Compared to the Guard Pro, the Gaming 5 gets SLI support, Killer NIC over Realtek, ALC1150 over ALC892 audio, HDMI rather than DisplayPort, support for 3 full-length PCIe devices, more rear panel USB ports, more in the package and perhaps a nicer looking product overall.
The best point of comparison for the Gaming 5 will be the Z97 Guard Pro at $110 we reviewed previously.
Despite our audio tests also performing poorly, MSI has informed us of a driver update that should improve performance.
POST times are also longer than expected, being north of 14 seconds in both stock and stripped mode. We get a good array of CPU results due to MSI’s aggressive MultiCore Turbo, along with low idle power consumption and DPC Latency, but MSI’s tri-annual USB speed bug rears its head again. Performance at stock is a bit of a mixed bag. The box also contains a door hanger to let people know you are gaming and an MSI Gaming case badge to affix to the build.
One of MSI’s positive points of late has been the BIOS and software combination, which for the gaming range is boosted by a six-month premium subscription to XSplit. There is also M.2 support for 22x42mm to 22x80mm devices up to PCIe 2.0 x2 speeds, and all the fan headers onboard are 4-pin. For users with USB DACs there is a feature to offer enhanced power to a pair of USB ports as well to improve power signal quality. On the gaming side of the hardware equation the Gaming 5 is fitted with a Killer E2205 network port which comes with application prioritization software, as well as an enhanced Realtek ALC1150 audio solution via Audio Boost.
MSI wants its motherboards to be shown off, rather than hidden inside a case, such that other users can show it off to their friends and perhaps entice them into a similar build. The Gaming 5 aims to the more cost conscious Haswell build while still maintaining a full ATX size in the red and black livery featuring the MSI Gaming logo. This typically means fashioned heatsinks, almost-invisible traces and if possible a reduction of on-the-board components (trying to balance price as well). One of MSI’s main focus points of the last twelve months has been style. Today we are looking at the MSI Z97 Gaming 5 at $160, which at the time of writing is sold out on Newegg. To make matters worse for MSI, one of the other manufacturers is also branding their motherboards with ‘Gaming X’, making it harder to forge that nomenclature as a brand. Here is where brand loyalty and styling seem to matter more than absolute feature set. The more expensive models have more to play with, whereas the sub $160 market for Z97 comes down to the choice of an individual controller or two. Msi z97 gaming motherboard review.Sometimes it feels odd to review the cheaper elements of the motherboard market. Gameswalls z97 MSI Z97 Gaming Motherboard Review | TopTechHardware gaming motherboard msi z97 intel i lga core ddr3 atx MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Motherboard Review | KitGuru- Part 10 motherboard msi z97 cpu gaming settings kitguru ratio oc modeĪudio gaming gigabyte z97 mic ati motherboard z97x device hdmi driver xp port windows sound.
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