MSI Z97 GAMING 7 Motherboard

Name: MSI Z97 GAMING 7
Brand: MSI
SKU: Z97-GAMING 7
Rating: 4.5 (106 reviews)

MSI Z97 GAMING 7 Socket 1150 Z97 DDR3 SATA3 USB 3.0 ATX

★★★★★

(106 reviews)

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Supports 4th and 5th Gen Intel Core / Pentium / Celeron processors for LGA 1150 socket
Supports DDR3-3300(OC) Memory
M.2 + USB 3.0 + SATA 6Gb/s
Audio Boost 2: Reward Your Ears with True Quality
Killer Ethernet: Kill Your Lag
USB Audio Power: Surve Stable 5V Power & Better Signal Transmission over USB
XSplit Gamecaster: Show off Your Skills and Achievements
Guard-Pro: Improved Protection and Power Efficiency
OC Genie 4: Overclock in 1 Second
Gaming App: Boost Your Frame Rate
Click BIOS 4: Easily Fine-tune Your System
Multi-GPU: NVIDIA SLI & AMD CrossFire Support
Sound Blaster Cinema 2: Realistic Surround Sound Experience
Gaming Device Port: Optimized with Triple Gold-plating for High Polling Rate Gaming Devices

Specifications Overview

Model	Z97-GAMING 7
Release Date	May 2014 * First availability for purchase, it may not correspond to the actual market launch date.
Socket	LGA1150
Form factor	ATX
Chipset	Intel Z97
Supported Memory	DDR3 1066Mhz 1333Mhz 1600Mhz 1866Mhz 2000Mhz 2133Mhz 2200Mhz 2400Mhz 2600Mhz 2666Mhz 2800Mhz 3000Mhz 3100Mhz 3200Mhz 3300Mhz View compatible RAM ► * High clock speeds may require enabling the XMP profile in the motherboard BIOS ** RAM support may also depend on the CPU memory controller
ECC RAM Support	No
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC1150
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels
LAN Chipset	Killer E2205
Max LAN Speed	10/100/1000Mbps
SLI Support	Yes
CrossFire Support	Yes
RAID Support	Yes
Back Connect	No
Wireless LAN	No
PCI-Express x16 Slots	3
PCI-Express x4 Slots	0
PCI-Express x1 Slots	4
SATA 6 Gbps Ports	8
SATA Express Ports	0
M.2 Ports	1
M.2 Devices support	2242 / 2260 / 2280 - M Key
RAM Slots	4
Maximum Supported RAM	32 GB
Onboard USB 2.0	2
Onboard USB 3.2 Gen 1	1
Onboard USB 3.2 Gen 2	0
Onboard USB 3.2 Gen 2x2	0

	Old Name	Current Name	Branding	Data Speed	Port
USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	Hi-Speed USB	480 Mbit/s	diverse
USB 3.0	USB 3.1 Gen 1	USB 3.2 Gen 1x1	SuperSpeed USB	5 Gbit/s	diverse
USB 3.1	USB 3.1 Gen 2	USB 3.2 Gen 2x1	SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps	10 Gbit/s	diverse
USB 3.2	USB 3.2 Gen 2x2	USB 4.0 Gen 2x2	USB4 20Gbps	20 Gbit/s	only USB-C
USB4	USB 4.0 Gen 3x2	USB4 1.0	USB4 40Gbps	40 Gbit/s	only USB-C
USB4v2	USB 4.0 Gen 4	USB4 2.0	USB4 80Gbps	80-120 Gbit/s	only USB-C

Pros

Solid performance
Very good onboard audio
Improved BIOS
Lots of features

Cons

Description

CPU

• Supports 4th and 5th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® Processors for Socket LGA1150
Please refer to CPU Support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.

Chipset

• Intel® Z97 Express Chipset

Main Memory

• Support 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

Slots

• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, (support x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 modes)
• 4 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots

On-Board SATA

• 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 M.2 PCIe module up to 10Gb/s speed**
- M.2 port supports 4.2cm/ 6cm/ 8cm length module
- Supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10***
- Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology and Intel® Smart Connect Technology****

• ASMedia ASM1061 Chipset
- 2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA7~8)

* The SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing a module in the M.2 port.
** M.2 PCIe interface only supports UEFI option ROM, NOT support legacy option ROM.
*** M.2 PCIe interface does not support RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10.
**** Supports Intel Core processors on Windows 7 and Windows 8/ 8.1

USB

• Intel Z97 Express Chipset
- 4 x USB 3.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB 3.0 connectors)
- 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB 2.0 connectors*)

• ASMedia ASM1074 Chipset
- 4 x USB 3.0 ports on the back panel

• ASMedia ASM1042 chipset
- 2 x USB 3.0 ports on the back panel
* Internal JUSB1 connector supports MSI Super Charger.

Audio

• Realtek® ALC1150 Codec
- 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
- Supports S/PDIF output

LAN

• 1x Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN controller*
* The Killer Network Manager is only available for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 currently. The supported drivers for other operating systems would be available on the website if provided by vendor.

Multi-GPU

• Supports 3-Way AMD CrossFire™ Technology*
• Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
* Supports Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1.

Internal I/O Connectors

- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector

- 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector

- 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

- 1 x M.2 port

- 2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports)

- 1 x USB 3.0 connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports)

- 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors

- 3 x 4-pin system fan connectors

- 1 x TPM module connector

- 1 x Serial port connector

- 1 x Front panel audio connector

- 1 x Direct audio power connector

- 2 x System panel connectors

- 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector

- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper

- 9 x V-Check connectors

- 1 x Power button

- 1 x Reset button

- 1 x OC Genie button

- 1 x Multi-BIOS switch

- 1 x Audio power switch

- 1 x 2-Digit Debug Code LED

Back Panel I/O Ports

- 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
- 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
- 2 x USB 2.0 ports
- 8 x USB 3.0 ports
- 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
- 6 x OFC audio jacks
- 2 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096X2304@24Hz/ 2560X1600@60Hz/ 3840X2160@60Hz/1920X1200@60Hz
- 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096X2304@24Hz/ 2560X1600@60Hz/ 3840X2160@60Hz/1920X1200@60Hz

This platform supports dual-display function and triple-display function

	HDMI+DisplayPort	HDMI+DisplayPort	HDMI+HDMI+DisplayPort
Extend mode (Extend the desktop to the second and third monitor)	◯	◯	◯
Clone mode (Monitors have the same screen)	◯	◯	◯

BIOS

• The motherboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
• The motherboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your motherboard specifications.

Dimension

• 12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) ATX Form Factor

Mounting

• 9 mounting holes.

Expert reviews

MSI's Z97 Gaming 7 is a full-featured motherboard targeted at the computer gamer, as the name suggests, and is built with the features that matter most to the target market. As a high performance motherboard, it is fully capable of maxing out your installed hardware, especially when you take the time to tune it specifically for your combination ...

Overclockers Club

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