Review: msi z97 gaming 9 ac

Main improvements of the Z97 chipset to its predecessor Z87
Frequently asked questions to consider
Technical characteristics
MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC
UEFI BIOS
Test bench and tests
Final words and conclusion
MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC
Component quality
Overclocking ability
MultiGPU system
BIOS
Additional features
PRICE
9.1 / 10

Well, after trying the MSI Z97M Gaming, now is the time to introduce you to the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC. It is the top of the range model of the Gaming Series family that maintains red and black colors. It has numerous phases, Military Class technology, audio Boost 2, an armor that protects you from the PCB and an excellent overclocking capacity.

We thank the MSI team for the transfer of the motherboard for analysis:

Main improvements of the Z97 chipset to its predecessor Z87

There are hardly any differences between the Z87 and Z97 chipset on paper. We have few such as the incorporation of the SATA Express block with 10 Gb / s of bandwidth (40% faster) compared to the 6Gb / s of the classic SATA 3. How is there so much improvement? It is because they have taken one or two of the PCI Express lanes, so be careful when doing dual configurations or with multiple graphics cards. One of the most important improvements is the incorporation of the M.2 connection with NGFF support natively, thus replacing the well-received mSATA ports. This technology is the future of computing, since it will allow us to connect large, fast storage devices without occupying places in our box. During this year and 2015 we will see the increase in sales of this connection. Finally, we see the possibility of overclocking RAM memories up to 3300 mh. Well, this reaches the limit of mhz that we can reach with DDR3 memories.

Frequently asked questions to consider

- My heatsink is compatible with socket 1155 and 1556. Is it compatible with socket 1150? Yes, we have tested different motherboards and they all have the same holes as in socket 1155 and 1156. - Is my power supply compatible with Intel Haswell or Intel Devil Canyon / Haswell Refresh ? There are no Haswell certified power supplies. Most of the manufacturers have already released the list of compatible sources: Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Nox, Aerocool / Tacens and Thermaltake. Giving 98% absolute compatibility.

Technical characteristics

FEATURES MSI Z97 GAMING 9 AC
CPU	Supports 4th and 5th generation Intel ® Core ™ and Intel ® Pentium ® and Celeron ® processors for LGA1150 Socket Please check CPU support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.
Chipset	Intel ® Z97 Express Chipset
Memory	Supports four DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866 * / 2000 * / 2133 * / 2200 * / 2400 * / 2600 * / 2666 * / 2800 * / 3000 * / 3100 * / 3200 * / 3300 * (* OC) MHz DRAM, 32GB Max dual channel memory architecture Supports Intel ® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) Supports non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Multi-GPU Compatible	Intel Z97 Express Chipset 6x SATA 6Gb / s ports (SATA1 ~ 6) 1x M.2 port * M.2 port supports M.2 SATA 6Gb / s module M.2 port supports PCIe M.2 module at up to 10Gb / s speed M.2 port supports 4.2cm / 6cm / 8cm module length Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 * Supports Intel ® Smart Response Technology, Rapid Start ® Intel Technology and Intel ® Smart Connect Technology **** ASMedia ASM1061 Chipset 2 x SATA 6Gb / s ports (SATA7 ~ 8) Supports 3-Way AMD CrossFire ™ technology * Supports 2-Way NVIDIA ® SLI ™ Technology
Storage	6 x SATA 6.0 Gb / s (Intel Z97 1 x SATA Express port (uses 2 x SATA ports 6.0 Gb / s via Intel Z97) 4 x SATA 6.0 Gb / s (Marvell 88SE9172)
USB and ports.	Intel Z97 Express Chipset 4 USB 3.0 ports available through internal USB connectors 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports on the rear panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors ) USB • ASMedia ASM1074 Chipset 6 x USB 3.0 - ports on the rear panel ASMedia ASM1042 chipset 2 x USB 3.0 ports on the USB rear panel Internal JUSB1 connector supports MSI Super Charger.
Net	Controller • 1x Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN
Bluetooth	Expansion Module • Wi-Fi / Bluetooth with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 chip compatible with Bluetooth v4.0 (includes BLE * and Bluetooth 3.0 + HS) * BLE: Bluetooth Low Energy
Audio	Realtek ® ALC1150 Codec 7.1 channels of high definition audio Compatible with S / PDIF out CMedia CM6631A (by JAUD1) Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Audio
WiFi connection	Wi-Fi / Bluetooth expansion module with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 chip. Supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, dual band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) at the speed of 867 Mbps. Supports Intel Wireless Display (WiDi)
Format.	ATX format: 30.5cm x 24.4cm
BIOS	The motherboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" that detects peripheral devices and expansion cards on the motherboard.

MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC

MSI presents its motherboard in a large box with a very beautiful design. Where the red and black colors of the Gaming series stand out. On the front we have the image of the dragon and on the back all the characteristics and technical specifications.

MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC box

Backside Case MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC

The bundle is very complete and consists of:

MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC3 motherboard x SATA Wiring pairs. SATA sticker. CD with drivers and software. MSI Gaming sticker. Keys to measure voltage and molex thief. Wi-Fi MSI AC.

Manual and CD

Cabling

Gaming Sticker

WIFI antenna

Molex thief and voltage meter

Wifi MSI AC

The MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC is one of the three most powerful MSI Z97 motherboards. It has an ATX format with measures 30.5cm x 24.4cm and a very beautiful design, where we must highlight its black PCB and the slight brush strokes on the heatsinks with the red color. At the back we did not find any remarkable news.

The motherboard is compatible with fourth generation Haswell processors , incorporates the Z97 chipset and allows us to install up to 32 GB DDR3 with speeds of up to 3300 mhz with OC.

Motherboard MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC box

Rear

8-pin EPS connector

4 DDR3 sockets

We must not fool ourselves this motherboard is ideal for both playing and overclocking. This is due to its 12 phase supply with Military Class IV components, Mosfets DrMOS and high quality capabilities (Hi-C CAAP, Chockes and CAP-Blacks).

Regarding the cooling system, it has two thick and bulky heatsinks both in the area of the power supply phases and on the south bridge. The latter with a spectacular design, as we witness in the following images. Always keep both areas cool.

The motherboard supports multiGPU systems from both Nvidia (SLI) and AMD (CrossFireX) with up to 3 graphics cards. It features three PCI to x16 connections and another three to PCI to X1. Configurations compatible with PCI Express 3.0. are the following:

1 GPU: x16.2 GPU: x8-x8.3 GPU: x8-x4-x4.

The sound card is equipped with Audio Boost technology with the Realtek ALC1150 and CMedia CM6631A support chip for 8 channels. The truth that comes very prepared and with excellent performance.

We have 8 SATA III connections at 6Gb / s, six of them (from 1 to 6) are from Intel itself, while SATA ports 7 and 8 are controlled by the ASMedia ASM1061 chipset. All are compatible with RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 and Rapid Start Technology.

Nor should we forget about the M.2 connection. 10 Gb / s speed that is controlled by the same Z97 chipset. We are missing a SATA Express controller for future SSDs with this connection.

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I have always liked the small details and MSI has incorporated internal USB 2.0, USB 3.0 connections. In addition to many fan connections, a dual BIOS, voltage control, a control panel to easily turn on, reset and overclock at 4200 mhz.

Regarding connectivity, we find that MSI has incorporated an ideal network card for more professional players such as the Killer E2205 with a Gigabit connection. This is the most of the most… Although it has not forgotten the wireless or wifi connection with a receiver with before 802.11 ac / b / g / n, bluetooth 4 and WIDI thanks to the Intel chip.

When we go to the back we find that it includes enough rear connectors:

PS / 2.2 x USB 2.0.8 x USB 3.0HDMI.Displayport. Sound card connections.

UEFI BIOS

MSI offers us one of the best and simplest BIOS on the market. If we are looking to overclock with just 4 steps, MSI gives it to you. If you are looking for the control of the fans, it also offers it to you. Monitoring of all connected components, it also offers it to us. It is one of my favorite BIOS. Good job MSI!

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7 4790k
Base plate:	MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC
Memory:	G.Skills Trident X 2400mhz.
Heatsink	Noctua NH-U14S
HDD	Samsumg 840 250GB
Graphic card	GTX780
Power supply	Antec HCP 850

To check the stability of the processor and the motherboard, we have made an extreme OC of up to 4800 mhz with Prime 95 Custom by liquid cooling. The graphics we have used is a Gigabyte GTX780 Rev 2.0. We go to the results:

TESTS
3dMark Vantage:	P41040
3dMark11	P15731 PTS
Crysis 3	43 FPS
CineBench 11.5	10.8 fps.
Resident EVIL 6 Lost Planet Tomb Raider Metro	1430 PTS. 133 FPS. 75 FPS 69 FPS

Final words and conclusion

The MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC is an ATX format motherboard designed for the world's gamers. It has 12 power phases to overclock the latest generation Haswell and Devil's Canyon processors. It allows us to install up to 32 GB of DDR3 RAM up to a speed of 3300 Mhz, Killer network card, wireless AC connection and a system of up to 3 PCI Express 3.0 graphics cards.

Regarding the cooling, we have been very happy since we have put our Intel i7-4790K at excellent frequencies: 4800 mhz with 1.44v and never exceeding 77ºC playing games like Battlefield 4, Diablo 3 and Tomb Raider. Very good work!

It has storage connections of 8 SATA connections and one M.2 connection. more than enough to satisfy the needs of any user. Although I wish it included at least one SATA Express connection…

In short, if you are looking for an ideal board to play and while allowing a large overclocking, the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC is one of the best choices. Its store price ranges from € 260.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN.	- DOES NOT INCLUDE SATA EXPRESS.
+ LED LIGHTING.
+ 12 FEEDING PHASES.
+ 8 SATA AND M.2 CONNECTIONS.
+ AUDIO BOOST SOUND CARD.
+ GREAT PERFORMANCE AND GAMING EXPERIENCE.