The bundle of the MSI Z270 SLI Plus is frugal, with the company obviously trying to keep the retail price of the motherboard below $140 without sacrificing any of its features. Two black SATA cables (one straight, one with a 90° connector) It is worth noting that there is also no optical SPDIF out jack, which can be quite the issue for people using sound devices that rely on such a connector. When going cheap on a board, some vendors choose Realtek for network controllers, but most motherboard manufacturers now see added value in choosing the Intel chipset. Using the Realtek ALC1220 will be a plus here, especially in comparison to the ASRock. MSI Z270 SLI Plusġ x Type-A on back panel, ASMedia ASM2142ġ x Type-C on back panel, ASMedia ASM2142 The use of U.2 drives is still possible though, with appropriate adapters on the M.2 slots. Compromises had to be made and thus there is no Thunderbolt support and no native U.2 ports - adding these would have pushed the cost higher and into a more premium category. As we mention in our introductory section, MSI’s designers have been trying to implement on the Z270 SLI Plus as many practical features as possible with a motherboard that needs to retail for under $140.
