MSI Shows Off G-Series Motherboards at CeBIT

By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

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.

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Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

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

15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • vmem
    looks nice, but the last sentence has a point, why new Z77 boards this late in the socket's life-cycle? though if they do one for the z87 chipset (which I bet they will), I'll consider getting it instead of ASUS ROG
    Reply
  • bryonhowley
    Well I still think there are plenty of people looking for 1155 motherboards so there will still be a place for Z77 based boards for some time anyway.
    Reply
  • SvRommelvS
    Not hyping a x79 MB in their lineup? I find that surprising considering Ivy Bridge-E looks like it will, in fact, exist.
    Reply
  • shloader
    Speaking of late... PCI ports. Just about anything you could want with a PCI card can be found with a PCIe x1 port. And no PCIe x4 slot. Not a major issue but should probably have one at this level. PCI needs to go. It just pollutes high-end boards such as this.
    Reply
  • GabZDK
    The G45 and G43 seem to have an opportunity based on the specs and the color scheme, really good looking (Still not fan of the brown PCB but I think I can live with it on this one), just have to see if the price is convincing
    Reply
  • demonhorde665
    why not do this for AMD mother boards too ?? especially sicne AM3+ is likely going to out last intel's current socket (unless steam roller uses new socket ?).
    Reply
  • janetonly42
    Waiting for the next generation of kiddie consoles to release and get established before I think of a new gaming rig build but this MB line looks good, been using Gigabyte MB and love them. I do have a MSI 560Ti and it's been working great.
    Reply
  • janetonly42
    And PS, I will be installing my copy of Win &-64 if I build another rig and let my current rig be an Ubuntu only rig.
    Reply
  • s3anister
    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).
    Reply
  • s3anister
    shloaderSpeaking of late... PCI ports. Just about anything you could want with a PCI card can be found with a PCIe x1 port. And no PCIe x4 slot. Not a major issue but should probably have one at this level. PCI needs to go. It just pollutes high-end boards such as this.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.
    Reply