Pros: Sleek design. Very good looking

Cons: I did a new install and getting the driver's were particularly difficult. I don't use an Optical drive so i used a usb to cd device and it would not recognize my drive without drivers which was weird. I had to connect an optical drive from another computer to be able to do my install.

Other Thoughts: Product works find once you can get it up and running.
Interesting fact, if you want to run windows 7 on this motherboard you have to enable it in BIOS. It could be disabled when you try to boot the first time.

Pros: Are there better z170 mobos out there, well sure, but this board sufficed all my needs, and i wanted a mobo that wasn't crazy red and white- This was exactly what I needed for my matte black nzxt h440 case, full atx mounts, had no problem putting new corsair h115i water cooler on it, ram clearance not a problem. Posted on first try, bios was easy enough, enabled xmp and got ram to recognize new speed, used the 'OC Genie' for an easy modest OC to 4.1 on my i5 6600k.

Cons: Not sure if con for mobo or power supply, I just b a r e l y got the flat power cord from psu that powers mobo to fit wrapping around the back of mobo, seriously, not a cm to spare... I haven't built too many computers so I don't really know how ease of build is compared to other gaming mobos.

Other Thoughts: As far as i can tell, this mobo does what it says. It isn't gaudy, it posted fine, i have room to go sli when it's time for that.

Pros: Sturdy construction. Layout makes good sense. Good features for the price. Easiest to use BIOS I've seen.

Cons: Manual is laid out a little weirdly. About half of the SATA connectors face sideways, which was more unusual than a con.

Other Thoughts: Bought it to replace a MB that gave me persistent compatibility problems. So far so good.

Pros: All black coloring looks fantastic. Like spotting a unicorn, it booted up with 16GB RAM in two slots and i5 6600k on the first try! Love the GUI BIOS. MSI driver/BIOS updater works like a charm. No problem installing Cooler master V8 GTS cooler (which is a massive cooler).
Very convenient to have USB type C to fast charge my cellphone. Incredible price for the caliber of quality that it is.

Cons: No lighting effects built in.
Needs more USB connections on the back.

Other Thoughts: I would certainly recommend this to anyone that is looking to build a simple yet powerful computer. I'm more concerned with the games than the computer, and the i5 6600k handles them exceptionally well (along with a fantastic GPU ofcourse).

Pros: Bios is really weird, newer modern. Awesome integrated sound directly on the board. Has integrated on board video with an intel 3.4 i7 6700. Low profile components easy installing for Nvidia 970 and works excellent with a set of 2x8gb sticks of ddr4 ram.
Price is very good.

ALSO Sli and Crossfire ready!!

Cons: Non so far, can be a little tight for a Mid tower case for all the hardware. Will not fit a small case.

Pros: -Matte Black design that will match with any color scheme in your case
-Fully functional BIOS on par with MSI's gaming series.
-Small, but very effective heat sinks on the VRMs
-Intel Nic
-M.2 slot at such a low price point
-Overclocking ability
-The price!

Cons: -Cheap looking Sata ports/ vertical sata ports (4 horizontal and two vertical)
-Lack of USB ports
-No numerical LED (The debug LED provided is very generic)

Other Thoughts: I actually did my research and read reviews on this board from 4 independent sites that I trust and they were all very positive. The board is well made with MSI's military class materials despite it being a budget productivity board. Installation was a breeze and I updated the BIOS to version 130 since the board shipped with the 110 version. I usually never use the CD to install drivers, but was forced to this time around due to the board shipping with no network driver installed, no biggie, but something like this could be an issue for people without access to an internal or external DVD drive.

The BIOS is well rounded with a ton of options, just like the MSI gaming series and that was a welcome plus. I was able to get my 6600K up to 4.6 GHz on 1.36v (safe for watercooling) with max core temp hitting 63 degrees. This board is very much intended to be used for overclocking. Understand that when you purchase. All in all one of the best value tech purchases I have ever made since I purchased it on sale during a Newegg sale for 119.00.

This is a great board to consider for those looking for a minimalistic looking mainboard that does not sacrifice on functionality. The vertical sata ports and the minimal amount of USB ports were not enough to remove an egg. I'm to the point in my building life where I don't need flashy gimmick colors and corny features. Thank you MSI for a "grown up" affordable product.

Edit: This motherboard just got better. After having trouble overclocking my RAM above 2666MHz it seems a recent BIOS update (140) has solved that issue. By increasing SA voltage, IO voltage and DIMM voltage I have a stable overclock of 3000MHz on my Hyper Fury X 16GB kit of RAM. Not to mention this motherboard is on sale again for the same price that I bought it with a rebate. Total price after rebate is 109.00. That's crazy. It's a steal.

Pros: Nice looking I love the "mystic" lights

Cons: The con I have is the board has a bad PCI-E slot

Other Thoughts: I got the board built the system seems like a good board especially for the price just mine shipped with a bad PCI-E slot so I cant use SLI and have to RMA the thing

Pros: Easy to use and install has so many connectors for add one this board is absolutely wonderful no problems installing custom fan and has great debugging led not only that the over clock genie that it comes with boosts my Intel 6700k to 4.40 ghz and my ram as well without and high temps I recommend this board to any first time users

Cons: Non

Pros: - Decent price for the features, bought this at $119.99 a few weeks ago
- Great documentation provided by MSI, explaining which RAM slots to use, how to connect audio connectors, thorough diagrams, etc.. (Very easy for new PC builders to understand)
- Military grade components
- Easy to navigate BIOS
- Love the simple matte-black finish. Looks great with Hyper X black memory and black graphics cards.
- Easy to setup. Had no problems connecting things. I am using an old case, a first gen Antec Sonota, so cable management wasn't going to be ideal, but thats on me for not going with a new case.
- Debug LEDs

Cons: Ive had my build running for over a week now, and I don't any issues with the board, but the one thing I did find a little odd was the SATA connectors on the board, some being mounted at 90 degrees while others at 180. Not really a con in the grand scheme of things, but for those who have builds using 3-4 SATA connections, it might get a little cumbersome.

Other Thoughts: Originally bought this board with the plan to get an i5-6600k and OC, but decided against it and got the i5-6500 instead. My build:
- MSI Z170A SLI Plus
- Intel Core i5-6500
- HyperX Fury DDR4 2133 16 GB
- Sapphire R9 380 4 GB OC w/backplate
- Western Digital 1 TB 7200 HDD

Pros: Great looks, great manual, booted first time, SLI, budget price

Cons: HD Audio was DOA. My front audio panel worked great on my last mobo from 2012. Tried everything, disabling headphones from settings and re-enabling, reinstalling drivers multiple times, making headphones the default, and unplugging/re-plugging the cable. Fan header locations also in awkward locations

Other Thoughts: When I contacted MSI customer support, the agent barely spoke English and couldn't understand me, nor I him. When he understood what the issue was, he didn't even try to troubleshoot, just told me to contact Newegg for a replacement. I will be giving it another try.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Ingrid,
Sorry to hear about your reported issue. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the product, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at usreview@msi.com or at our support direct number in California USA 626-271-1004 M-F 9AM to 6PM PST. and we will be more than happy to assist you, thank you.

Thanks for choosing MSI

Best Regards,
MSI Review Team | usreview@msi.com