MSI Announces Z270 Gaming M6 AC Motherboard
One month after it announced four new Arctic-branded motherboards, MSI released the Z270 Gaming M6 AC as part of its enthusiast gaming lineup.
The Z270 Gaming M6 AC is compatible with Intel LGA 1151 processors and boasts four DDR4 memory slots with a maximum capacity of 64GB. It also has all the bells and whistles you'd expect to find in a high-end gaming motherboard: RGB Mystic Light management tools, multi-GPU support, and "extreme overclocking" capabilities. But the main draw for VR gamers could be the VR accelerator chip meant to offer a more stable VR experience.
"Traditional USB ports can suffer signal drops, significantly impacting performance of connected devices," MSI said on the Z270 Gaming M6 AC's product page. "VR Boost is a smart chip that ensures a clean and strong signal to a VR optimized USB port, giving you an enjoyable VR experience." Another feature, One Click to VR, "sets all your key components to their highest performance" and "makes sure other software" won't affect your VR experience.
The Z270 Gaming M6 AC comes bundled with a Phanteks RGB LED strip. MSI didn't say when the motherboard will debut nor how much it will cost.
| Product | MSI Z270 Gaming M6 AC |
|---|---|
| Form Factor | ATX |
| Socket | LGA 1151 |
| Chipset | Intel Z270 |
| Memory Support | Up to 64GB DDR4-3800 (7th Gen CPU)Up to 64GB DDR4-3600 (6th Gen CPU) |
| Storage | 6 x SATA 6Gbps ports2 x M.2 slots (Key M) |
| PCIe Connectivity | 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4 modes)3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots |
| Back Panel I/O | 1 x PS/2 3 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x BIOS FLASHBACK+ port1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x DisplayPort1 x HDMI™ port1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port1 x LAN (RJ45) port2 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector5 x OFC audio jacks |
| Networking | 1 x KillerTM E2500 Gigabit LAN controllerIntel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265Dual Band 2x2 802.11ac80MHz Channels867 Mbps Max SpeedMU-MIMO RxSupport for ACS enabling concurrent multi-channel usageBluetooth 4.2 (BR/EDR, BLE) |
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.
-
eglass I wish you'd stop using USB 3.1 Gen2 and USB 3.1 Gen1 and just use 3.1 and 3.0 like, literally everyone else.Reply -
falchard Why would MSI be making another Z270 board when there are plenty in stock, yet they don't have the production to keep up with x370 mobos?Reply -
scolaner Reply19403834 said:I wish you'd stop using USB 3.1 Gen2 and USB 3.1 Gen1 and just use 3.1 and 3.0 like, literally everyone else.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-31-usb-type-c-refresher,29933.html
Start at paragraph 4.