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MSI Z97I GAMING ACK Mini-ITX motherboard released
Mini ITX is becoming a popular form factor as you can chuck these puppies full with high-end kit, yet design something tiny and small in size. MSI released the new Z97I GAMING ACK, a 17cm Mini-ITX motherboard with Killer WiFi a hip M.2 SSD slot and a new PCB design.
MSI, world leading in motherboard technology, announces the true mini-ITX gaming solution, featuring ACK powered by Killer DoubleShot Pro, M.2 connectivity and a whole new gaming oriented PCB design. Gamers around the world looking for a powerful small-sized gaming machine with all the necessary bells & whistles can now get excited.
ACK powered by Killer DoubleShot Pro delivers 3.5x times lower latency and 2.9x times faster data throughput compared to traditional Wireless-N solutions. Killer Smart Teaming allows the use of LAN and WI-FI at the same time with speeds up to 1.867 Gbps and the ability to process gaming activity through LAN and other internet activity through Wi-Fi for the best lag-free gaming experience. Advanced Stream Detect™ automatically classifies and prioritizes the latency-sensitive applications for online games. Together with smart applications which allow you to control your bandwidth, MSI ACK is the one and only true wireless GAMING solution.
Enjoy a blazing fast system boot up and insanely fast loading of applications and games with MSI GAMING motherboards. We offer the next generation of high speed storage support through M.2. M.2 transfers data through a PCI Express 2.0 x2 interface up to 10 Gb/s, making it 67% faster than SATA 3.0 solutions. Innovative engineering on the Z97I GAMING ACK allows for a M.2 slot located at the bottom of the motherboard. M.2 is packed in a small form factor and is compatible with 2 different sizes on the Z97I GAMING ACK motherboard, to fit most storage solutions.
Optimized keep-out zone for more compatibility of cooler
Choosing a cooler for the mini-ITX build has never been an easy thing without having to give up either silence or cooling performance. Traditionally, ITX motherboards are not always compatible with the biggest and best cooling solutions. MSI reaches out to those who don’t want to compromise on performance and silence by re-designing the entire PCB and re-locating the 1150 CPU socket on the Z97I GAMING ACK motherboard. This new design allows for easy installment of large enthusiast CPU air cooling solutions or water cooling kits. Never worry about CPU temperatures during long gaming sessions and enjoy a more silent ITX gaming system with the all new MSI Z97I GAMING ACK motherboard.
- Z97I GAMING ACK specifications:
- CPU Support: 4th and 5th Gen Intel® Core™ / Pentium® / Celeron® processors
- Chipset: Intel® Z97 Express Chipset
- Network: Killer™ E2205 Gigabit Ethernet, Killer™ 1525 802.11 ac, BT 4.1
- Storage: 1x M.2 10Gb/s, 4x SATA 6Gb/s
- Display interface: 1x DisplayPort, 2x HDMI
- Connectivity: 1x PCI-e 3.0 x16, 6x USB 3.0, 6x USB 2.0, 8-channel Audio Boost
Primey0
Senior Member
Posts: 120
Joined: 2014-06-27
Senior Member
Posts: 120
Joined: 2014-06-27
#4980414 Posted on: 12/20/2014 02:09 PM
It's so cute!
It's so cute!
SHS
Senior Member
Posts: 426
Joined: 2001-05-02
Senior Member
Posts: 426
Joined: 2001-05-02
#4980573 Posted on: 12/20/2014 08:22 PM
No reason they should of made this without ultra m2. Mini itx only uses 16 pci-e 3.0 lanes for the 1 slot. That leaves 4 open pci-e 3.0 lanes to the cpu which is what ultra m2 needs. The networking and usb's and such can all run through the pci-e 2.0 lanes off pch. Making this 1 tweak would of made a big difference.
Also when can we get some mini itx gtx 970 reviews showing the effects of a smaller heatsink vs regular cards so we can see what tradeoff is being made to go that small
You forget that the wireless is one that slot so maybe it must be compatibility reason why it that way.
No reason they should of made this without ultra m2. Mini itx only uses 16 pci-e 3.0 lanes for the 1 slot. That leaves 4 open pci-e 3.0 lanes to the cpu which is what ultra m2 needs. The networking and usb's and such can all run through the pci-e 2.0 lanes off pch. Making this 1 tweak would of made a big difference.
Also when can we get some mini itx gtx 970 reviews showing the effects of a smaller heatsink vs regular cards so we can see what tradeoff is being made to go that small
You forget that the wireless is one that slot so maybe it must be compatibility reason why it that way.
laststop
Senior Member
Posts: 206
Joined: 2014-08-03
Senior Member
Posts: 206
Joined: 2014-08-03
#4980708 Posted on: 12/21/2014 01:28 AM
the wireless can run off the pci-e 2.0 lanes off the z97 chipset tho with basically no performance difference. Then you have 4 lanes for an ultra m2 slot. You use the wireless and ethernet and usb ports off the z97 chipset pci-e 2.0 lanes
Ultra m2 on this board would of really helped out on it's appeal. The samsung sm951 1TB ultra m2 SSD thats coming out is begging for an empty ultra m2 slot. Native Pci-e 3.0 x4 interface + NVMe and 1Tb capacity in m2 size is gonna be an awesome SFF high performance enabler and also enable killing all 2.5" and 3.5" drives making the build even more compact with the optical killed off as well and a mini itx gtx 970 and either a low profile noctua mini itx air cooler which can still OC nicely or a closed loop 120/140mm water cooler you now have a tiny pc with more power than what what full atx used to be.
the 12.6L ncase M1 is basically the best high performance SFF case.
My bro's next build is going to be in an ncase m1. I would do it if the enthusiast line could fit on a mini itx board but those 2011 pin sockets are too big.
You forget that the wireless is one that slot so maybe it must be compatibility reason why it that way.
the wireless can run off the pci-e 2.0 lanes off the z97 chipset tho with basically no performance difference. Then you have 4 lanes for an ultra m2 slot. You use the wireless and ethernet and usb ports off the z97 chipset pci-e 2.0 lanes
Ultra m2 on this board would of really helped out on it's appeal. The samsung sm951 1TB ultra m2 SSD thats coming out is begging for an empty ultra m2 slot. Native Pci-e 3.0 x4 interface + NVMe and 1Tb capacity in m2 size is gonna be an awesome SFF high performance enabler and also enable killing all 2.5" and 3.5" drives making the build even more compact with the optical killed off as well and a mini itx gtx 970 and either a low profile noctua mini itx air cooler which can still OC nicely or a closed loop 120/140mm water cooler you now have a tiny pc with more power than what what full atx used to be.
the 12.6L ncase M1 is basically the best high performance SFF case.
My bro's next build is going to be in an ncase m1. I would do it if the enthusiast line could fit on a mini itx board but those 2011 pin sockets are too big.
SHS
Senior Member
Posts: 426
Joined: 2001-05-02
Senior Member
Posts: 426
Joined: 2001-05-02
#4983304 Posted on: 12/26/2014 06:37 AM
the wireless can run off the pci-e 2.0 lanes off the z97 chipset tho with basically no performance difference. Then you have 4 lanes for an ultra m2 slot. You use the wireless and ethernet and usb ports off the z97 chipset pci-e 2.0 lanes
Ultra m2 on this board would of really helped out on it's appeal. The samsung sm951 1TB ultra m2 SSD thats coming out is begging for an empty ultra m2 slot. Native Pci-e 3.0 x4 interface + NVMe and 1Tb capacity in m2 size is gonna be an awesome SFF high performance enabler and also enable killing all 2.5" and 3.5" drives making the build even more compact with the optical killed off as well and a mini itx gtx 970 and either a low profile noctua mini itx air cooler which can still OC nicely or a closed loop 120/140mm water cooler you now have a tiny pc with more power than what what full atx used to be.
the 12.6L ncase M1 is basically the best high performance SFF case.
My bro's next build is going to be in an ncase m1. I would do it if the enthusiast line could fit on a mini itx board but those 2011 pin sockets are too big.
I just wonder if know that it has Ultra M.2 Slot on this board which where the wireless card but on bottom side of the motherboard.
the wireless can run off the pci-e 2.0 lanes off the z97 chipset tho with basically no performance difference. Then you have 4 lanes for an ultra m2 slot. You use the wireless and ethernet and usb ports off the z97 chipset pci-e 2.0 lanes
Ultra m2 on this board would of really helped out on it's appeal. The samsung sm951 1TB ultra m2 SSD thats coming out is begging for an empty ultra m2 slot. Native Pci-e 3.0 x4 interface + NVMe and 1Tb capacity in m2 size is gonna be an awesome SFF high performance enabler and also enable killing all 2.5" and 3.5" drives making the build even more compact with the optical killed off as well and a mini itx gtx 970 and either a low profile noctua mini itx air cooler which can still OC nicely or a closed loop 120/140mm water cooler you now have a tiny pc with more power than what what full atx used to be.
the 12.6L ncase M1 is basically the best high performance SFF case.
My bro's next build is going to be in an ncase m1. I would do it if the enthusiast line could fit on a mini itx board but those 2011 pin sockets are too big.
I just wonder if know that it has Ultra M.2 Slot on this board which where the wireless card but on bottom side of the motherboard.
Goldie
Senior Member
Posts: 533
Joined: 2014-06-12
Senior Member
Posts: 533
Joined: 2014-06-12
#4983371 Posted on: 12/26/2014 01:59 PM
throw one of the 970 direct CU MINIs in there with some kinda mini-cpu cooler and Bob's your uncle.
*hoping for a 970 cu mini review.
throw one of the 970 direct CU MINIs in there with some kinda mini-cpu cooler and Bob's your uncle.
*hoping for a 970 cu mini review.
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No reason they should of made this without ultra m2. Mini itx only uses 16 pci-e 3.0 lanes for the 1 slot. That leaves 4 open pci-e 3.0 lanes to the cpu which is what ultra m2 needs. The networking and usb's and such can all run through the pci-e 2.0 lanes off pch. Making this 1 tweak would of made a big difference.
Also when can we get some mini itx gtx 970 reviews showing the effects of a smaller heatsink vs regular cards so we can see what tradeoff is being made to go that small