Spoilt for choice would be an understatement for any prospective buyers of the X99 platform. MSI alone has a motherboard for almost every possible price point, use-case scenario and type of user. Add other motherboard vendors into the mix and the amount of choice is dizzying. With its high-end price …

The Intel Broadwell-E generation is where the top end of the enthusiast market crosses over into the professional space. MSI’s X99A Workstation motherboard is based on the same consumer-oriented Intel X99 chipset as its high-end gaming products, rather than the business-focused C612, but with extra features aimed at the workstation …

X99 holds a relatively exclusive status in the PC market, even among DIY builders and enthusiasts, since the entry costs to the platform are higher in a variety of areas. ASRock addresses this price-limitation directly with the new X99 Taichi – a motherboard that promises a mid-range feature-set for an …

MSI has been keenly expanding its range of X99 motherboards, particularly gaming-oriented varieties, in reaction to Intel's Broadwell-E CPUs for LGA 2011-3. Prospective X99 buyers now have a formidable number of options to choose from in the wider X99 marketplace, as well as from within MSI's own range. One of …

Since the launch of Intel's Broadwell-E CPU family for the X99 platform KitGuru has seen and tested a of variety refreshed motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. However, no assessment of new X99 motherboards would be complete without examining what ASRock has to offer. The ASRock motherboard on test today …

Intel's next-gen CPU architecture, Kaby Lake, is expected at some point in the coming months but for now Skylake remains the prominent choice for PC builders.  Z170 continues to be the flagship chipset for Intel's mainstream CPUs until it is replaced by Intel's 200-Series chipset with Kaby Lake. It is …

Gigabyte has taken the Broadwell-E launch as an opportunity to update its X99 motherboard line-up. Today we will be examining the X99-Ultra Gaming – a feature-rich motherboard with premium offerings which include multiple PCIe storage interfaces, Intel USB 3.1, and user-customisable RGB lighting. Alongside the new LGA 2011-3 socket that …

Founded in 2006, Asus is celebrating 10 years of creating gaming-orientated enthusiast hardware through its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. And what better way to celebrate a 10-year anniversary than with a special edition of the company’s flagship motherboard? An enhanced version of the Rampage V Extreme, the Rampage V …

MSI's Godlike Gaming X99 motherboard first made an appearance mid last year with a striking design and a brazen claim to X99 motherboard superiority. Positioned against the ASUS Rampage V Extreme, now the Rampage V Edition 10, the Godlike Gaming motherboard is MSI's no holds barred X99 implementation. The refreshed …

With Intel's new range of Broadwell-E enthusiast grade CPUs now available, including the 10-core Core i7 6950X, it's only fitting that motherboard vendors have refreshed ageing X99 portfolios. ASUS was quick off the mark releasing the X99-A II, X99-DELUXE II, Rampage V Edition 10 and ROG STRIX X99 Gaming. The …

MSI has delivered a bold and uniquely styled range of gaming motherboards for the Z170 platform since it's launch, the XPower Gaming Titanium and Gaming M7 are two excellent examples that we've tested here at KitGuru. Yet those motherboards are relatively expensive for any buyer looking for an affordable entry …

Gigabyte’s Z170-Gaming K3 motherboard plays along nicely with that idea, costing just £95 which makes it the most affordable Gaming branded Z170 motherboard in the UK. Yet, you may still be pleasantly surprised by how much you get for your money with the Z170-Gaming K3 – few sacrifices have been made to reach such an aggressive price point.

There are an extraordinary number of Z170 motherboards currently available to buy, of which a substantial proportion of these directly target the growing PC Gaming market. While it is true that Gaming motherboards tend to be more expensive than non-Gaming counterparts, due to the extra design work and features implemented …

Retailing just under £110, MSI's Z170A SLI Plus is targeting Skylake users with an eye on SLI support for their graphics subsystem. With the Z170A SLI Plus motherboard's use of an Intel NIC and largely black colour scheme, MSI is aiming to perk the interest of mainstream users who may …

ASRock has really upped its game over the last few years. A decade ago, the company was most successful at the budget end of the market. But that image has long gone. Recently, we looked at a decidedly high-end X99 chipset board in the shape of the ASRock X99 WS-E/10G. …

Hitting the mid-high end market hard is the Supermicro C7Z170-SQ. Taking inspiration from the past and adding modern components is sure to rock the competition with server grade components, high-speed M.2 and USB-C 3.1 included.  Perched precariously at £210, the Supermicro C7Z170-SQ looks to be the motherboard that has been …

It seems like the AM3+ platform has been around forever, yet competitive value options on the CPU side mean that motherboard vendors are still battling for a slice of the pie with 970 and 990FX offerings. How do you make a chipset approaching its 5th birthday valid in 2016? Gigabyte …

Motherboards aimed at professional usage have quite different requirements to those aimed at consumer activities like gaming. For a start, whilst gamers are swiftly moving onto the Z170 chipset and Intel Skylake procesors, because quad-core is usually enough, workstations have generally stuck with X99 and Haswell E processors, due to …

Right now, the mini-ITX scene is extremely popular for gamers and enthusiasts. A combined effort by component manufacturers has seen greater emphasis being put on innovative mini-ITX cases, short graphics cards, and more confined cooling solutions. And let's not forget the system builders deploying small form-factor (SFF) offerings such as …

Tackling the premium gaming market, MSI outfits the Z170A Gaming M7 with a number of features that will have eager buyers licking their lips. Alongside the eye-catching red and black colour scheme, hardware features include an enhanced audio system, two high-speed M.2 slots, and USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports. …

The availability of multiplier-locked Skylake chips has sparked an even greater emphasis on the need for low-cost motherboards to partner with such processors. ASRock's affordable Z170 Extreme4 utilises the Z170 chipset's host of worthwhile features but minimises add-on components in order to maintain aggressive pricing. Aside from the Z170 chipset's …

With Skylake chips still selling through retailers for a significantly greater price than Intel may have intended, the HEDT X99 platform quickly becomes an even more appealing option to power users. The six-core Haswell-E 5820K is faster than Skylake's flagship 6700K and is available for around £40 less. The next …

Asus' TUF series of motherboards takes a different approach towards the market when compared to the gaming, overclocking, and ‘standard' line-ups each vendors has in its product catalogue. Built primarily for reliable stability through enhanced thermal management and validated industrial design, can the Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 live up to …

It is almost undeniable that performance is the primary currency when purchasing components for a pixel-pushing gaming machine. But in the same way that enthusiasts may appreciate a fast car for its sleek lines and eye-catching paint job, appearance is another of the important parameters to gamers building a system …

MSI has made a bold move by giving the company's Z170 XPower motherboard a Titanium theme. What exactly does that mean? Well firstly the motherboard features a unique metallic styling which is sure to turn heads. And then there's the application of a sixteen phase power delivery system that makes …

Gigabyte's Z170XP-SLI is aiming to tempt users looking for a motherboard that offers the Z170 platform's core features, but without requiring a significant cash outlay. In the Z170XP-SLI, Gigabyte offers one of the lowest cost boards to support SLI, while also retaining features such as USB 3.1, USB Type-C, and …

Exploiting the Skylake CPUs for their allure to gamers, ASRock's Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6+ is a motherboard that targets the enthusiast gaming audience by offering a wide range of the bells and whistles they may desire. Can pumped-up audio, a Killer NIC, strong multi-GPU support, and high-speed storage interfaces persuade …

The launch of Intel's Skylake CPUs sees the introduction of a whole new platform based around the LGA 1151 socket. Making use of Intel's feature-healthy Z170 chipset, Asus is targeting gamers who value premium aesthetics and enhanced gaming-grade features with the Maximus VIII Hero. Will the Republic of Gamers (ROG) …

When it comes to performance processors for the consumer market, Intel's Haswell-E chips are the fastest around. With such great performance potential are enthusiasts who want to squeeze every last bit of juice out of their system in order to break world records. That's where MSI's X99A XPOWER AC motherboard …

MSI's mid-range Z97 motherboard is the first to market with on-board USB 3.1 in the connection's Type-C form. With the port providing transfer rates of up to 10Gbps and support for new reversible USB Type-C devices, can MSI's Z97A Gaming 6 prove itself as a good option for users wanting …