Back at Computex we reported that MSI was showing a potential mock-up of USB 3.1 on one of their motherboards. Fast forward a few months and this is slowly becoming a reality, with working silicon and demos on hand, almost ready to ship. USB 3.1 is set to be used in two different standards: the USB Type-A connector that we are all familiar with (and get frustrated when it never goes in first time) and the Type-C reversible connector that is being pushed and marketed as the next USB connector standard. MSI had motherboards showing both on display.

The working model for USB 3.1 that MSI had at the suite involved the Type-A connectors connected to a special 3.1-to-RAID device which was kept under wraps due to NDA or other reasons. There will be a number of USB 3.1 controllers available for motherboard manufacturers to use until it comes part of the chipset, but MSI told us that companies like ASMedia and VIA are the usual sources for this and both are being considered right now. The controller being used by MSI gave two ports and uses two PCIe 2.0 lanes, meaning that the total bandwidth between the two ports would be 10 Gbps. For this demo these two ports were being used as one for data and one to power the device in the box.

A word about the power – while the USB 3.1 specifications should allow 100W in quick charge mode, it is up to the manufacturer to support this. Having 100W going through the motherboard at the rear panel will need to design the extra circuitry in order to provide that power, which has an associated PCB area and monetary cost. At this point in time, I do not see the maximum power delivery option going to be on many (if any) solutions both in desktop and notebooks unless it is a super high end product. It will more likely end up with the plug-in-the-wall to USB adapters that are supplied with notebooks.

Nevertheless, the USB 3.1 setup which we were told used two 128GB Intel 530 SSDs in RAID-0 showed performance better than that of a single SATA 6 Gbps port. As shown in the image above, 600+ MB/s is possible with the right hardware on the other end, which leads to another potential issue with USB 3.1. The devices that can take advantage of USB 3.1 data transfer are most likely going to be few and far between, even for 2015. Those that will exist will be expensive, and the market will not have matured enough to work out all the kinks. This puts motherboard manufacturers in an odd position, because USB 3.1 is an interesting feature to work with, but at the minute it is not a must-have feature. On the plus side, it probably has more relevance than SATA Express at this point which is on a lot of motherboards, but the chipset support is part of that. When USB 3.1 is added to the chipset (2016?), then it will become ubiquitous I am sure.

The other side of the USB 3.1 equation from MSI was the Type-C connector. MSI was showing off a board using the reversible connector that should end the bane of users fiddling at the back of computers. MSI showed the board and a Type-C to Type-A cable, although not the two in action as they are still working the details out. The cable will be interesting, depending on how freely they will be available in the market and if users will happily move to them. The question then becomes when or if devices transition to Type-C for power and data, and away from Micro-USB for smartphones/tablets or Type-B for attached storage.

One interesting point that MSI provided with the Type-C connector was the issue of port longevity. The port itself is good for over 10k inserts and removals (and probably more as the underlying engineering might change), but the weakpoint will be at the end of the metal connector that actually is used in the male/female part. With enough torque on the connector, making the cable bend one way or another, the Type-C implementation might break either on the motherboard or the cable itself. MSI is looking into ways of reducing this, such as surround shielding for the port or thicker wall linings, but it raises a valid concern moving forward especially on the smartphone/tablet side of the equation where this issue comes up now and again.

With regards the Type-A connectors, MSI should be releasing a motherboard on this within the next few weeks, the X99A Gaming 9 ACK, while the Type-C model, the Z97A Gaming 6, will be further down the road. Depending if we get the sufficient hardware to test it, it will be an interesting angle for MSI’s product line.

Alongside the USB 3.1 new models, MSI had several of their latest designs up for show which have gained traction both visibly in various forums and in terms of emails for my inbox. First up is the Z97 SLI Krait Edition, marking a departure from MSI’s traditional range of colors to a purely black and white model. This is cashing in on the philosophy of providing clean solutions, and to that extent MSI also has a black and white GT 970 GPU to go with the design and the aim to be paired together, perhaps with some white DRAM as well.

The motherboard is low down the product stack, indicated by the lack of three-way GPU support, fewer SATA controllers and the minimum/clean design on the PCB. The Krait branding will come with the snake logo, different to the dragon used in the gaming series.

The GTX 970 4GD5T OC uses MSI’s Twin Frozr design platform but in a white livery and a small overclock. XoticPC and MSI paired up to create the Elysium system based on both the motherboard and the GPU along with an InWin S-Wave chassis:

Also in the motherboard arena was the Z97I Gaming ACK, which probably should not be shortened to the Z97I GACK, but the interesting element here is the WiFi solution.

The board uses both Killer branded Ethernet and an 802.11ac M.2 x1 module either for teaming or for directional prioritized data transfer, which can be useful depending on your scenario, particularly while streaming at a LAN event. We also spent some time with Qualcomm at the event, who own the Killer brand, and got some interesting information on that front which we need to follow up upon.

The WiFi module being used comes out as the Killer 1525, made by Hon Hai. Interesting indeed.

On the GPU front, MSI was showcasing two major parts. First up is the GTX 970 Golden Edition to mark their 100 million graphics cards sold milestone:

Featuring MSI’s new type of fan, the GTX 970 Golden Edition uses a full copper heatsink for the base plate, heatpipes and all the fins. Normally a graphics card would use copper heatpipes and perhaps a copper base plate on high end models, but the fins are almost always aluminium. This implements a full copper solution, similar to the ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme Copper Edition I use in motherboard reviews, and like that CPU heatsink comes in very heavy. MSI did not have scales to hand, but we are talking over 1.2 kilos per card, which might cause stress on the GPU slot and is best suited when edge support is in place or when the motherboard is parallel to the ground. Nevertheless the GPU is slightly overclocked and the cooler should offer a bit more in terms of overclock potential, depending on if MSI bin the silicon.  Also to note that this is also a GTX 970, and not the 980, which I hope MSI would look in to.

Another newer element is MSI’s Torx fan which adjusts the attack angle of alternate fan blades from the center to the middle in order to force more air into the area around the center of the fan. MSI is claiming 19% better airflow, 75% better structural integrity and 5% lower noise, but no numbers were provided for those comparisons.

It would be an interesting exercise to see visualizations of the CFD that went into this design. Sometimes it is tricky to tell for yourself whether design A or design B is better without the calculations in front of you, and the results would point to the accurate conclusions. Nevertheless the fan design is making its way onto all Twin Frozr V cards, including the 970 Golden Edition. Alongside MSI showing off the Krait range with a custom PC, they also showed a custom mod around the Dragon gaming logo and a pair of Twin Frozr V cards:

That picture is correct, in the sense that MSI is laying it on thick with the red aspect, with this James Fislar Dragon design using red cabling as well as a red pump and red coolant going through the water cooling system.

The system also showed one of the features of the GPU design, with one fan being able to turn off completely when in idle modes. This fan typically cools the power delivery, which is losing a lot less absolute energy as heat when in idle.

MSI were also showcasing off their new aluminium based Thunderstorm Mouse Pad and a gaming headset for good measure:

Thoughts on MSI

As the motherboard reviewer at AnandTech since 2011, we have seen MSI go through a significant shift in direction. Back then MSI was competing heavily on price, and neglected the user experience compared to its ultimate potential. Today in 2015, as CES is showing, we are in the decade of user experience, and MSI know this to be true on the design front. The Gaming range for MSI is now their primary focus, according to Eric Kuo, the MSI Vice President for Worldwide Sales and Marketing. From our perspective, MSI is only starting to look at the technical side of the equation again after spending a couple of years focusing on the look. But what is currently out in the market from MSI is some of the cleanest and aesthetically pleasing but also adventurous design. Sure, a dragon on every piece of hardware is not for everyone, but at least MSI is aiming to provide that consistent design philosophy across motherboards, GPUs, peripherals, and as we reported on earlier, their gaming line of notebooks.

As part of our trip to CES 2015, we also had an opportunity to sit down with two MSI VPs from their HQ sales and marketing departments for a quick interview. Stay tuned for that piece.