Power, Audio, and Drives

I took a CPU-Z screenshot to show all the pertinent tabs once the OS was idling. I found default CPU settings, with my Kingston HyperX So-DIMMs running at their slightly reduced timings. Perfect. Since there are no clock controls in the BIOS due to Intel's B150 chipset, I was glad to see the memory clock be what it should be. I have some 2400 MHz G.Skill SO-DIMMs as well, but they simply ran at their default JEDEC speeds. So buying the SO-DIMM kit spec'd at 2133 MHz with the lowest possible timings would be my recommendation when it comes to DRAM for the MSI Nightblade MI2.

Power

Power numbers from the wall were pretty decent. Even with ridiculous loads such a system would never see during normal use, the maximum power I could get my chosen configuration to pull was 304 W. A couple more drives might make those numbers go up just a bit, but we're talking about a mechanical and an M.2 SSD as the only possible options. I used an MSI GAMING GTX 970 and an Intel i7-6700K as well as two 8 GB SO-DIMMs (the maximum supported is 32 GB), so any configuration below these specs should have no problems whatsoever in running for a long time without stressing FPS's 350W power supply.

Audio

Audio performance in RightMark testing was alright. I already mentioned that I heard some static noise through the front-panel plugs, but the rear plugs worked perfectly for me. I use separate speakers and a headset at the same time while gaming online, so I really need both to be perfect, and that wasn't the case with the MSI Nightblade MI2. Once I finish writing this review, I'll see what I can do with some wire management to fix that problem as it is not one that can be overlooked.

Drives

Front panel USB plugs and SATA ports worked well with my chosen devices, well within acceptable performance parameters.