Contents

MSI includes a fair amount of stuff here, with a couple of extras you might not have seen before. A full list of what I found is below:

• User's manual
• 1 x Quick Set-up Guide
• 1 x I/O shield
• 1 x MSI-branded SLI Bridge
• 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s cables
• 1 x Audio power cable
• 1 x Front-panel cabling kit
• 1 x MSI GAMING case badge
• 1 x MSI SATA Cable Label kit
• 1 x Driver disc

MSI now has a new I/O shield that goes with their new esthetic design. Completely blacked-out front and rear, and including a soft pad on the side that touches the board itself, the I/O cover's design is a nice treat that helps your build look good when installed into a case.


MSI also includes a set of stickers for you to attach to your cables, so you know which cable leads to which drive. There is also a new case badge, a large rectangular badge that adds to MSI's previous GAMING case badge, which is also indicative of the GAMING 5 expanding on past MSI GAMING boards.


One of the biggest changes with the GAMING 5 motherboard is the addition of an optional Audio Boost MOLEX power plug that attaches to the board for a boost in audio power, either for onboard audio or add-on USB soundcards. It is a small plug, all in black, and minimizes the cables that directly attach to the board from your PSU, which allows you to hide those PSU cables a bit better by only leaving the smaller plug of the adapter cable out in the open.