The MSI Z370 GAMING PLUS is a bit of a mixed bag. While it does offer some good features, there has been some compromises which may deter some system builders moving over to Intel Coffee Lake.

We can’t argue about the chosen livery – adding in some colour to a market which is dominated by the plain and understated tones of black/grey, the GAMING PLUS seeks to liven things up and will supply an attractive canvas for any red-themed configuration.

Feature-wise, its pleasing to see trademark MSI options available on this board, including MSI Audio Boost and DDR4 Boost. We get a generous selection of fan headers including options specifically for CPU fan and water pumps and even little extras such as EZ Debug LED – allowing you to identify potential problems on bootup.


We are however dismayed to discover no USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports and although we have two X16 PCI Express slots, only AMD CrossfireX is supported.

For the asking price of £129 GBP @ CCL Computers / $129 USD, we expect a little bit more for our money given that there are other solutions for a smidgen more which offer far more features. To remain competitive, we advise MSI to drop the price down further on this model as the supplied features are representative of a motherboard costing around the £100 / $100 mark.

Z370 GAMING PLUS offers us good performance in a range of different tests but this was slightly overshadowed by the necessity for additional CPU voltage when overclocking.

For those who don’t have a huge wedge of cash to drop on a new Z370 motherboard, the MSI Z370 GAMING PLUS is a worthwhile consideration!



Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

Stay connected with Vortez social media pages:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram