USB 3.1 Type C port.

Final Thoughts

It is worth noting that the MSI Z97A Gaming 6 is a good board and for the price, it rivals other manufacturers with ease; it’s biggest competition comes in-house from other more “powerful” MSI Gaming motherboards such as the Z97A Gaming 7, which let’s be honest, is a much better buy for the extra £5 if this is a board you plan on keeping for years to come.  However if you aren’t swayed by the extra step up in USB 3.0 ports on the rear or don’t want to pay any extra than around £130, then make sure this ATX board is on your list as I’m highly sure you won’t be disappointed; did anyone mention it’s available at some retailers with a free SteelSeries gaming mouse? No?  Well I did now!

• Silver Award – I feel the MSI Z97A Gaming 6 deserves our silver award at best, because essentially it’s a great board, but it lacks a few things which let’s it down at the price point.  The MSI Z97A Gaming 7 might of course be a better purchase overall, but not everyone has an extra £10 in this climate and if you are budget restricted, you certainly can’t go too wrong with the Gaming 6; USB 3.1 Type C anyone?

Huge thanks to MSI for sending in the sample for review!