As the Ryzen launch rolls on, we are finally starting to see some real options – in other words, non-ATX motherboards! MSI has unveiled their B350M Mortar Arctic board, a unit we previewed around CES in January. This board, in it’s all-white styling, really stood out to us – it’s a very bold statement in a sea of darker units. Featuring the slightly gimped (versus the X370 platform) chipset, this unit is high in the midrange, in effect.
The rear IO features a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, a single USB Type C port, DVI, HDMI, Displayport (all three are pretty much decorative until Raven Ridge), RJ45 for gigabit ethernet, 7.1 audio and an optical audio out.
The board itself has a PCIe x16 slot (at x16), a PCIe x16 (at x8), and two PCIe x1 slots. There are four SATA ports, four DDR4 slots, and a single M.2 slot.
MSRP is as yet unknown.
- Supports AMD® RYZEN Series processors and 7th Gen A-series / AthlonTM Processors for socket AM4
- Supports DDR4-3200+(OC) Memory
- DDR4 Boost: Give your DDR4 memory a performance boost
- VR Ready: Best virtual reality game experience without latency
- GAMING LEDs: Ambient LED lights for an awesome look & feel
- Lightning Fast Game experience: Turbo M.2
- Audio Boost: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality for the most immersive gaming experience
- GAMING LAN with LAN Protect: The best online gaming experience with lowest latency and bandwidth management
- Military Class 4, Guard-Pro: Latest evolution in high quality components for best protection and efficiency
- MULTI-GPU: With Steel Armor PCI-E slots. Supports AMD Crossfire™
- Mystic Light Sync: Synchronize other RGB solutions with your gaming rig and control all LEDs in one click
- In-Game Weapons: Game Boost, GAMING Hotkey, X-Boost, Xsplit Gamecaster
- EZ Debug LED: Easiest way to troubleshoot
- Click BIOS 5: Award-winning BIOS with high resolution scalable font, favorites and search function
- GAMING CERTIFIED: 24-hour on- and offline game and motherboard testing by eSports players
- WHQL certified for Windows 10
Thoughts? Discuss them here.
