MSI, a leading company in motherboard technology, recently held an event to announce the introduction of it X99 motherboards models.
Currently, the motherboard industry is already saturated by X99 designs from competing companies like Asus, ASRock and EVGA.
The new line-up from MSI features five models including the X99S GAMING 7, X99S GAMING 9 AC, X99S MPOWER, X99S XPOWER AC and the X99S SLI PLUS.
The lineup includes two game-oriented boards, two overclocking boards and a single standard-fare board. All the five models support Haswell-E CPUSs and are integrated with the LGA2011-3 socket.
MSI X99 Motherboard General Features
MSI X99 series will be developed based on the Military Class 4 components. All the models will feature SATA Express data storage capability, Turbo M.2 to drive the user’s SSD to a maximum of 32Gb/s, full support for CrossFire and Quad SLI configurations as well as the highest FPS for gaming, rendering graphics or overclocking.
Overclocking Models
MSI motherboards to be developed for overclocking enthusiasts include the X99S MPower and the X99S XPower AC. The two models will serve the interests of different overclockers.
The X99S XPower AC will offer a complete package while its counterpart will offer less features at a reduced price.
XPower AC will feature five PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, wireless AC connectivity, ten SATA3 ports (6Gb/s) and a Turbo M.2 slot. Two of the SATA3 ports can be eliminated to form a SATA-Express interface.
The motherboard will also come with dual Gigabit Ethernet. Additional overclocking tools such as voltage checkpoints, de-lid die guard and a PCI-Express slots disabling capability will be integrated in this model.
Conversely, the MPower will not feature the PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. It will be designed with a standard M.2 slot rather than a Turbo slot.
Moreover, it will not feature a wireless connectivity or an extra Ethernet interface. These shortcomings will make the MPower cheaper compared to its overclocking counterpart.
Gaming Boards
MSI X99 gaming motherboards include the X99S Gaming 7 and the Gaming 9 AC. The Gaming 9 AC will come with more options for connectivity while the Gaming 7 will be integrated with fewer features to cut on costs of pricing.
Some of the features likely not to feature in the Gaming 7 motherboard include SATA-Express, overclocking support and wireless connectivity.
The two gaming boards will feature the Killer E2200 networking adapters. Moreover, the Gaming 9 AC will come with an extra Streaming Engine – an AverMedia capture card useful in streaming games at high performance speed.
This Streaming Engine innovation will possibly catch the attention of most gaming enthusiasts.
Entry-Level Board
The X99S SLI Plus motherboard will feature all the storage connectivity and a Turbo M.2 slot. It will offer fast and reliable Intel Gigabit LAN as well as SLI support from NVidia.
It will deliver maximum speeds of 32Gb/s. The board is designed for shoppers on a budget and features neither overclocking support nor luxurious audio hardware.
Pricing
The X99S XPower AC will sell at $399.99, the X99S Gaming 9 AC at $429.99, the X99S Gaming 7 at $289.99 and X99S SLI Plus at $229.99. The price for the X99S MPower is yet to be announced.