MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (Intel LGA 1150)

[cadaveca]

Test System says: Memory:16 GB DDR3 (4x 4 GB) Avexir Blitz 1.1 TechPowerUp! Edition ???
Picture says G.Skill TridentX.........

Yep. What does the CPU-Z say?

What exactly are you on about?

 

[VulkanBros]

CPU-Z says Avexir. ..so it is All about the looks I presume

 

[cadaveca]

CPU-Z says Avexir. ..so it is All about the looks I presume

Yeah, that was just for pictures I had the G.Skill in. I do tend to test every board with multiple memory kits, and whatever kit is there when I snap pics, which is usually G.Skill, get in the review. Itest both 2-stick and 4-stick configurations with most common IC types, looking for issues that might be present so I can report those to the OEM so they can tune the BIOS if needed.

The Avexir sticks actually suit the board a bit better esthetically, I think, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to take more pics, edit them, upload, etc, when I paid out of pocket for that memory kit. They'll make it into the review of the Z97I GAMING that is on my test bench right now!

 

[GhostRyder]

Yeah, that was just for pictures I had the G.Skill in. I do tend to test every board with multiple memory kits, and whatever kit is there when I snap pics, which is usually G.Skill, get in the review. Itest both 2-stick and 4-stick configurations with most common IC types, looking for issues that might be present so I can report those to the OEM so they can tune the BIOS if needed.

The Avexir sticks actually suit the board a bit better esthetically, I think, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to take more pics, edit them, upload, etc, when I paid out of pocket for that memory kit. They'll make it into the review of the Z97I GAMING that is on my test bench right now!

Never used that brand before, how are they? (Avexir)

I love red and black color schemes on motherboards, GPU's, and Ram. Hence why I currently have a Crosshair-V board, Gskill Trident X, and some EK waterblocks that are black for my 290X cards.

 

[cadaveca]

Never used that brand before, how are they? (Avexir)

I love red and black color schemes on motherboards, GPU's, and Ram. Hence why I currently have a Crosshair-V board, Gskill Trident X, and some EK waterblocks that are black for my 290X cards.

Even my socks are black and red. There's pics of them here somewhere.

Avexir is good, a bit pricey, but I got exactly what I expected with these kits I ordered recently, and I don't mind paying a bit more to get exactly what I want.

 

[GhostRyder]

Even my socks are black and red. There's pics of them here somewhere.

Avexir is good, a bit pricey, but I got exactly what I expected with these kits I ordered recently, and I don't mind paying a bit more to get exactly what I want.

Well heres a pic of my system so you can take a guess what my favorite colors are

I call it Alucard

But those MSI dragon symbols on the south bridge and the beautiful build quality and color scheme have been making me so compelled to go MSI this year with my next motherboard and processor. I am waiting to see how the MSI Big Bang 3 X99 board is because the previous one even though it was straight up black had a minigun on the VRM. Nuff said.
Im liking these Z97 boards alot because they all have some real nice looks for the enthusiast gamer compared to the bland past. MSI especially has stepped up to the plate!

 

[DwightEnglish0318]

It seems like the motherboards get better and better every generation. The Gaming 5 seems like a replacement for the G45 and it's better all around with more features.
Audio is better, POST code is nice addition, LAN is a bit better and M.2 is better than mSATA

Only things I don't like are the heatsinks and badge.

Nice review Dave!!!

well, agree it, MSi doing better and better on the MB, not only the quailty, also the design and the color
for the heatsink, I think claw is look better than the big red dragon head
but it kinda funny, they still put a silver-colored dragon on the side of heatsink

 

[SmokingCrop]

I have 5 other boards sitting here, and am expecting quite a few more. Should have at least one a week for the next month or so.

You should include the quality of the actual hardware components like capacitors, inductors and what not.
Take a look at http://sinhardware.com/images/vrmlist.png
- http://sinhardware.com/index.php/vrm-list
- http://sinhardware.com/index.php/vrm-articles/82-vrm-guide

I think this could really get your already awesome reviews to the next level.

 

[cadaveca]

Actually, I read Sin's stuff myself. He does have an account here as well. He does provide excellent information, for sure, and has been doing so for many years.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll see what I can do about that.

 

[harleyguy]

I purchased a X97 Gaming 5 mb from Newegg. The first board I received would not boot if I put memory in slots 2, 3, or 4.

Also the bios could not be upgraded. It would read the new bios file, reboot, say it was loading and stall at 100% (the MSI tech support guy said it should have rebooted). After waiting 5 or 10 minutes, I reset the system but the old bios was still installed.

Returned the board to Newegg and got a new board. Works fine except I still can't update the bios (same symptoms as above).

Did anyone else try to update the bios successfully?

 

[cadaveca]

Hrm, I didn't have any issues, but I had mine before the launch (obviously).

Did you use the flashing method included with download, or did you use Live Update?

 

[harleyguy]

Hrm, I didn't have any issues, but I had mine before the launch (obviously).

Did you use the flashing method included with download, or did you use Live Update?

I was in the BIOS and used the M-Flash method: Select one file to update bios and mb. Tried several time and once with the MSI tech support guy on the phone. (BTW the tech support people were very helpful.)

 

[cadaveca]

I used Live Update from within Windows8 without problems. You may want to give that a try if you haven't already.

 

[harleyguy]

I used Live Update from within Windows8 without problems. You may want to give that a try if you haven't already.

Can't do that cause I'm running Linux (Mint) on it but good to know. BTW: Don't recommend Linux for this MB for other reasons too, the network adapter and on board sound don't have linux drivers yet. Had to add some cards.

 

[cadaveca]

oh. Well then. I guess that's +1 to Windows.