Behind the scenes here at TPU, I have been working closer with MSI than ever before, having been in contact with staff from VP down to tech service agents and marketing reps. The communication over email and phone, and the packages sent back and forth, amount to far more effort than I put into many other brands right now. MSI is one of those companies I have had a love-hate relationship with for many years, and honestly, they aren't my favorite company out there. Yet when I get my hands on their products, I always see great potential lately, and there is no denying that many companies could benefit from adopting MSI's current attention to detail and their focus on meeting consumer needs. Now, that should give some basis to what I'm about to say, and I hope MSI's staff reads through it closely as well.

This board sucks. Overall, it is like some bastard child of Frankenstein and Groucho Marx, a mix of many different parts stitched together, even in the bundled accessories package inside the box. Looking at its included paper materials makes you think this board is all about LN2 overclocking, but its scope of delivery also includes extra USB 3.0 ports, eSATA bracket wiring, and an Intel wireless card with big, tall antennas. There are extra USB and SATA controllers, decent audio, and then these buttons for overclocking and a switchable dual-BIOS design. The VRM is hugely over-built, like on one of MSI's Lightning VGAs, even appearing to use several components also on those cards, just like the esthetic styling clearly taken from the Lightning brand. And like Groucho, it's quick-witted and has some snappy comebacks; that is, until you push things and get a big cloud of smoke in your face, with big bushy eyebrows bouncing at you suggestively from behind the smoke. The MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX is confused, not sure where it wants to go, and the BIOS proves it.

Physically, the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX looks great, behaves well, and has some fantastic features I myself would make use of, but the board is not, given the marketing and its branding, what it is supposed to be, and it becomes clear that, when you look at the performance, this board hasn't received all the attention it needs yet, and that cannot be understated. Without a properly working BIOS, who cares what features it has or what it might be capable of? I was shocked, in horror, to find that the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX only uses a 6-layer PCB MSI then flaunts like it's a Kardashian. It just doesn't make sense, but hey, it's a looker! One single BIOS update would have this board rank with the other MSI boards I have reviewed recently—really on top of their game when it comes to meeting the needs of its target audience. But with those stellar examples so closely related to the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX, evidenced by the GAMING SERIES case badge found inside the box and its overclocking branding, there's clear confusion which, to me, makes sense, since those two sides of enthusiast computing don't really mix well in my books. It barely does ANYTHING better than the GAMING SERIES boards—it simply costs more and has more in the box, like that's justification enough for it's poor performance. The only thing I find MAX about this board is its huge accessories package.