MSI Z370 Gaming M5 Review
Published by Luca Rocchi on 27.02.18Page:
Layout
As we've already mentioned in the introduction the MSI Z370 Gaming M5 motherboard comes with a great looking design. The PCB has a matte black finish and the heatsinks feature dark grey covers. On the PCH you'll also find the neat looking MSI dragon. The heatsinks have been shaped with a lot of attention to detail. The layout in general has been well thought and there are plenty of useful features, like six SATA 6Gbps ports, two M.2 Gen 3 x4 slots, overclocking features and more.
The VRM setup is not too dissimilar to that of the Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC with 8+2 phases for the CPU socket area. We identified a uP9508Q 3+2 (VCore+VccGT) phase PWM controller which is likely being doubled by a uP1961S chip. Both units are provided by uPI Semiconductor. Furthermore there are 12 NTMFS4C024N and 10 NTMFS4C029N MOSFETs units on the high- and low-side respectively.
This board has been equipped with a total of four DIMM-slots. Officially supported is everything up to DDR4 4000 (O.C.). There is engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 2.0.
The PCH as well as the current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via passive heatsinks. The heatsinks for the current converters are made from two aluminium blocks which are not linked by an additional heatpipe. The PCH heatsinks are all quite simple and flat. The cooling blocks have been very well made and they've been perfetcly attached to the board to provide enough pressure on the components they have to cool. The aluminium blocks are black with grey sheet metal covers, overall resembling a new and fresh looking design.
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