The Board - Layout

The MSI Z87-G45 GAMING comes clothed in attire similar to that of the Z87-GD65 GAMING I covered a few weeks ago. The styling is the same, but the lack of onboard features as compared to the Z87-G45's bigger brother makes the surface a bit less busy on both the front and back.


The socket really is devoid of stuff should you want to go the way of sub-zero insulation, although that's not the real focus of the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING. Since the VRM offered is of a different design, and not as complex, both the front and rear of the socket provide ample clearance for aftermarket cooling solutions.


Gone are all legacy slots, and there are seven PCIe slots in total instead. Four of these are PCIe x1 in connectivity, while the other three are physical "x16" slots with varying link widths based on which slots are populated with expansion cards. The four black DIMM slots can be populated with up to 32 GB of RAM, with hints of DRR3 3000+ capability printed onto the board's nearby surface.


The lower edge of the board caries a relatively normal compliment of pin headers, but I was a bit perplexed to find the front panel's pin connector gain in the middle of the bottom of the board. The MSI Z87-G45 GAMING has a total of five fan headers. These are all 4-pin PWM headers that are fully adjustable in the BIOS.


The rear I/O plate is exactly the same as on the Z87-GD65 GAMING. HDMI, DVI-D, and VGA make an appearance, and the four USB 3.0 ports on the rear of the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING connect directly to the Z87 chipset rather than using a separate controller, which simplifies the board design, allowing MSI to give you more value for your dollar. There are six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the board's right edge; all of these connect to the Intel Z87 chipset.