The Z170A Gaming M5 ($179.99) is MSI's cutting-edge take on Intel's Z170 motherboard chipset, which arrived alongside the new LGA 1151 socket. Built for enthusiasts, the Z170A packs in a nice array of substantial features for a very reasonable price, making this one of the best picks to pair with a new Intel Skylake CPU.
Any sixth-generation Intel CPU (such as the Core i7-6700K($180.00 at Amazon) or i5-6600K) will need a new LGA 1151 motherboard to go with it, since they make use of the socket's extra pin. If you're building a new PC, it's almost certainly going to be with a Skylake CPU, making a board like this a prime choice. The Z170A Gaming M5 is full-ATX size, and though it could perhaps use more USB ports and lacks built-in Wi-Fi, it offers quite a few features for the cost.
The red and black design is pretty striking visually, provided you're a fan of that color combination. Some added color coding would have been helpful to novice builders, but otherwise, this board's design is solid.
The two M.2 (PCIe x4) connectors support up to 64Gbps of throughput, which can be used for a fast-boot solid-state drive (SSD) or an M.2 interface Wi-Fi module. There are also two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports—one of which is a USB-C port—two USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, and metal-reinforced PCI Express x16 slots for hefty graphics cards. The board supports the full 20 PCIe lanes made possible with the Z170 chipset, and can hold two discrete GPUs with lanes still free for other peripherals. There are six SATA III ports, four of which double as a pair of SATA Express slots.
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There's a pair of four-pin fan headers around the CPU socket for an air-cooling setup if you need or want one, and the board supports up to 65GB of DDR4 memory. There's no onboard wireless capability, but there is a gaming-centric Killer E24000 LAN port.
Overall, the features that come with the MSI Z170A Gaming M5 at a sub-$200 price make it a very good value. This motherboard is a top choice for building your new setup.
For more details, check out the MSI Z170A Gaming M5 review on our sister site, Computer Shopper.
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