MSI At Computex
Earlier this month, our editorial teams from Germany, Italy, and the U.S. were on the ground in Taiwan, covering the Taipei International Information Technology Show (better known as Computex) to bring you information about upcoming and prototype products. In this second part of the series, we have follow-ups from our visits to MSI, , Intel, Trendnet, Roccat, and Gigabyte.
MSI
MSI is in the midst of a brand revamp, splitting its PC products into three tiers: classic (with a blue and black color scheme), gaming (black and red), and overclocking (yellow and black). Company reps also briefed us on the incrementing of its Military Class feature suite, which now follows the MIL-STD-810G specification.
First, we were shown some of MSI's new classic-series Z/H/B87-based solutions in mini-ITX trim. All of them conform to the Military Class 4 standard the company defined for itself, which includes more space around the processor interface to accommodate larger coolers. Representatives claimed these would be available in the middle of June, though a quick glance through some of our favorite online vendors suggests they aren't ready yet.
Stepping up to the mid-range gaming tier, all of the employ Killer's Ethernet controllers, Sound Blaster Cinema, and Audio Boost, a feature that purportedly isolates the audio circuitry to minimize interference. A 600 ohm amplifier and gold-plated jacks round out the audio package's value adds. Currently, MSI's Z87-GD65 Gaming sells for $188 on , while the Z77A-G43 Gaming is priced at $120.
We also had a look at some of the company's gaming-series graphics cards, which are factory-overclocked and include an application that modifies for lower noise, reference-class operation, or more aggressive performance and cooling. The GeForce GTX 770 Gaming is already available at $400, while the 780 is expected to show up next month sometime.
