MSI Z87I motherboard review - Introduction

MSI Intel 8 Series Platform - the tiny Z87I review

Today we review, test and benchmark the MSI Z87I series motherboard. You better grab a magnifying glass as this is the smallest fully fetched Z87 motherboard you will ever see. Yep, the high-end chipset based Z87I is made in a Mini-ITX form factor, that means you can seat a processor as powerful as the Core i7 4770K onto a motherboard that is 17x17 CM in size. Amazing really, especially when you will learn it still has a fully fetched PCIe x16 slot, Dual Gigabit Ethernet, WIFI, USB 3.0 and heck even four SATA 6 Gbps ports.

So 17x17 CM gets all this:

• Suports 4th Gen Intel Core/Pentium/Celeron processors for LGA 1150 socket
• Supports DDR3-3000(OC) Memory
• USB 3.0 + SATA 6Gb/s
• Military Class 4: Top Quality & Stability
• Military Class Essentials: Total Protection for Military Class Motherboards
• OC Genie 4: Overclock in 1 Second
• Click BIOS 4: Easily Fine-tune Your System
• 4K UHD Support: Ultra-high Definition Visual Experience
• 3 Digital Display Outputs: DisplayPort/HDMI/DVI Support
• PCI Express Gen 3: World's 1st PCI Express Gen 3 Motherboard Brand
• USB Audio Power: A Break Through in USB Audio Quality
• Command Center: Control & Customize Your PC Settings
• Fast Boot: Quickly Boot Up & Enter OS in A Few Seconds
• Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, Intel Wireless Display

Are you excited yet ? We certainly are. The MSI Z87I has a 4-phase VRM with cooling, dual Gigabit Ethernet, a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot (one each), 24-pin and 4-pin power connectors, two full-size DDR3 DIMM memory slots, 8-channel audio, 802.11 b/g/n WiDI, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

Another advantage is that the Z87I has CPU overclocking support. As for video connectivity, MSI settled for DVI-I, DisplayPort and HDMI as well as 8-channel audio coming from a Realtek ALC 892 codec. This Haswell-ready mainboard has six USB 3.0 ports and a couple of USB 2.0 connectors. Have a peek at this spectacular looking and feature rich motherboard -- an all new design, and then let's fire up this review.