MSI B150 GAMING M3

All motherboard manufacturers have already released a line of gaming solutions for the new Intel platform — from low-cost to flagship. We included two such models in our rating: MSI for entry-level and mid-level gaming PCs and ASUS for high-end systems with the ability to overclock the processor.

Great solution for a gaming PC

B150 GAMING M3 is a model with an excellent ratio of price ($130) and features. MSI's solution will provide the same performance as $200-300 boards in the hot online battles of Star Wars Battlefront and when traveling through the open world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This model, like the more expensive ones, has 3 connectors for case fans (“hardware” can be cooled well), there will be no problems connecting game controllers, etc. Therefore, saving on buying a board, you can invest more money in the processor and a graphics card — they determine the FPS (frames per second) in toys.

No overclocking option

What did the manufacturer save on? The cost of the model has been reduced due to the use of the low-cost B150 chipset. Unlike more expensive solutions based on the Z170 chipset, it does not support Core overclocking with the K index. However, this is not a minus of the B150 GAMING M3 — Intel imposes such a limitation in its CPUs and chipsets. If you are planning on overclocking your system, look for gaming models with the Z170 chipset.

Game "chips"

The board will please the players with a basic set of appropriate "chips". The network adapter is optimized for online games: they have the highest priority among applications and when fighting on the Internet you will get the lowest possible ping (fast connection to the server). And the improved sound adapter is able to "pump" any headphones, including models with a resistance of 600 ohms (that is, almost any).

Support for DDR4 and SATAe

MSI B150 GAMING M3 has a number of improvements compared to Haswell boards: support for DDR4 memory, SATAe (SATA Express) interface for connecting fast SSDs, and 4 USB 3.1 ports (plus 2 can be connected to the panel on the case) for external storage and fast charging gadgets. Now there are few compatible devices on the market, but in a year or two the situation will change and the owner of the board will be able to use the newest drives. In addition, MSI also updated the proprietary software for GAMING series boards. So, it became possible by pressing one of the keys on the keyboard to launch games and applications (for example, Steam) or log in, which is important for online games.