MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard Review - Introduction

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 02/04/2014 09:23 AM [

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The review: MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard

We review, test and benchmark the MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard. The Z87M Gaming is made on a Micro-ATX form factor at 24.4 x 24.4 CM, that means you can seat a processor as powerful as the Core i7 4770K onto a motherboard this size. MSI has been going strong with their Gaming series motherboards alright, and props where props are due, they are excellent platforms for a modern and fast PC. Especially when you will learn it still has a fully fetched PCIe x16 slots, KillerNIC Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and heck even four SATA 6 Gbps ports.

Heck let me quickly list some of the features:

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
Digital Display Outputs: DisplayPort/HDMI Support
PCI Express Gen 3: World's 1st PCI Express Gen 3 Motherboard Brand
Command Center: Control & Customize Your PC Settings
Fast Boot: Quickly Boot Up & Enter OS in A Few Seconds

So based on a relatively small form factor (Micro ATX) we receive a motherboard that has been chucked full with features like Killer LAN and Audio Boost. The MSI Z87M Gaming has a multi-phase-phase digital VRM with cooling, two full PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, 24-pin and 8-pin power connectors, four full-size DDR3 DIMM memory slots and even 8-channel audio. Another advantage is that the Z87M has proper overclocking support. As for video connectivity, MSI settled for DisplayPort and two HDMI ports as well as 8-channel audio coming from a Realtek ALC 1150 codec. This Haswell-ready mainboard has four USB 3.0 ports and a couple of USB 2.0 connectors. Add to that MIL-STND-810G military class components and that black and red design. You even get Click BIOS 4, and the “all new two-stage one-second overclocking OC Genie 4” technology and yeah, the KillerNIC ethernet.

One could say, this is a Killer motherboard.

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MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard Review
We review, test and benchmark the MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard. The Z87M Gaming is made on a Micro-ATX form factor at 24.4 x 24.4 CM, that means you can seat a processor as powerful as the Core i7 477...