We had a first look, sneak peek, at this MSI Z87I Gaming and GTX 760 Gaming ITX on HEXUS around a fortnight ago. Today MSI has launched the “Mini but mighty” pairing to the public. Sources speaking to HEXUS suggest that this kind of mini-ITX hardware might be the start of a growing (shrinking) trend from manufacturers.
MSI Z87I Gaming AC motherboard
This motherboard supports Intel’s 4th Generation processors using the Intel Z87 Express Chipset. Gaming focussed features include the Killer E2205 Ethernet on board to help you minimise network gaming lag and MSI Audio Boost to provide immersive in-game audio. Incidentally that audio circuit is sectioned off on a different part of the board layout to minimise noise and interference. Intel Wi-Fi AC solution is also built-in supporting Wi-Di video transmission and a maximum transfer speed of 867Mbps.
For the full run-down of the other connections and expansion options available to owners of this board, have a look at the table below.
- CPU support: 4th Gen Intel® Core™ / Pentium® / Celeron® processors
- Chipset: Intel® Z87 Express Chipset
- Network: Killer™ E2205 Gigabit Ethernet, Intel® 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.0, Intel® Wi-Di
- Storage: 5x SATA 6Gb/s, 1x eSATA 6Gb/s
- Display Interface: 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, 1x DL-DVI-I
- Connectivity: 1x PCI-e 3.0 x16, 6x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 8-channel Audio Boost
GTX 760 GAMING ITX graphics card
MSI has developed a graphics card to complement the mini-ITX motherboard detailed above. The GTX 760 GAMING ITX graphics card is only 17cm long and is, as usual for MSI, fitted with Military Class 4 components. MSI said with such a small unit one of the biggest challenges was cooling but using its own RADAX fan tech, “a true Hybrid Radial/Axial fan that combines the best of both worlds”, the firm could provide low-noise cooling “and up to 30 °C lower temperatures compared to any other card in its class”.
Like its full-sized brethren the GTX 760 GAMING ITX graphics card offers a one button overclocking app and ‘Predator’ video capturing. As we previously noted however, the 2GB frame buffer clocks are locked at 6,008MHz. The full spec of this graphics card is listed below.
- GPU: GK104
- Base / Boost Clock: 1006 MHz / 1072 MHz
- Memory Size, Type: 2048 MB, GDDR5
- Speed, interface: 6008 MHz, 256 bits
- Connectivity: DL-DVI-I, HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort
- Dimensions: 170x111x41 mm
MSI says these mini-ITX components are now available. The press release doesn’t give out any prices but we hear from Anandtech that the motherboard will be US$200 and the graphics card US$270 (graphics card will be £220 in the UK).
