Best budget Z270 motherboard
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MSI Z270 Tomahawk- Excellent price
- Stylish design with built-in I/O cover and LED backlighting
- Intel Ethernet
- Ancient Realtek ALC892 audio
- Poor overclocking results
While there’s plenty to like about Z270, the extra dollars required for buy-in are a drawback. Component manufacturers haven’t been shy about hiking prices for the last few chipset generations, although the hit isn’t as big as it was from Z97 to Z170. A quick scan at Newegg yields a cost basement around $105 for an entry-level Z270 board.
MSI’s Tomahawk series retails just a few bucks above this price floor but delivers a credible midrange set of features and build quality nonetheless. The dark grey and red color scheme includes red backlighting, a screened pattern on the PCB, and a built-in I/O shroud with illuminated logo. The result is handsome, and if potential component color choice clashes worry you, there’s an arctic white version available that looks even better and will match any style you have in mind.
Don’t expect top-shelf memory performance or CPU speeds with this budget board, however. The multiplier test came up short at 4.9 GHz and memory was limited to 3200MHz. Benchmark numbers reflected this, but didn’t affect observed gaming performance too much. Exotic components like pre-binned 5GHz CPUs and high-speed DDR4 aren’t usually on the menu with budget builds anyway.
Rear I/O includes 8 USB ports, including one type C and five type A USB 3.1 connectors. Ethernet is handled via Intel’s low-latency V219 controller.
One drawback worth mentioning is the aging Realtek ALC 892 audio codec. While perfectly adequate for standard duties, most of the other boards here sport the new ALC 1220, which incorporates around five years of advancements. Fortunately, MSI’s codec implementation is a good one, so this isn’t a deal breaker, but if cutting edge sound is part of your plan, look elsewhere.
For ultra-budget builds, MSI’s H270 Tomahawk variants provide virtually identical looks and similar performance at even lower prices, although forget about overclocking or memory speeds above 2133.
