MSI Z87M Gaming mATX Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. MSI Z87M Gaming: Packaging and Bundle3. MSI Z87M Gaming: Board Layout and Features4. MSI Z87M Gaming: BIOS5. Testing Methodology6. System: 3DMark 117. System: 3DMark8. System: SiSoft Sandra9. Processor: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit10. Processor: WinRAR11. Processor: HandBrake12. Motherboard: Storage Performance13. Motherboard: Audio Performance14. Gaming: Bioshock Infinite15. Gaming: Metro 203316. Gaming: Metro: Last Light17. Overclocking: Frequencies18. Overclocking: Performance19. Technical: Power Consumption20. Closing Thoughts21. View All Pages

Since its inception earlier this year, MSI's Gaming series of components has been a success story. With its well-respected ATX Gaming series motherboards receiving positive feedback, MSI turns its focus to winning over mATX gamers. Enter the micro-ATX Z87M Gaming.

Retaining many of the gaming-orientated features that made its ATX brothers alluring products, MSI's Z87M Gaming is the first micro-ATX motherboard for the series. Support for 2-way SLI and CrossFire, MSI's enhanced ‘Audio Boost' sound system, and a Killer E2205 NIC are just some of the features that will appeal to many gamers.

Based around MSI's Military Class 4 components, can the Z87M Gaming prove that a motherboard doesn't need to utilise the ATX form factor to be packed with worthwhile gaming features?

Features:

• Killer E2200 Series NIC.
• Audio Boost.
• OC Genie 4.
• Military Class 4.
• Multi-GPU Support.
• Sound Blaster Cinema.
• Gaming Device Port.

 

MSI ships the Z87M Gaming in a black and red box which features the dragon styling associated with the company's gaming series products. Features are outlined on the packaging's rear side.

The typical manuals, drivers disc, and case badge form the supplied literature. MSI also includes a comedic door hanger which warns people against disturbing you when gaming is taking place.

Four SATA cables, MSI's M-connectors, a black SLI bridge, and the IO shield form the supplied bundle. We like MSI's inclusion of a black SLI bridge rather than the ugly brown alternative.

Measuring in at 9.6″ x 9.6″, MSI's Z87M Gaming conforms to the typical mATX form factor. As is standard for MSI's Gaming series products, the Z87M Gaming uses a highly attractive red and black colour scheme. Factor in the matte black (not tinted brown) PCB and it is clear that the Z87M Gaming is, by far, one of the most attractive Z87 motherboards on the market.

Up to 32GB of DDR3 memory can be installed in the all-black, single-latch DIMM slots. MSI claims support for 3000MHz memory speeds, although the real-world maximum frequency will also be related to the strength of a CPU's IMC.

Located in the board's top-right corner, onboard buttons are provided in the form of power, reset, and OC Genie. MSI's choice of positioning is good – far better than the lower-board location which is typically covered by graphics cards.

An outwards-facing USB 3.0 header and two digit display sit either side of the 24-pin power connector. The USB 3.0 header's outwards-facing orientation will increase the complexity of cable management, but it also helps to improve compatibility with space-constrained mATX cases.

Eight power delivery phases feed an LGA 1150 CPU. Two attractive heatsinks, both of which are connected by heatpipe, cool the MOSFETs. The Z87M Gaming doesn't use MSI's full complement of Military Class 4 power delivery components; the company deems Super Ferrite Chokes (SFC) and aluminium-core ‘Dark' capacitors sufficient.

MSI sits the 8-pin CPU power connector in an easy to access location, adjacent to the upper VRM heatsink. A pair of 4-pin CPU fan headers hovers above the DIMM slots.

The OC Switch located above the first DIMM bank is used to toggle the operational mode of the OC Genie 4 button.

Equipped with a pair of full-length PCI-E x16 slots, MSI certifies the Z87M Gaming motherboard for CrossFire and SLI capability. PCI-E 3.0 lane distribution to the full-length PCI-E slots is x16/x0 or x8/x8.

One potential issue arises from the compressed layout. A graphics card located in the top PCI-E x16 slot has the potential to foul oversized CPU coolers. This issue is practically unavoidable on a multi-VGA-capable mATX motherboard though, and should be considered when choosing a CPU cooler.

A pair of PCI-E x1 connectors completes the expansion card package. Neither will be accessible when a pair of graphics cards is used, but this is a forced compromise for a micro-ATX motherboard.

MSI places the front panel audio header further to bottom-edge's right side than it is typically found. This move may help to avoid issues for cases which use short cables. The rest of the front panel headers are found in their typical locations.

When a long, dual-slot graphics card is installed in the bottom PCI-E x16-length slot, use of MSI's convenient M-connector will be terminated as its additional height will foul a typical VGA cooler.

All six of the SATA 6Gb/s ports operate from the Z87 chipset. MSI orientates them in the ninety-degree direction to aid cable management and prevent blocking issues from a graphics card.

With enhanced sound configurations becoming a trend with the introduction of Z87 motherboards, MSI equips the Z87M Gaming with its own solution called Audio Boost.

Audio Boost consists of a Realtek ALC1150 audio codec which sends the raw signal through a Texas Instruments OPA1652 operational amplifier and a series of audio capacitors before outputting it to the audio jacks. The process takes place on an isolated circuit which helps to reduce signal interference.

Sound Blaster Cinema is also supported by the Z87M Gaming.

A healthy set of rear IO ports includes the always-convenient back panel clear CMOS button. Two HDMI outputs in addition to DisplayPort allow the Z87M Gaming motherboard's users to power three monitors from the onboard graphics.

ASMedia's ASM1061 chipset provides both of the eSATA 6Gb/s connections, while MSI calls upon Renesas' D720202 controller to provide two of the back panel's six USB 3.0 ports. Gigabit Ethernet is provided by the gaming-optimised Killer E2205 NIC.

Motherboard rear ports:

• 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port
• 2 x USB 2.0 ports
• 1 x Clear CMOS button
• 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
• 6 x USB 3.0 ports
• 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
• 2 x eSATA ports
• 6 x OFC audio jacks
• 2 x HDMI port
• 1 x DisplayPort

MSI's Z87M Gaming employs the company's eye-catching dragon heatsinks which are unique to the Gaming series. While the heatsinks themselves provide the function of cooling components, the unique and innovative designs appeal to users who value the appearance of their system.

A soft blue (close to a bright white) LED beneath the chipset heatsink emits light through the MSI logo for an eye-catching glow effect.

Circled in the above image are the locations of the Z87M Gaming’s four 4-pin fan headers. Distribution of the headers is questionable; there is no header near the VRM heatsink to serve a rear fan nor is there a connector near the SATA ports to provide for a case's front panel cooling units.

We like the fact that MSI uses a pair of 4-pin headers controlled by the CPU speed channel. And the positioning of headers along the bottom edge is good for users with side panel fans. But two key locations – near the rear IO and close to the SATA ports – have been left devoid of any headers. Cable management just got a little more difficult.

Firstly, we are pleased to report that our Roccat Kone XTD mouse worked to its usual standard in the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard's UEFI BIOS. We tested an NZXT Avatar S mouse which is known for its inability to function in other manufacturers’ BIOS interfaces, but this peripheral also worked fine with the Z87M Gaming.

Upon launching into the Z87M Gaming's UEFI BIOS, users are met by a large image of MSI's G Series dragon. Six specific sub-sections can be accessed via the main page. System information is constantly displayed at the top of the UEFI page.

MSI provides plenty of adjustable voltage, frequency, and power settings which give users a good degree of control over their system. Layout-wise, the OC page is a mess. Readouts are mixed together with input parameters making the page somewhat difficult to understand.

MSI would be wiser to separate readouts and adjustment parameters to make the interface easier to use.

High memory multipliers can be selected and a host of timings parameters can be adjusted. The Z87M Gaming motherboard's BIOS is equipped with preset memory profiles that make use of tweaked overclocking configurations for specific kits.

Up to six OC profiles can be saved and named. This is a good number to provide as it gives users flexibility when testing out different overclocking configurations. Profiles can also be imported and exported from or to a USB drive for backup and sharing purposes.

MSI employs a complex, feature-heavy fan and temperature control system. The interface allows a specific fan channel to be selected and then its notable speeds to be tied in with certain temperature targets. CPU fan headers get a greater level of control in regards to minimum fan speed, but the system fan channels also provide a good degree of flexibility.

While the graphical approach may be a little confusing to some users, a small amount of practise allows it to become an efficient way of mapping fan speed settings with temperature targets.

One of the most useful features in MSI's BIOS is Board Explorer. The tool displays an image of the board which highlights the components that are installed. Hovering over the certain sections displays information regarding the connected components or devices.

The tool has great potential as a troubleshooting measure. For example, a faulty memory stick can be easily identified if its function isn't highlighted in the board explorer tool.

Overall, the BIOS interface used by MSI's Z87M Gaming is good, but it is still isn't quite at the level of Asus' and, to a lesser extent, ASRock's typical implementations.

Regarding style, MSI's attractive interface is excellent. Board explorer and the inventive fan control system are more strengths of the interface. Mouse compatibility also seemed better than that offered by the interfaces of many competing vendors.

But in terms of ease-of-use MSI's UEFI would benefit from some improvements. The main issue is the disordered OC section which can become difficult to navigate and understand.

To test the MSI Z87M Gaming, we partnered it with an Intel Core i7 4770K processor and 8GB of 2133MHz CL9 memory from the G.Skill RipjawsX (F3-2133C9Q-16GXL) kit. We will be outlining the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard's performance with the Core i7 4770K CPU at its stock frequency of 3.5GHz (3.9GHz due to forced turbo). Overclocked performance will be outlined later in the review.

We will be comparing the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard’s performance to that of ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer. All motherboards are partnered with identical hardware and software, so the results are directly comparable.

By default, the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard forces the 4770K to a constant 3.9GHz when XMP is enabled. This will be displayed as the ‘stock’ setting (and outlined in the charts' brackets after the non-turbo stock speed is displayed).

Z87 Motherboard Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K (3.9GHz forced turbo).
• Memory: 8GB (2x 4GB) G.Skill RipjawsX (F3-2133C9Q-16GXL) 2133MHz 9-11-11-31.
• Graphics Card: Asus R9 280X Matrix Platinum 3GB.
• System Drive: 500GB Samsung 840 Series SSD.
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i.
• Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit.

Settings:

• MSI Z87M Gaming BIOS v1.00 (latest).
• Catalyst 13.11 Beta9.2 VGA drivers.
• Intel 9.4.0.1026 chipset drivers.

Software Suite:

• 3DMark
• 3DMark 11
• SiSoft Sandra 2013 SP4
• Cinebench R11.5 64 bit
• WinRAR
• HandBrake 0.9.9
• ATTO
• RightMark Audio Analyzer
• Bioshock Infinite
• Metro 2033
• Metro: Last Light

3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading.

After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

If you want to learn more about this benchmark, or to buy it yourself, head over to this page.

MSI's Z87M Gaming makes a strong start in Futuremark's 3DMark 11. The micro-ATX gaming motherboard manages to beat the performance of ASRock's Z87 Killer by a narrow margin.

3DMark is Futuremark's latest benchmark. It can be used to benchmark and compare everything from mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets and laptops, to high-end gaming systems. The benchmark is available for Windows, Windows RT Android and iOS.

With 3 separate tests, each of which is intended to be used alongside a specific classification of hardware, 3DMark is a very versatile benchmark. Ice Storm is intended to be used with mobile devices, Cloud Gate is good for use with laptops and home PCs, and Fire Strike can be used to push the performance of gaming PCs.

We used the ‘Fire Strike' benchmark which is designed to be used on gaming PCs. We opted for the Normal setting, NOT the Extreme mode.

3DMark flips the results with ASRock's gaming-orientated motherboard picking up the slight lead.

SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.

Sandra is a (girl’s) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Native ports for all major operating systems are available:

• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x86)
• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x64)
• Windows 2003/R2, 2008/R2* (IA64)
• Windows Mobile 5.x (ARM CE 5.01)
• Windows Mobile 6.x (ARM CE 5.02)

All major technologies are supported and taken advantage of:

• SMP – Multi-Processor
• MC – Multi-Core
• SMT/HT – Hyper-Threading
• MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2, AVX, FMA – Multi-Media instructions
• GPGPU, DirectX, OpenGL – Graphics
• NUMA – Non-Uniform Memory Access
• AMD64/EM64T/x64 – 64-bit extensions to x86
• IA64 – Intel* Itanium 64-bit

Processor arithmetic performance is all but identical for both Z87 motherboards. The same can be said about memory bandwidth.

CINEBENCH R11.5 64 Bit is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia and many more.

CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics performance across various systems and platforms (Windows and Mac OS X). And best of all – it’s completely free.

MSI's Z87M Gaming takes a very narrow victory over ASRock's Z87 Killer in Cinebench. Quite frankly, results this close can be considered a tie.
WinRar is one of the most popular archive manager programs available. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format. You can try WinRAR before buy, its trial version is available in downloads.

WinRar’s built in benchmark and hardware test can help us outline the performance differentials between each processor.

WinRAR performance is practically identical on both gaming-orientated Z87 motherboards.

HandBrake is a fantastic free program that can be used to convert video files to many common formats for portable devices. HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multi-platform, multi-threaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

We used the latest V 0.9.9 version.

For our testing today we are converting a 4.4GB 720p MKV file (1h:58mins) to MP4 format, using HandBrake's ‘Normal' profile, for playback on High-Resolution devices. This is a common procedure for many people and will give a good indication of system power.

As many of the other tests have shown, the performance of both Z87 boards is almost identical. Handbrake reiterates that point.

The performance of onboard storage interfaces is crucial on a modern motherboard. We use the ATTO disk benchmark to measure the speed provided by the motherboard's onboard USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s storage controllers.

For SATA 6Gb/s testing we use a Kingston HyperX 3K SSD. We tested USB 3.0 performance using the same Kingston HyperX 3K SSD connected to a SATA 6Gb/s to USB 3.0 adapter powered by an ASMedia ASM1053 controller.

Given that MSI uses the Z87 chipset for its internal SATA 6Gb/s ports, it is no surprise that speed limitations with a fast SSD are non-existent.

Lacking a specific UASP-activating tool, the USB 3.0 performance of MSI's Z87M Gaming cannot compete with alternatives which make use of UASP. While higher numbers for USB 3.0 transfer speeds are clearly favourable, the proportion of the Z87M Gaming's target audience which will be using an external drive capable of more than 300MB/s is going to be very small.

On the other hand, for those who do possess a fast external drive to transfer large amounts of content from system to system, the default USB 3.0 transfer speeds provided by MSI's motherboard are a far cry from those output by competing options from ASRock and Asus. The 18-27% performance deficit against ASRock's typical option will not be welcomed by a user who regularly transfers game data or recordings.
Performance of the onboard audio solution is an important factor for modern motherboards. We use RightMark Audio Analyzer to analyse the performance of the motherboard’s onboard audio solution.

A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested.

Audio Boost consists of a Realtek ALC1150 audio codec which sends the raw signal through a Texas Instruments OPA1652 operational amplifier and a series of audio capacitors before outputting it to the audio jacks. The process takes place on an isolated circuit which helps to reduce signal interference. Sound Blaster Cinema is also supported by the Z87M Gaming.

According to RightMark Audio Analyzer, the overall performance of MSI's Audio Boost configuration on the Z87M Gaming motherboard is Very Good. MSI's audio solution seems to be one of the better configurations that we have tested, narrowly beating out the result presented by ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer along the way.
Set in 1912, in Bioshock Infinite, players assume the role of former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, sent to the flying city of Columbia on a rescue mission. His target? Elizabeth, imprisoned since childhood.

We used the game's demanding ‘Ultra' setting and a 1920 x 1080 resolution to push today's gaming hardware. Our data was recorded using a section of the game, not the built-in benchmark.

There is no difference between either Z87 motherboard in Bioshock Infinite.

Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter video game with survival horror elements, based on the novel Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The game is played from the perspective of Artyom, the player-character. The story takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, mostly inside the metro system, but occasionally missions bring the player above-ground.

We used a 1920 x 1080 resolution and the game's built-in benchmark set to ‘Very High' quality to offer an intense challenge for the gaming hardware while also making playable frame rates a possibility.

Our results for Metro 2033 show ASRock's Z87 Killer to be outperforming MSI's Z87M Gaming by a narrow margin. Analysing this result shows that, without the rounding in our charts, an almost negligible performance difference exists between the two boards.

Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike.

4A Games’ proprietary 4A Engine is capable of rendering breathtaking vistas, such as those showing the ruined remnants of Moscow, as well as immersive indoor areas that play with light and shadow, creating hauntingly beautiful scenes akin to those from modern-day photos of Pripyat’s abandoned factories and schools.

We used a 1920 x 1080 resolution and the game's built-in benchmark set to ‘High' quality to offer an intense challenge for the gaming hardware while also making playable frame rates a possibility.

Our Metro: Last Light results indicate an obscure performance preference towards ASRock's Z87 Killer motherboard. The performance difference between each board of around 4% could be related to errors and inaccuracies in the game's built-in benchmark. Noticeable rounding differences on our behalf do not play a part here.

More test data that we will gather over the coming weeks will give us a clearer indication as to what is going on in the Metro: Last Light benchmark. For now at least, this result should be interpreted with caution, which is relevant considering the tight grouping of data from the different games we tested.

Automatic CPU Overclocking (OC Genie 4):

MSI's OC Genie 4 automatic overclocking tool can be configured via the UEFI BIOS or via the onboard button. The default setting applied a 4.00GHz CPU frequency to our 4770K and opted for a 1.100V VCore. Other settings remaining untouched.

Our memory operated at its rated frequency of 2133MHz, but OC Genie 4 had automatically applied the secondary XMP profile which used a 50mV higher DRAM voltage. This didn't present an issue for us, but it may for users of memory kits with XMP profiles of different frequencies.

This is actually a fairly well-tuned setting for the 4770K as it provides a small clock speed boost, but does so with a reduction in the VCore level.

We had no stability problems with the default settings that MSI's OC Genie 4 applied.

Eager to see what OC Genie 4 was capable of at its higher setting, we flipped the board-mounted dip switch to the position nearest the onboard buttons.

After a quick reboot we were met by a 4.20GHz CPU frequency for our 4770K. OC Genie 4 set CPU VCore at 1.225V in order to maintain stability at 4.20GHz. As was the case with OC Genie's default setting, all other voltages and frequencies remained untouched, with the exception of our memory's XMP profile.

The automatic overclock validation using OC Genie 4's highest level can be found here.

Manual CPU Overclocking:

To test the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard’s CPU overclocking potential, we first increased the CPU VCore to 1.325V, Cache voltage to 1.275V, and CPU Input Voltage (called VCCIN) to 1.900V.

Taking our 4770K to its limit of 4.50GHz was as easy as increasing our desired voltages and setting the multiplier to 45x. Unlike some motherboards from competing vendors, MSI's Z87M Gaming was happy to take our desired settings and actually apply them. We didn't need to fuss about with load-line calibration or offset voltages.

The ease of overclocking with MSI's Z87M Gaming motherboard is a testament to its stable and effective (performance-wise) BIOS implementation.

Voltage accuracy from the Z87M Gaming was excellent. The motherboard set our CPU VCore to within 1mV of what we set through the BIOS.

We pushed for stability at 4.6GHz, but as has been the case for every other Z87 motherboard that we have tested with our 4770K, a BSOD would quickly ruin our attempts.

Our 4.5GHz overclock validation can be viewed here.

We will outline the performance increases that can be obtained from using the MSI Z87M Gaming motherboard to overclock our system. Our overclocked processor frequency was 4.5GHz and memory speed was 2133MHz.

As a performance comparison, we have included the overclocked results from ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer motherboard. The maximum overclocked configuration achieved with each board was a 4500MHz (45 x 100MHz) processor frequency and 2133MHz CL9 memory speed.

MSI's Z87M Gaming carries forward its narrow 3DMark 11 lead into the overclocked results. As was the case with the stock tests, the differences between each board's results are negligible enough to call their performances identical.

With both motherboards being used to take a 4770K to 4.5GHz, Cinebench performance is close enough to call the result a tie.

Metro: Last Light's obscure results continued through to overclocking tests. This time the frame rate of MSI's Z87M Gaming dropped by a frame per second, despite the only change being a 600MHz higher CPU clock speed.

At the moment we will cautiously suggest that the Metro: Last Light data can currently be ignored. We will gather more data with other Z87 motherboards to gain an insight into the benchmark's reliability and, if required, remove it from our testing.

We measured the power consumption with the system resting at the Windows 7 desktop, representing idle values.

The power consumption of our entire test system is measured at the wall while loading only the CPU using Prime95′s Small FFTs setting. The rest of the system’s components were operating in their idle states, hence the increased power consumption values (in comparison to the idle figures) are largely related to the load on the CPU and motherboard power delivery components.

MSI's Z87M Gaming shows favourable power consumption numbers against ASRock's Z87 Killer. Given that the latter used a needlessly-high multi-core turbo voltage of 1.28V (as opposed to MSI's setting of around 1.20V), the power consumption numbers output by MSI's Z87M Gaming are closer to those of a ‘typical' Z87 setup.

At the same voltage levels (ignoring typical fluctuations and motherboard-specific offsets) MSI's Z87M Gaming uses less energy than ASRock's Z87 Killer, albeit by a very small margin. This could possibly indicate an efficient CPU power delivery system equipped with the Z87M Gaming motherboard.

With strong performance, good overclocking results, wise expansion choices, and a gorgeous appearance, the MSI Z87M Gaming is an excellent motherboard which can provide a strong base for a micro-ATX gaming system.

Despite being compressed into a micro-ATX form factor, MSI's Z87M Gaming motherboard had no issues taking our 4770K to its 4.5GHz limit. We simply adjusted a handful of voltage and multiplier settings in the thorough BIOS and booted up at 4.5GHz.

Performance was as good as we would expect from a functioning Z87 motherboard. No major performance issues were highlighted throughout our testing. The built-in Metro: Last Light benchmark did throw up some abnormal results for MSI's board, in comparison to ASRock's Z87 Killer, although the benchmark itself could be to blame for errors and inaccuracies.

USB 3.0 performance of the MSI motherboard was more limited than that of some competing vendors. Unlike ASRock and Asus, MSI's motherboard software suite does not include a tool which activates the speed-boosting UASP protocol. Due to this fact, USB 3.0 speeds for MSI's offering were around 18-27% behind a typical motherboard from Asus or ASRock. This is not a major issue as a small proportion of this board's target audience will be using a fast SSD storage drive. The issue is still disappointing, nevertheless.

Feature-wise, MSI packs the Z87M Gaming with a host of gaming tools. Performance of the beefed-up onboard audio solution is very good and the dedicated gaming device port also serves a purpose. Killer's E2205 NIC has the ability to direct network traffic, ensuring that gaming is given priority.

Given the complexity of choosing the appropriate layout for a micro-ATX motherboard, MSI does an excellent job in making the Z87M Gaming fit for its target audience. CrossFire and SLI support for a pair of dual-slot cards is prioritised, with all of the crucial headers and ports staying out of interference's way. The onboard buttons are situated away from the vicinity of large graphics card coolers and single-latch DIMMs ensure that memory can be installed with ease.

MSI could have been more generous with fan header positioning; the current distribution makes cable management a more difficult procedure. Such is the level of the Z87M Gaming motherboard's beauty, even a few stray cables are unlikely to deter from what is a truly stunning design.

The Z87M Gaming's UEFI BIOS is a hit-or-miss system. In terms of stability and the number of adjustable parameters available to users, the interface is great. The functionality of MSI's OC Genie 4 is strength for novice users, while more experienced overclockers may welcome the presets for fast memory configurations.

Layout is where the interface isn't as strong. MSI positions readouts beneath input parameters which makes the interface tricky to work with at first. The cleaner and easier-to-grasp approach would have been to detach the user-adjustable input parameters from the readouts, perhaps by way of a separate column.

Available from early December and currently up for pre-order at OverclockersUK for £119.99, MSI's Z87M Gaming motherboard offers a great deal of ‘bang' for a micro-ATX gamer's buck. Alternatives such as the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 and Asus Maximus VI Gene offer stiff competition, but they also typically sell for a higher price.

If you're a micro-ATX gamer looking for an attractive, feature-heavy motherboard that doesn't break the bank, MSI's Z87M Gaming is an excellent choice.

Pros:

• Dazzling appearance.
• Competitively priced.
• Good overclocking potential.
• Killer E2205 NIC with network control.
• Very good onboard audio solution.
• Supports SLI and CrossFire configurations.
• Intelligent layout.

Cons:

• Fan header distribution makes cable management tricky.
• BIOS layout can cause confusion.

KitGuru says: An excellent micro-ATX gaming motherboard that packs a host of features into a gorgeous design.

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