MSI Shows Off G-Series Motherboards at CeBIT
MSI showcases G-Series motherboards with some interesting features at CeBIT.
Back when MSI was teasing us with new G-Series products, it seems that it actually meant motherboards in plural. There are three motherboards coming out in MSI's new gaming range, all of which are Z77 boards (pictures from Hardware.Info).
All boards carry roughly the same specifications. The Z77A-G43 Gaming supports CrossFireX, has Creative SoundBlaster Cinema Audio, Killer E2200 NIC, Genie II One Touch overclocking, along with two PCIe x16 ports, two PCIe x1 slots, and three legacy PCI slots.
The Z77A-G45 Gaming has two differences over the Z77A-G43 Gaming, namely the support for Nvidia SLI and two more PCIe x1 slot in favour of PCI slots. The VRM's heatsinks also have a different paint scheme.
Lastly, the Z77A-GD65 Gaming is the top of the line model, which features connected VRM heatsinks, three PCIe x16 slots to enable three-way SLI or CrossFire, and four PCIe x1 slots, but no legacy PCI slots.
As for the Killer E2200 NIC, some sources indicate that only the top spec Z77A-GD65 Gaming has this Killer chip, but a close look shows that all three motherboards carry it.
So far there is no word on pricing or availability, but we can expect these motherboards to hit the market soon considering Z87 motherboards are around the corner.


I can't be the only one that thinks it's weird of MSI to launch more Z77 motherboards mere months before Haswell is fully launched (June 2nd IIRC).
PCI slots are still useful for legacy equipment. Take my E-MU sound card for example; it's perfect for doing studio work (read: recording and mixing) and it still uses traditional PCI making a motherboard with a PCI slot necessary for me. On the same note, there are already enthusiast motherboards that do not have PCI slots so you're already covered on that front.
they look pretty nice and sport some nice features tho, i will give them that.
Honestly I think they're doing this as a prototype for a Z87 line of almost the same design. it's a good strategy for a company with a good reputation and some money to spend. they're basically getting to test the consumer response and board stability before they launch the real deal