Product on Review: MORTAR B350M
Manufacturer & Sponsor: MSI
Street Price: £95 GBP / $99 USD

Coming in at around £10-15 cheaper than the MSI TOMAHAWK B350, the MORTAR is MSI's mATX motherboard featuring the B350 chipset. Despite the price difference, MSI still see fit to incorporate their various technologies including the Steel Armour of the primary PCIe slot, Audio Boost (which is the title for a selection of technologies including: physically isolated audio circuitry, acting like a dedicated sound card for your system, dedicated PCB for left/right channels, de-pop protection, the use of audio grade capacitors, and more), DDR4 Boost (providing your memory with clean/stable power). Then, there is the dedicated peripheral USB ports at the rear that feature more gold/higher durability, ensuring reliable and responsive connection to your gaming equipment. As this is part of the Arsenal Gaming line, you can be sure that there is a whole host of software support too, including one-click VR Ready, Mystic Light (to control the RGB header) and various others.

One of the major selling points for the MORTAR would be its mATX size, which would appeal to many that either prefer a smaller system, or its use for HTPC duties. Many motherboards we have looked at have had a tendency to overlook the video output options, with many simply including a single HDMI port, if any. This is where the MORTAR is superior to even the TOMAHAWK B350, in that it features a DVI-D, HDMI, and a Display Port (rather than a VGA), meaning that the MORTAR is capable of 4K resolution @60Hz when paired with the yet-to-bereleased Bristol Ridge APUs.



MSI in their own words