Product Showcase Motherboard

Product Showcase

The MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC follows a standard form factor, that would be 12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm). The motherboard is located in the Gaming series and is the flagship product within this range.
 

Included with the motherboard are the regulars including; manuals, driver CDs, SATA cables and a rear IO plate. This motherboard comes with a Bluetooth and WIFI adapter that you will need to install manually onto the motherboard.

• CPU support: 4th Gen Intel Core / Pentium / Celeron processors
• Chipset: Intel Z97 Express Chipset
• KilleNIC Gigabit Ethernet
• Intel 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.0, Intel Wi-Di
• Storage: 10x SATA 6Gb/s, 1x M.2, PCIe 10Gb/s
• Connectivity: 3x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 3x PCI-E x1
• 8x USB 3.0 / 2x USB 2.0 rear IO
• 8-channel Audio ALC1150 Realtek / CMedia CM6631A

Well look at that; small and good looking. And really, as powerful as an enthusiast setup. Included in the bundle is one mighty fine motherboard and gear like SLI connectors, V-Check cables, WIFI Antenna's and the WIFI module and so on.

You will notice that the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC has two extra EMI shields, you can argue whether or not these work, but they sure do look nice.  The I/O back panel reveals two USB 2.0 ports (red) with another eight USB 3.0 ports. A Realtek ALC1150 high definition audio codec is the source for audio and we spot one 10/100/1000 fast Ethernet jack (Killer E2205). There is a single PS/2 combo port that can be used for either a keyboard or a mouse, optical SPDIF in/out port and six audio jacks.

Then monitor connectors wise:

• 1 x DisplayPort with max. resolution up to 4096x2160@24Hz, 24bpp/ 3840x1600@60Hz, 24bpp
• 1 x HDMI port  with max. resolution up to 4096x2160@24Hz, 24bpp/2560x1600@60Hz, 24bpp/ 1920x1080@60Hz, 36bps.

Can you see the small grey buttons roughly a cm away from the lower left? That is a clear CMOS button. The integrated audio comes from Realtek ALC1150 combined with a Cinema 2 software suite. The audio unit has special capacitors and EMI shielding and also has an added CMedia CM6631A IC, Xtreme Audio DAC functionality is the keyword here. We'll address that in the audio section though. Also, you can spot gold plated audio connectors for better signal output with less chance of distortion.

 Check that, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots.

• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, (support x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 modes)
• 3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots

The Z97 XPower AC comes with both one 8 power connector. Man, just look at that, lovely design. Too bad the rear IO connectors aren't colored black, that would have killed this motherboard with awesomeness. 

And yeah, that's not sexy. The EMI shield uses the ATX form factor screw. So we'll need to screw that unit onto the motherboard/motherboard tray. What a weird solution. 

The Z97 Gaming 9 AC has a 12 Phase CPU Digital Power Design. MSI applied their Military Class IV components on the motherboard with updated DrMOS MosFETs and aluminum colored dark caps that are going to increase the motherboards lifespan.

• HI-C CAP - A Hi-c CAP is a very small, but super-efficient capacitor. Besides ensuring enough spacing around a CPU socket to install large coolers, it also allows for 93% energy efficiency. Thanks to Hi-c CAP`s MSI mainboards are the most energy efficient in the market.
• SUPER FERRITE CHOKE - Super Ferrite Choke uses a Ferrite core that is Super-Permeable. This allows the Super Ferrite Choke to run at a 35 degree Celsius lower temperature, have a 30% higher current capacity, a 20% improvement in power efficiency and better overclocking power stability.
• DARK CAP - With their aluminum core design, Dark CAP`s has been a staple in high-end design mainboard designs and provides lower Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) as well as its over-10-year lifespan.