MSI Z97S KRAIT EDITION ADVENTURES

[MSIMAX]

MSI has released a black and white colored motherboard based on the Z97 chipset this should be good for users that are tired of the red and black scheme that many boards seem to use these days. But color means nothing if your system can't perform so I'll be reviewing this budget board to see if it delivers...

Model Brand
MSI
Z97S SLI Krait Edition

Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type
LGA 1150
CPU Type
Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron (LGA1150)

Chipsets
Chipset
Intel Z97

Memory
Number of Memory Slots
4?240pin
Memory Standard
DDR3 3200(OC) /3100(OC) /3000(OC) /2800(OC) /2666(OC) /2600(OC) /2400(OC) /2200(OC) /2133(OC) /2000(OC) /1866(OC) /1600 /1333 /1066
Maximum Memory Supported
32GB
Channel Supported
Dual Channel

Expansion Slots
PCI Express 3.0 x16
2
PCI Express x1
3
PCI Slots
2

Storage Devices
SATA 6Gb/s
6 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA Express
1 x SATA Express 10Gb/s
M.2
1 x M.2
SATA RAID
0/1/5/10

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset
Realtek ALC892
Audio Channels
7.1 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset
Realtek 8111G
Max LAN Speed
10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports
PS/2
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
Video Ports
D-Sub + DVI
HDMI
1 x HDMI
RJ45
1 x RJ45
USB 3.0
4 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0
2 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports
6 Ports

Internal I/O Connectors
Onboard USB
2 x USB 3.0 + 4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x SATA E xpress port
1 x M.2 port
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 Parallel port connector
1 x Front panel audio connector
2 x System panel connectors
1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
1 x Clear CMOS jumper

Physical Spec
Form Factor
ATX
Power Pin
24 Pin

Features
Features
Supports 4th and 5th Gen Intel Core / Pentium / Celeron processors for LGA 1150 socket

Supports DDR3-3300(OC) Memory

SATA Express + M.2 + USB 3.0 + SATA 6Gb/s

Military Class 4: Top Quality & Stability

OC Genie 4: Overclock in 1 Second

Click BIOS 4: Easily Fine-tune Your System

4K UHD Support: Ultra-high Definition Visual Experience

Multi-GPU: NVIDIA SLI & AMD CrossFire Support

Command Center: Control & Customize Your PC Settings

Fast Boot: Quickly Boot Up & Enter OS in A Few Seconds

Smart Utilities: Easily Setup & Configure Intel Technologies










Test setup
Intel 4790k
MSI Z97s krait edition
2 x 4gb ram TEAM EXTREME 2666mhz
Swiftech H220x AIO cooler
MSI 290x with Artic accelero hybrid the first tried
EVGA 1300G2 PSU
120 GB Kingston hyperx X3 SSD
Windows 7 64bit SP1


Bios screenshots


UPDATED BIOS TO 10.3
changes - 更新 VBIOS及 GOP Driver.
- 更新 CPU Micro code以支援新版Intel CPU.
- 改善與 SAMSUNG M.2的相容性.
- 改善與 Asmedia SATA Device的相容性.


























BASELINE TESTS

CPU TESTS










































MEMORY TEST








STORAGE TEST

WD PASSPOT 1TB USB3.0 DRIVE



KINGSTON HYPER X 3X 120GB SSD





3D TESTS














GRID AUTOSPORT ALL MAX SETTINGS


SLEEPING DOGS DEFINITIVE EDITION


TOMB RAIDER







CPU OVERCLOCK RESULTS















































MEMORY OVERCLOCK RESULTS










STORAGE OVERCLOCK RESULTS






3D OVERCLOCK RESULTS



















GRID AUTOSPORT





SLEEPING DOGS DEFINITIVE EDITION



TOMB RAIDER






Well there you have it MSI budget board has good performance bang for ya buck if you are doing a black or white build this should fit the bill.

it overclocks nicely there's no post code readout , indicator lights or power/reset buttons but if you push it to hard or make a incorrect setting it recovers nicely I never had to clear cmos.

it does have a quirk when i put my flashdrive in the rear usb3 port it added 15 seconds to boot up and in command center software not saving cpu profile.