MSI Z87M Gaming Review

Mar 6, 2014

[section_title title=”Packaging”]

As with the other offerings that we have seen from MSI in their coveted Gaming series, the Z87M Gaming follows the same branding for the front of the box. In fact, the only difference between the front of Z87M Gaming and the Z87-GD65 Gaming that I reviewed previously is the model number. The front of the packaging has a dark appearance to it, displaying the large MSI ‘Gaming Dragon’ and the G series Crest that we have all come to associate with MSI’s Gaming series hardware. It is showing that it has built in Killer E2200 Killer networking on-board as well as using the latest Intel z87 chipset and support for all of the latest Intel Core processors as well as it being endorsed by the Fnatic gaming clan.

On the rear, there is information regarding numerous features which have been packed into this motherboard. This is primarily showing off three things. Audio Boost, Killer E2200 and OC Genie 4.

Audio Boost, Designed by MSI claims to enhance sound output by upto 30%. Gold flash audio jacks provide stable sound transmission, reduced obstruction, and works in conjunction with the optimized AMP design. Characterised by low noise and low distortion, to greatly enhance headphone performance and faithfully reproduce each acoustic detail.

Killer E2200 is an ‘Intelligent Networking Platform’ built for maximum networking performance for online games and high-quality streaming media. Featuring Advanced Stream Detect™, Killer E2200 automatically detects and accelerates game traffic ahead of other network traffic for smoother, stutter-free in-game performance and the competitive edge. With this exclusive, automatic traffic prioritization, games and real-time chat get priority over low-level system chatter, giving you the lowest latency for game data on the most controllable network hardware available.

OC Genie is the world’s first built-in hardware overclocking technology on motherboards. With this new generation of OC Genie, MSI are giving you even more performance. The OC Genie button works as you expect it to, but now you have even more control. Flick the OC_MODE switch from the normal “Turbo” to “GAMING” and your PC gets another adrenalin shot! For the more advanced overclockers, MSI give you complete control of your settings with “My OC Genie”.