MSI Announces Two New Gaming-Series Motherboards

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By Niels Broekhuijsen
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MSI has announced two new Gaming series motherboards.

MSI has announced two new motherboards – the B85I Gaming and the B85M Gaming. Both of these motherboards are based on the B85 chipset from Intel and feature the LGA1150 socket.

The B85I Gaming motherboard is largely identical to its non-gaming B85I, with a couple of subtle changes to make it appeal more to gamers. These changes include better USB power, Killer LAN, and improved audio hardware.

The motherboard carries MSI's Audio Boost technology, which gives it a high-quality headphone amplifier as well as overall better sound quality as compared to standard solutions. Also aboard is the company's so-called USB Audio Power design, which is essentially a separate and more stable power circuit for the USB ports for use with external DACs.

MSI has also equipped the B85I Gaming with the Killer E2200 gaming network adapter, which should reduce network lag in online games through improved prioritization.

The motherboard is also themed to look like a gaming motherboard, as it has a black PCB with oversized heatsinks, on which a red dragon can be seen.

MSI hasn't given us any images of the Micro-ATX B85M Gaming motherboard, though it did indicate that it will feature the same above specifications, making for essentially the same motherboard with more room for expansion.

No word on pricing yet, though with the boards featuring a B85 chipset, we shouldn't expect them to be too rough on your wallet.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

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6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • knowom
    "Killer E2200 gaming network adapter, which should reduce network lag in online games through improved prioritization." Except that in testing it really doesn't seem to do a damn thing and is pure marketing bs at best it helps offload the CPU marginally which any dedicated NIC such as one from Intel will do. You can't speed up the internet when the bottle neck is the ISP's.Has a Killer NIC even been tested for LAN based server hosting and compared to a a Intel NIC? Every review I've ever seen on it basically concluded it does nothing except offloads the CPU if using cheap integrated Realtek NIC's that can help to gain maybe 2-5 fps if your lucky.
    Reply
  • RazberyBandit
    While you can technically game on just about any machine, a "Gaming" branded board shouldn't sacrifice features, and the B85 chipset sacrifices plenty when compared to Z87 -- Intel's true gaming chipset
    Reply
  • burningdragons
    Sounds like another overprice board.. Expect this to compete with the ASUS Maximus IV Impact in terms of pricing. For me, the AsRock Z87E mini ITX motherboard will always be the best choice.
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    Sounds like another overprice board.. Expect this to compete with the ASUS Maximus IV Impact in terms of pricing. For me, the AsRock Z87E mini ITX motherboard will always be the best choice.
    These boards will be sub $125. That particular chipset is dirt cheap
    Reply
  • c123456
    You can get Z87 boards under $125.
    Reply
  • falchard
    "Killer E2200 gaming network adapter, which should reduce network lag in online games through improved prioritization." Except that in testing it really doesn't seem to do a damn thing and is pure marketing bs at best it helps offload the CPU marginally which any dedicated NIC such as one from Intel will do. You can't speed up the internet when the bottle neck is the ISP's.Has a Killer NIC even been tested for LAN based server hosting and compared to a a Intel NIC? Every review I've ever seen on it basically concluded it does nothing except offloads the CPU if using cheap integrated Realtek NIC's that can help to gain maybe 2-5 fps if your lucky.
    I think the thing to take away is that it does not have a Realtek NIC like 99.9% of other boards. No need to buy a separate dedicated NIC since most MSI mobos now come with Killer NIC.I think the real advantage of the Killer NIC is the ability to manipulate packet priority and even use its features for security purposes. Personally, I have never used it so I cannot backup these claims. I still think it beats having some cheap old Realtek NIC or buying a $100 Intel NIC.
    Reply