MSI Z270 Gaming Pro review: specs and price

The motherboard has more CPU sockets. Multiple CPUs are typically used in servers.

Best

Best

The number of GPUs supported when using a multi-GPU configuration. Using more than one GPU in parallel can give increased performance.

Best

The motherboard has a button or switch on the rear panel to clear the CMOS, which resets the BIOS to factory settings. This is useful if something goes wrong with the BIOS which stops your computer from booting, as you can reset the BIOS without opening the case to access the CMOS jumper.

When covered under the manufacturer’s warranty it is possible to get a replacement in the case of a malfunction.

Best

Best

It can support faster memory, which will give quicker system performance.

Best

More memory channels increases the speed of data transfer between the memory and the CPU.

Best

More memory slots (also known as DIMM slots) allow you to add more RAM to your computer. It is also useful when upgrading, as you can add RAM to an empty slot instead of replacing an existing memory module.

Best

The maximum amount of memory (RAM) supported.

Best

The motherboard supports overclocking the RAM to a higher speed. By increasing the speed at which the memory runs, you can boost the performance of your computer.

Best

Fan headers are connection points on the motherboard that cooling fans can be connected to. Fans can also be connected straight to the power supply, but when connected to the motherboard you gain much finer control over them through software.

Best

The motherboard has USB 3.0 headers, which are pin connections that you can connect additional USB ports to.

Best

More USB 3.0 ports allow you to connect more devices to your computer that support USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is an improved version of USB 2.0 which offers faster transfer rates.

Best

SATA is an interface used to connect mass storage devices such as hard drives and Blu-ray drives. SATA 3 has a native transfer rate of 6 Gbit/s, which is twice as fast as SATA 2, the previous revision. This is particularly useful if you use an SSD as it can perform at higher speeds.

Best

Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.

RJ-45 ports are used for LAN (Local Area Network) connections. With more ports you can achieve increased bandwidth across a LAN, or connect to multiple networks. It also has the added benefit of not losing connection to the network if one fails.

Best

PCIe slots allow you to connect peripherals to the motherboard, most commonly graphics cards but also others such as sound cards and network cards. The ‘x16’ represents the number of lanes it has, with more lanes supporting higher data transfer rates. PCIe 3.0 offers higher transfer rates than PCIe 2.0, and can give increased performance.

Best

PCIe slots allow you to connect peripherals to the motherboard, most commonly graphics cards but also others such as sound cards and network cards. The ‘x1’ represents the number of lanes it has, with more lanes supporting higher data transfer rates.

Best

More connectors means that more audio devices such as speakers or microphones can be connected.

Best

Each channel is a separate stream of audio information. More channels can provide a more realistic experience, such as providing surround sound.

Best

S/PDIF is an interface used to transmit digital audio with high fidelity.

For example

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 1 mirrors the data across the drives. This gives you greater data security as if one drive fails, the data will still be accessible from another.

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 5 stripes the data across the drives, giving increased performance compared to a single disk. It also provides greater data security as if one drive fails, the data will still be accessible from another due to the use of parity.

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 0 stripes the data across the drives, giving increased performance and capacity compared to a single drive. The drawback is that if one drive fails, you lose the data on all drives.

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 10 (1+0) stripes and mirrors the data across the drives. It gives increased capacity and performance compared to a single disk. It also provides greater data security as if one drive fails, the data will still be accessible from another.

The USB Type-C features reversible plug orientation and cable direction.