MSI Z87A Gaming Series Motherboard Prototype Pictured

btarunr · Mar 6, 2013

MSI displayed its upcoming Z87A Gaming Series motherboard. The company is yet to begin work on cosmetic details such as PCB color, heatsinks, component color scheme, etc., but a bulk of its development is complete. To begin with, the board uses a strong 16-phase VRM to power the CPU, which draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory; and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots in x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4 configurations, depending on how they're populated. Four x1 slots make for the rest of its all-PCIe expansion slot area.

Storage connectivity on the Z87A Gaming Series includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s slots, two of which are driven by a third-party controller. 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel, two by header), dual-HDMI and DisplayPort display outputs; effectively make for the rest of the board. The same exact PCB could be used to create two SKUs, the Z87A Gaming Series, and the Z87A-GD65. Apart from a swankier color scheme and heatsink design, the Gaming Series variant could feature a few additional overclocking features.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

btarunr · Mar 6, 2013

"omg it looks ugly MSI faail" comments without reading the newspost could attract infractions.

Mathragh · Mar 6, 2013

btarunr said:
"omg it looks ugly MSI faail" comments without reading the newspost could attract infractions.

I was gonna say I actually wish more boards were like this!

NeoXF · Mar 6, 2013

It's supposed to be a gaming version yet it has barely 16 lanes... Kinda meh, and this is from someone who doesn't advocate multi-GPU systems very much.

Also, I think having "prototype" (because that's what it is) in the headline would help with useless posts...

btarunr · Mar 6, 2013

Mathragh said:
I was gonna say I actually wish more boards were like this!

I agree.

NeoXF said:
Also, I think having "prototype" (because that's what it is) in the headline would help with useless posts...

I agree.

Disparia · Mar 6, 2013

Mathragh said:
I was gonna say I actually wish more boards were like this!

I know!

Best looking board posted so far, no PCI!

nickbaldwin86 · Mar 6, 2013

This is 1150 right? Haswell board on z87

meh

no likely MSI, bad luck has made me turn away from them and there are plenty of better brands.

NeoXF · Mar 6, 2013

nickbaldwin86 said:
no likely MSI, bad luck has made me turn away from them and there are plenty of better brands.

If it was bad luck, why is it MSI's fault?

My last MSI board was an AM2, on top of which I had the king of the hill Athlon X2 6400+ "BE"... which was a load of crap (the BE part, not the CPU itself)... but I guess none of that was MSI fault either, I should have gotten the 5000+ BE if OC was really what I was after. Either way, loved it's features and the Dual GBit LAN on it.

nickbaldwin86 · Mar 6, 2013

Luck.... they were the ones giving me the bad luck.

OK so maybe I just should have said they are junk and not put luck in there at all.

I had a z77 board that I RMAed after RMA after bios change after beta bios after this that and the next that wouldn't keep the system stable and worth a damn to me.

its ok though I have learned from my mistakes and I will never by a MSI board again, simple really.

NeoXF · Mar 6, 2013

nickbaldwin86 said:
Luck.... they were the ones giving me the bad luck.

OK so maybe I just should have said they are junk and not put luck in there at all.

I had a z77 board that I RMAed after RMA after bios change after beta bios after this that and the next that wouldn't keep the system stable and worth a damn to me.

its ok though I have learned from my mistakes and I will never by a MSI board again, simple really.

Not really simple, I'd say it's a bit ignorant to think that way... like the people keeping away from ASRock boards because they happen to hear or experiment with the "older" ASRock and think they're crap. But all in all, I understand your reluctancy or the scenario in general and it's hard to get out of it, like my past bad experiences with nVidia 8800 series (memory leaking and misc driver mishaps).

Rexter · Mar 6, 2013

It would be great fun if they kept the PCB colour, you know, for nostalgia sake. No ports should be colour coded, the more obscure the better. Also, CPU settings like FSB, multiplier etc. should be taken out of the bios, and be relocated to tiny switched next to the cpu socket. Oh! And one often used port should be at a stupid location, like right next to the PCI-E 16x slot, or far away from where the cord can reach.

nickbaldwin86 · Mar 6, 2013

Like I said it is more of selection.... why buy from a company failed you when there is 5+ other companies to pick from?

I sold it and run a Asus Max. board that was a little more money but totally worth it and has not failed to amaze me.

Ya AsRock as really gotten the a lot of bad reports... why, they are "new", they had issues for a while... but from what I hear there new boards are above the rest or at least equal and they are cheaper ...lot cheaper.

dj-electric · Mar 6, 2013

Two 8PIN CPU connectors? That's about 400% of the power you actually need, even overclocked.

Batou1986 · Mar 6, 2013

what is the green stuff sprayed onto the chips ?

nickbaldwin86 · Mar 6, 2013

Batou1986 said:
what is the green stuff sprayed onto the chips ?

cover.... so you cant read the chip.

hckngrtfakt · Mar 6, 2013

seems they went all out in the "old school" scheme
especially if that blue connector is what i think it is :wtf:

boogerlad · Mar 6, 2013

Am I the only one that likes the aesthetics? Nice and simple, to the point.

Mathragh · Mar 6, 2013

boogerlad said:
Am I the only one that likes the aesthetics? Nice and simple, to the point.

No, the 3rd post already stated the same sentiment

Initialised · Mar 6, 2013

btarunr said:
"omg it looks ugly MSI faail" comments without reading the newspost could attract infractions.

Was just going to say how deliciously retro it looks with that colour scheme from the days when overclocking meant messing with DIP switches and jumpers... but I'm sure the rose tint is masking days of frustration!

Then I saw the dual CPU 8-Pins and thought 5GHz + here we come.

DarkOCean · Mar 6, 2013

love the simple heatsinks.

Batou1986 · Mar 6, 2013

hckngrtfakt said:
seems they went all out in the "old school" scheme
especially if that blue connector is what i think it is

http://powersupply88.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/at-psu-connector.jpg

blue connector is voltage measurement point

Animalpak · Mar 6, 2013

btarunr said:
"omg it looks ugly MSI faail" comments without reading the newspost could attract infractions.

Yes and should be enough the title " prototype ".

natr0n · Mar 6, 2013

"I'm superficial and cant handle this boards color"

Delta6326 · Mar 6, 2013

No PCI awesome! lots of USB 3.0 awesome! right angled SATA!

Now we just need right angled 24/8pin.

Isn't this VRM a little overkill I though Haswell doesn't need this much?

Psychoholic · Mar 6, 2013

I like it.. brings back memories of the 90's and early 2000's when almost all boards looked this way.

I realize they have yet to add color to the PCB, but maybe they should leave it that way

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System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

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Processor	Intel Pentium G3420 [i7-4790K SOON(tm)]
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Video Card(s)	[MSI AMD Radeon R9-290 Gaming]
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Display(s)	[BenQ XL2420Z]
Case	[Corsair Obsidian 750D]
Power Supply	Corsair RM750
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System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
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MSI Z87A Gaming Series Motherboard Prototype Pictured

To you find the prototype's golden PCB and simple heatsinks attractive?

Yes

No

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

Mathragh

NeoXF

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

Disparia

nickbaldwin86

NeoXF

nickbaldwin86

NeoXF

Rexter

nickbaldwin86

dj-electric

Batou1986

nickbaldwin86

hckngrtfakt

boogerlad

Mathragh

Initialised

DarkOCean

Batou1986

Animalpak

natr0n

Delta6326

Psychoholic

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