MSI Announces B150M Gaming Pro Motherboard

[btarunr]

MSI, world leading in gaming hardware design, is heartened to announce a new M-ATX GAMING motherboard, the B150M GAMING PRO. This new Micro-ATX motherboard is based on the Intel B150 chipset supporting 6th Gen Intel Core processors for LGA1151, and is designed for gamers looking for a small gaming PC while getting the best gaming features & performance. DDR4 Boost technology is available, providing maximum performance and stability while also offering improved memory compatibility. Audio Boost and GAMING LAN ensure you have upper hand on your enemies on the battlefield, ready to finish on top. But there's more... For a limited time, with the new B150M GAMING PRO you get the great and nimble MSI DS B1 GAMING mouse for free.

By fully isolating the memory circuitry from other components, DDR4 Boost ensures the purest possible memory signal for maximum performance and stability. Get ready to crush your enemies on the battlefield with MSI GAMING LAN, featuring carefully selected components to ensure the best online gaming experience without lag. With optimized traffic prioritization and low latency, MSI GAMING LAN Manager automatically classifies and prioritizes the latency-sensitive applications for online games. The LED illuminated LAN connector features 15KV anti-surge protection for safety.



The best audio solution for gamers with isolated audio PCB and high quality audio caps. MSI AUDIO BOOST rewards your ears with studio grade sound quality.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Disparia]

Nice and simple, looks good.

MSI sure loves this chipset and form-factor, it's the 12th mATX B150 SKU from them.

 

[hojnikb]

Looks like a nice, nofrills board. But i would gladly trade 2 sata ports for 2 additional ram slots.

Hopefully, it will be priced decently.

 

[GhostRyder]

Seems like a decent all around board that looks nice and is basic enough. Comes with some extra features for those who want something a bit more cheaper and don't overclock but want to game.

Not bad...

 

[peche]

Simple, well priced, well done msi...
also with a free mouse... well played msi ..

 

[newtekie1]

I think they have confused the word "Pro" with the word "Budget"...

 

[xfia]

I think they have confused the word "Pro" with the word "Budget"...

i would call it pro to get a good deal on a mobo.. more money for your gpu. no reason not to use a 980ti or fury with it.

 

[vega22]

i would call it pro to get a good deal on a mobo.. more money for your gpu. no reason not to use a 980ti or fury with it.

it being msi the heat from a high end gpu would probably make the mobo melt...

 

[alucasa]

MSI calls my mobo "Pro". It's a H11 basic mini itx mobo but does come with a M.2 slot which isn't supposed to be included with H11 chipset. I guess that's where "pro" comes from.

 

[newtekie1]

i would call it pro to get a good deal on a mobo.. more money for your gpu. no reason not to use a 980ti or fury with it.

If you spent $600 on a GPU and then $50 on a motherboard, especially one as crappy as this one, I'd have to slap you. There are lots of reasons not to use a 980ti or Fury with this board.

• 2 Memory Slots
• No M.2 Slot
• No CPU VRM Heatsink leads to question longevity under high loads, like those found in gaming
• 4-Pin CPU Power leads to a hot plug and questionable longevity under high loads
• PCI-E x16 slot is very first slot
• RAM Slots use standard latches
• RAM placed too low on the board

The last three probably don't see like big deals by themselves, but when you combine the 3 you end up with a bad situation. I've seen too many components broken off GPUs that were put in boards like this because someone tried to take out a RAM stick and the latch on the RAM slot hit the GPU. Not really a problem if your GPU has backplate, but if it doesn't watch out. Plus, if it does have a backplate, it makes it almost impossible to get RAM out without removing the GPU too.

There is nothing wrong with budget boards, but they aren't pro boards. There are way better options for only a little bit more money.

 

[xfia]

haha well i guess i would have to agree they should more picky about a pro label

 

[Drone]

Less is more I guess. Looks good!

 

[LTUGamer]

So now MSI is having B150M GAMING PRO, while ASUS is having B150M PRO GAMING

 

[Caring1]

I think the box was too small for what they intended to write so they settled for Gaming Pro....
when it meant to say Gaming? Probably Not!

 

[Ruru]

IMO these "gaming" budget boards became useless after Intel dropped Xeon support from mainstream chipsets.. Like said, just my opinion though.

I mean, why just not get a basic board?

 

[xfia]

ok ya know what.. i say msi makes high quality shit and it blows away most things that say dell on them to be honest.

if your going to slander msi it better be true or a joke. i cant say im not guilty of saying some dumb shit but its like some people just want the stock market to crash.

so @Fourstaff @RCoon and i think there is actually a msi rep on here.. is it ok to put a high end gpu on the damn mobo?

 

[newtekie1]

So now MSI is having B150M GAMING PRO, while ASUS is having B150M PRO GAMING

At least the ASUS B150M Pro Gaming is a decent board.

ok ya know what.. i say msi makes high quality shit and it blows away most things that say dell on them to be honest.

if your going to slander msi it better be true or a joke. i cant say im not guilty of saying some dumb shit but its like some people just want the stock market to crash.

so @Fourstaff @RCoon and i think there is actually a msi rep on here.. is it ok to put a high end gpu on the damn mobo?

Of course it is "ok". You can put a Titan-X in AM1 motherboard if you wanted. But just because you can doesn't mean you should.

As for this being better than most things that say Dell, I'd have to definitely disagree. The current socket 1151 motherboard that Dell uses in all their full-size computers is way better than this MSI board. It has two M.2 slots, two PCI-E x16 slots, 4 Memory slots, a more powerful VRM, and is based on Z170.

 

[micropage7]

looks simple and no add on like plastic and other cosmetics

 

[xfia]

its not even made for overclocking.. and its intel. the cpu's that go on this thing are really efficient and fast.

actually i think @micropage7 has said before efficiency is import as it is to most for the next upgrade they make because how good it is getting below 20nm.

so maybe the power delivery is not that big of deal because high end gpu's are made to pull most power from the psu.. like duh

 

[Marko Zečević]

It's stripted down and uglier version of msi b150m mortar. Less pcie slots, sata, dimm slots, no reinforced main pcie x16 slot...

 

[Fourstaff]

so @Fourstaff @RCoon and i think there is actually a msi rep on here.. is it ok to put a high end gpu on the damn mobo?

I can't remember any. Maybe I am getting old and forgetful

 

[newtekie1]

its not even made for overclocking.. and its intel. the cpu's that go on this thing are really efficient and fast.

actually i think @micropage7 has said before efficiency is import as it is to most for the next upgrade they make because how good it is getting below 20nm.

so maybe the power delivery is not that big of deal because high end gpu's are made to pull most power from the psu.. like duh

The fact that it is Intel allows them to get away with the 4+2 phase VRM. And I'm sure it will be fine for a few years, but I want to be sure it is going to last, and I'd prefer something with a better design.

But the fact remains, they are calling this a Pro board, and I don't consider a featureless board that is just barely enough to get by "Pro". The Pro level of products should signify something better than the average, this is a below average board. There is nothing wrong with budget parts, but don't stick some lipstick on a pig and try to call it a super model.

 

[PP Mguire]

Nothing wrong with getting a budget board like this and putting a higher end card on it. I've done over 30 builds with H81 based boards of all flavors that are running 780/780ti/970/980 and 2 have AMD cards that run hotter. Each have a non K CPU and run perfectly as well as game perfectly. Why spend more on a motherboard when you can get a cheaper board with the same end performance and toss more initial budget to GPU? The amount of arguing over a Pro moniker is ridiculous It's just marketing. Sort of like ASRock being slap happy with the Killer and Fatal1ty names.

 

[newtekie1]

Nothing wrong with getting a budget board like this and putting a higher end card on it. I've done over 30 builds with H81 based boards of all flavors that are running 780/780ti/970/980 and 2 have AMD cards that run hotter. Each have a non K CPU and run perfectly as well as game perfectly. Why spend more on a motherboard when you can get a cheaper board with the same end performance and toss more initial budget to GPU? The amount of arguing over a Pro moniker is ridiculous It's just marketing. Sort of like ASRock being slap happy with the Killer and Fatal1ty names.

It isn't just that, this isn't just a budget board that is a good value, this is an extreme budget board. When you can get a decent Z170 motherboard for $80, I just can't justify saving something like $10 to go with something this stripped down.

 

[PP Mguire]

The 79 dollar ASRock board only has a few differences that probably won't matter to some like 2 extra RAM slots or an extra 16x(4x) slot. With how budget oriented this board is we could be looking at a 40 dollar board. 40 dollars could be the difference between a new 960 and used 970, the difference which is actually noticeable. I don't want to argue for the sake of this board as I wouldn't personally recommend it (unless it was only 35 bucks or something), but I mean certain arguments can be held back. Like, I've seen people putting 1090t X6s on cheap 35 dollar Gigabyte 760g boards with 4+2 CHEAP phases which we all know sucks a whole lot more juice than say an i3 or even i5.

Forgot to mention, my Asus X79-E WS has the top PCI-E slot so close that the screw for the GPU heatsink barely touches the middle board heatsink and is so close I can't even put a backplate on the card. It's why I have it in the second blue slot. So even some expensive boards do this sometimes.