Introduction

By now, Coffee Lake has been available for many months, and the wonders of CPUs with more than four cores have been thoroughly detailed. Today, we will have another look into the world of Coffee Lake with another B360 motherboard. As a quick refresh, B360 is the sensible younger sibling to Intel's Z370. The B360 chipset does not support overclocking, either for the CPU or RAM, and offers only one M.2 slot. In exchange, B360 offers native USB 3.1 Gen 2 support and a reduced price tag.

Overclocking is a powerful tool that can allow a savvy consumer to squeeze potentially significant amounts of extra performance out of their hardware. With that said, modern processors offer stock boost clocks well north of 4 GHz, so the benefits of overclocking are marginal, and the added cost of unlocked "K" chips from Intel is dubious. In the same vein, consumers who have no realistic plans to overclock should not feel they need to pay out for a top-end mainstream motherboard in order to get the most out of their hardware. Intel and, more importantly to us today, MSI, agree.

One of the biggest hurdles manufactures face with chipsets like the B360 is drawing in consumers. Gamers especially are drawn to the hype and prestige of the mainstream chipsets even when it is not the best choice for them. The trick here is to provide a product that has the flash and presence while, most importantly, providing the experience of a flagship board. Nobody does this better than MSI, and even they might have outdone themselves this time around. The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC is a striking board that holds promise in its very name. MSI has a good track record for producing premium products at every price point, and I expect this B360 offering to be no different. So here is the question I've been driving towards: the B360 GAMING ARCTIC, just how "cool" is it?

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the GAMING ARCTIC box is, appropriately, a white background with the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC name in the center against a white graphic. The MSI logo is prominently placed in the top-left corner, with the Intel logos in the top right. At the bottom is the "Performance Gaming" logo on the left and "MYSTIC LIGHT" logo on the right.

The back of the box keeps the white backdrop and features the GAMING ARCTIC name, and has more Intel logos along the top. Under that is a top down shot of the board with some key features highlighted. Left of the board's picture is a more comprehensive list of included features. Along the bottom of the box is a specifications list on the left and a diagram of the rear IO on the right.

The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC box follows the now familiar formula that gives you a feel for the tone of the board with the graphics and provides crucial specs in a concise and easily distinguishable manner. MSI had done an excellent job of it.



Opening the box reveals the board in an anti-static bag as well as a nice "True Gaming" logo. The accessories are all hidden underneath the board.


The accessories included with the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC are pretty standard. I did notice that the rear I/O cover plate is printed black with a red graphic. I always like to see manufacturers paying attention to small details, but given the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC colors, plain silver would have been acceptable. The full list of accessories includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• 1x Registration card
• 1x Rear I/O cover
• 2x SATA 6 GB/s cables
• 1x M.2 mounting screw

Board Layout

After being freed from the confines of its anti-static bag, the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC shows off a gleaming white PCB with granular silver heatsinks. Even the shield for the CPU socket is a pristine white. The white of the PCB is broken by gray lines zig-zagging down the board. The quality of the color and texture of the heatsinks help make this a very striking and attractive board.

The back of the board is also white, broken only by the socket backplate and some warnings about case standoff interference. The back of the board is clean and quite uniform. The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC is one of the most striking boards I have looked at so far. While some might say that the completely white aesthetic is polarizing (haha, get it?), I find myself liking it quite a lot.


The socket on the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC is open, and most air coolers should not have any issues. The heatsinks, despite being quite hefty, offer a reasonable amount of clearance.


The single M.2 slot that is supported by the B360 chipset is located just under the CPU socket, as is common practice.


The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC has two PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which support CrossFire in x16/x4 mode, along with four PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots. There are five SATA 6 Gb/s ports in total, with four at a 90 degree angle and one facing up from the board. I like boards that offer at least one of both as it can make cable management easier.


The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC has an interesting rear I/O; it forgoes the standard HDMI port for a DisplayPort 1.2. I like the change up, but am also not sure how many people are going to be using the onboard graphics with this kind of board outside of troubleshooting. The MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC does have an ever-important USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port. The full list includes:

• 1x PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo connector
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x DisplayPort 1.2
• 1x DVI-D port
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
• 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
• 1x RJ45 LAN port
• 6x 3.5 mm audio jacks

The LAN on the MSI B360 GAMING ARCTIC is powered by an Intel I219-V chip.