The MSI X99 SLI Plus
The box also contains the boards infamous all black design. Accessories aren’t that extensive, unless some were missing from our sample. Inside we got a collection of SATA cables, SLI brigde and an I/O shield. Nothing special inside, but mostly everything needed for the system is covered.
Here we can see a complete overlook of the board. The all black design is definitely something we are pleased by. MSi didn’t even use different shares of black for the DIMM slots or PCIe slots. The board is sure to go with most rigs and won’t impact color schemes and should blend in nicely.
Inside we have a total of 8 SATA III 6GB/s connections. We also have a right angled USB 3.0 internal header connection. The rear I/O contains 8 x USB 3.0 ports. 2 x USB 2.0 ports and a PS/2 connection. 1 x Gigabit LAN and finally 7.1 channel audio with S/PDIF output. The bottom right of the board also contains a SATA Express connection, which can be used as such or as two SATA 6Gb/s ports.
On top we have the VRM heatsink that sits right next to our 8-pin CPU power.
Another USB 3.0 internal header is spotted right next to our 24-pin power. We also have a close-up of the complete black dimm slots.
Lastly we have all of the PCIe connectors. Hidden intebween them is the M.2 Slot that supports SATA 6Gb/s or PCIe 32Gb speed and supports modules at 4.2cm, 6cm, and 8cm lengths. We have a total of 4 PCIe slots with 2 x1 slots available as well. The board supports up to three cards, but the amount of lanes is dependent on the CPU used. Using either a 5960x or 5930k (40 lanes) the board will support x16, x16/x16 , x16/x16/x8 (using the 1st,2nd, and 4th slots). Using a 5820k (28 lanes) the board will support X16, X16/X8, X8/X8/X8 (using 1st, and 3rd slots or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd slots).
2. Photos and Features
