MSI Z97 GAMING 9 AC (Intel LGA 1150)

[cadaveca]

Another dragon flies ashore! MSI's "high-end" Intel Z97 motherboard, the MSI Z97 GAMING 9 AC, swoops down onto my testbench after a long trip to me. The MSI Z97 GAMING 9 AC is MSI's answer for the ultra-dollar gamer, but does it breathe fire or just puff smoke out its nose?

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[Shou Miko]

Dave it's not to be mean but ain't this the Gaming 9 AC and not the Gaming 5 u have reviewed???

or do i miss understand "The MSI Next-Gen GAMING 5 is available for around $160." ??? ^^;

 

[Shou Miko]

and by the way nice review Dave, even it doesn't make me wanna sell my MSI Z97i Gaming AC board to get a ATX ^^

 

[Uberclocked]

The audio performance doesn't seem right. Are you sure you've tested with the front audio connectors and not the rear?
http://www.custompcreview.com/reviews/msi-z97-gaming-9-ac-lga1150-motherboard-review/21695/2/

"What’s different about the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC however, is significantly upgraded front panel audio which is not only completely separate from the rear panel audio, but is significantly upgraded. Called Xtreme Audio DAC, the front panel audio on the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC is powered by a C-Media CM6631A high definition audio processor – a fairly high end audio processor theoretically capable of up to a 120dB SNR and up to 192KHz/24-bit input/output audio processing capability. This is then connected to a Wolfson WM8741 DAC (digital to analog converter) and Cirrus Logic CS5346 ADC (analog to digital converter). The headphone portion also includes a TI TPA6120A2 amp which supports headphones up to 600Ω."

 

[LinkPro]

MSI has a new revision of this board now - the Z97 Gaming 9 ACK, with a more vibrant red/black theme. Hardware seems to be almost identical though.

 

[Shou Miko]

MSI has a new revision of this board now - the Z97 Gaming 9 ACK, with a more vibrant red/black theme. Hardware seems to be almost identical though.

with the ACK boards they have upgrade the Wireless to Killer NICs too, that's what i can figure out, which is a shame bcs Intel is the best really.

 

[Twil44]

The audio performance doesn't seem right. Are you sure you've tested with the front audio connectors and not the rear?

I was thinking the same thing and this result might be for the rear. I saw this review from modders-inc a few months ago where the reviewer also encountered problems with the audio on three different Gaming 9 AC boards (one is from MSI internal tech) for the rear output but the front audio when tested performed well:
http://www.modders-inc.com/msi-z97-gaming-9-ac-motherboard-review/8/
"I was having issues with my particular Z97 Gaming 9 board as the right channel on the speaker was producing a significant amount of noise. The right channel on my test motherboard was weaker by 30% compared to the left channel and had a lot of distortion, audibly and visible with the RMAA graphs. I checked this with MSI motherboard tech team to verify if they are also seeing it but they are unable to replicate my issue....

...The weird thing is that MSI’s internal testing produced worse results in some aspects but did not display the large amount of distortion on the right channel as mine did."

 

[cadaveca]

I was thinking the same thing and this result might be for the rear. I saw this review from modders-inc a few months ago where the reviewer also encountered problems with the audio on three different Gaming 9 AC boards (one is from MSI internal tech) for the rear output but the front audio when tested performed well:
http://www.modders-inc.com/msi-z97-gaming-9-ac-motherboard-review/8/
"I was having issues with my particular Z97 Gaming 9 board as the right channel on the speaker was producing a significant amount of noise. The right channel on my test motherboard was weaker by 30% compared to the left channel and had a lot of distortion, audibly and visible with the RMAA graphs. I checked this with MSI motherboard tech team to verify if they are also seeing it but they are unable to replicate my issue....

...The weird thing is that MSI’s internal testing produced worse results in some aspects but did not display the large amount of distortion on the right channel as mine did."

Any sort of problem anywhere in the audio circuit is a problem, IMHO. Having decent front panel audio doesn't make up for poor rear audio.

That said, given the target market for this board, I feel that many users would have a DAC of some sort, and neither front of rear would matter then. That said, while my results were not the best in testing, it actually didn't sound bad as what the modders-inc review, but I could tell something was up.

 

[Edumuitoloco]

Sorry posting here today... I recently bought this mother board (MSI Z97 GAMING 9 ACK) And I'm having problems with the sound... when I am on YouTube playing a vídeo with my speakers connected at the rear panel and I insert the headphone on front panel, the video I'm watching 'crashes' and the browser becomes mute... I have to close and open the browser to listen through the headphone...

Same thing with games...

Anyone can tell me if it could be Windows 10 problem or MB problem? I'm thinking about open an RMA...

Sorry my bad english...

Thanks for helping!