It has been held as fact that for the past couple of years, gaming is helping to prop up a slowly decreasing desktop PC market. While many casual PC users have transitioned to tablets, laptops or 2-in-1s, the gaming community, and particularly the rise of eSports, has been accredited as filling that void. MSI’s current raison d’être across almost all of its product range is towards the gamer, and I was given an extensive tour of the products on display.

(I must apologize for the delay in this article. A combination of pre-planned holiday and confirmation of details led to this, along with our Podcast from the event, being published later than planned.)

Motherboards

Standing front and center in MSI’s motherboard repertoire is the new MSI X99A Godlike Gaming (or GODLIKE GAMING, officially) motherboard. An insight into the naming reasons behind the X99A Godlike is apparently from old-school Unreal Tournament and many titles since - when scoring successive kills in a round without dying, a user will achieve many awards:

Killing Spree – 5 kills
Rampage – 10 kills
Dominating – 15 kills
Unstoppable – 20 kills
GODLIKE – 25 kills
WICKED SICK – 30 kills

The idea is that the X99A Godlike is at the pinnacle of gaming. By virtue of the list above, perhaps the phrase ‘godlike’ is more user friendly as a worldwide moniker than ‘wicked sick’ or the equivalent sounds for successive kills in a short time period (monster kill, holy ****).

Naming aside, the purpose of this motherboard is to introduce several new features to MSI’s high end range. Some of these will be seen as gimmicks, while others have a valid usage scenario. Despite the bad lighting at the booth, here’s what it looks like:

The most obvious element on the motherboard is the LED lighting. Luckily we’re not fixed on green here – these LEDs are RGB to the tune of 256 colors, and use an onboard controller that provides a Bluetooth connection to the controls. This allows the LEDs to be controlled through an Android application, and the system will either implement a variety of effects, a fixed color system or can/will respond to music played on the Android device (after a quick analysis of the music track). It is worth noting that despite the Bluetooth module external to the main WiFi card, the LEDs are switched off when in a deep sleep mode and thus only active when machine is actively working.

Aside from the LEDs, the extensive heatsink arrangement covering the rear IO, acting as an EMI shield for the audio and moving towards the chipset is a relatively new application for MSI. This is more for aesthetics than pure cooling, but as MSI wants to push that red and black color theme over almost anything, we get an extension here. Within the rear IO, MSI has used a special EMM codec and paired it with a 6.35mm TRS headphone jack, specifically for driving more professional audio equipment without an adapter.

The audio side of the X99A Godlike Gaming (and other gaming motherboards, as well as gaming laptops) will get an enhancement to the software side for audio in the form of the Nahimic audio interface. Nahimic is a French company with roots into military fighter training simulations, and the claim with Nahimic’s software is that it has the power to enhance gameplay through adjusting the audio through their algorithms.

This seems to be a software solution, and the demo they had at the booth used a predefined FPS video with some music in the background. Nahimic also removes the EQ settings in exchange for this control, which raises my suspicions as to exactly how complex (or not) the software is. When we get a product in to test that has the Nahimic features, we’ll go through the software in detail for sure.

Another feature (again apologies for the poor lighting images) is the use of protective shields around the PCIe slots:

These are fixed to the motherboard in several places each and designed to help protect the PCIe slots. The main reason from MSI (one other manufacturer will have these as well) is that the weight of modern high end graphics cards, particularly those using copper cooling or dual GPU arrangements, is beyond the recommended PCIe limit specification. As a result, during transportation, MSI has seen returns where PCIe slots have been ripped from their mounting and thus this is a way to attempt to avoid those returns. It is perhaps worth noting that this feature will only be on the high end X99A Godlike Gaming for now, but it would seem that MSI is at least testing the waters before bringing it down to a lower price band.

Networking has been a consistent feature of MSI’s Gaming brand over the last couple of generations, and the Godlike Gaming is no different. I have posted about using the Killer software package many times over the years, especially in relation to cost and the futility of the software, but nonetheless MSI sees it as a positive marketing tool and the X99A Godlike Gaming comes with dual Killer network ports as well as a Killer 802.11ac 2T2R WiFi card. The idea with this is that users can determine which software goes down which pipe – such as gameplay and streaming over network and VOIP over WiFi. This is despite the fact that outside of the property, that priority setting has no practical advantage. MSI is also promoting the use of the new Killer NIC and WiFi modules, to which one would assume they have paid a premium in order to use.

The Godlike Gaming is still in development, although MSI hopes to have it on the shelves in the next few weeks. Pricing is still unknown.

100-Series Motherboards

Suffice to say, Computex confirmed a few things about Skylake that had appeared in various unconfirmed leaks in recent months. The chipset series will be known as the 100-series, compared to the 9-series for Z97 or the 8-series. The main brackets will be the Z170, H170, B150 and H110 chipset designations, with Q170/Q150 and potentially some others to follow. MSI had a number of these to show off, with the LGA1151 socket for Skylake processors.

Front and center is the Z170A-G45 Gaming, poised to be MSI’s main price-point sensitive gaming model at launch. Astute users might note that the power delivery area has more phases than the equivalent previous Z97 model, and we also get dual PCIe 3.0 based M.2 running at four lanes each as well as SATA Express. Intel hasn’t released information regarding the 100 series chipsets yet, although if we are led to believe some of the leaks in the market, the chipset has more PCIe lanes to play with and thus we will see a number of varied M.2/SATAe implementations, particularly those using PCIe 3.0, with the 100-series. This includes USB 3.1 controllers, such as those from ASMedia, and even potential for Thunderbolt 3 without sacrificing other functionality.

More notes to the Z170A-G45 Gaming include Audio Boost 3 (Audio Boost 2 based ALC1150 + Nahimic software), USB 3.1 provided via the ASMedia codec as it isn’t native as of yet, Killer networking, support for DDR4 and voltage points for extreme overclockers on a budget. It is worth noting that it seems MSI has done away with the OC Genie button on this model. With any luck the software/BIOS still has auto tools for users, but given previous important battlegrounds, attacking the $160-$200 market is going to be key for all motherboard manufacturers when Skylake is launched.

On the regular channel side for the spectrum, and lower down the price ladder, MSI also had a few other motherboards to show. This includes the Z170A-G43 with PCI slots but still with M.2 and the B150M PRO-VD for business oriented customers. COM and LPT ports are still present in this market, and I could imagine that the B150M model here is targeting those mid-to-low end, high volume markets.

The PC Mate and Café lines are MSI’s answer to the internet café question in parts of Asia, Africa and South America. With the potential growth of eSports, users in these regions might head to a gaming café in order to play games with at least a hint of physical interaction with others, rather than sit at home. This is a razor thin profit margin market, as these cafés want capable machines without spending a lot – particularly if 30-50 machines need to be built. The Z170 series also allows for some semblance of overclocking, and it’s worth mentioning here that the Z170A PC Mate looks as if it has one PCIe 3.0 x16 and one PCIe 3.0 x8, suggesting that even SLI or Crossfire is a consideration for these markets.

Not to be forgotten the H170 line also gets a PRO-VDH version and sat next to a Braswell based SO-DIMM motherboard in the booth. If the H170 line follows the H97 and older lines, we probably will not expect to see CPU overclocking although some DRAM adjustments might be possible. This is perhaps indicated by the power delivery and the heatsinks in place.

All-in-Ones – The AX24 and G24 GE

My view on all-in-ones as compute devices does not seem to align well with what all-in-one manufacturers tell me. Nominally the sole all-in-one that gets much attention online is Apple’s iMac due to the role it has played in Apple’s line-up over the last five or so years. Nonetheless, the all-in-one manufacturers tell me that the PC-behind-a-monitor concept is growing in sales and has sufficient margin and volume to dedicate research and development towards building something customers want. I’ve not seen many AIOs in the wild – most usually in stores as separate stock check/help desks rather than in the home, but Intel has also been pushing the AIO strategy, even to the point of portable all-in-ones (massive 28-inch devices with a battery) in recent keynote speeches in the past couple of years. We’ve covered bits of the AIO market here and there, most often in news or at events such as the first 4K60p AIO at Computex last year, but we have not yet put resources to covering this element of the industry. For companies like MSI, to whom gaming is a focus, it seems that gaming branded all-in-ones are a potential viable market model. As a result, there were a couple of new concepts on display.

The main problem with all-in-ones from a gaming perspective is typically performance and graphics performance – strapping a desktop to the back of a monitor is not always the most space-efficient implementation, especially if you consider heat removal or power delivery. As a result, gaming on integrated graphics, particularly at 1080p or 4K, leaves an element of wanting more (although both Intel and AMD would argue, and our testing suggests, that you can still have a good experience at 1080p with integrated graphics on popular titles). The solution to this starts with equipping the AIO with an MXM graphics card similar to a laptop, which is what the Gaming 24GE 2QE is.

As the name suggests, a 24” IPS panel is paired with a laptop like configuration. The i7 mobile CPU on the HM87 chipset joins forces with a GTX 960M and for the model in front of us, featuring a 1080p display, should provide sufficient horsepower for eSports titles at the highest settings or AAA games at mid-range. I quizzed MSI on a 4K display, and they said that they would react to customer requests in that regard. Other hardware inside includes 16GB of DDR3L-1600, Killer networking and the inclusion of the Nahimic audio software. Storage is provided by dual SSDs in RAID 0 (‘MSI Super RAID’), and the display is a supposed ‘anti-flicker’ screen with an anti-glare finish. MSI’s terminology for this revolves around ‘less blue light’, which is perhaps something similar to the films/transparent glasses designed for at-monitor work to reduce eye-strain. MSI is currently working on the design of their gaming AIOs beyond a simple red-and-black colored livery and an MSI gaming logo.

The GTX960M at the end of the day is still a mid-range mobile component – arguably you could put one or two GTX 980Ms in such a device, much like the GT80 Titan laptop, and it would push some proper pixels. Rather than go down this route, MSI has gone a little mad and actually designed an AIO that supports a full sized graphics card.

On the left hand side we see the extra parts to implement the external graphics:

What we have here is essentially an AIO that loops in a full PCIe 3.0 x16 slot via a riser cable to a GPU mounted on the back of the panel. MSI’s design is not yet final, but they expect to be able to fit almost all reference designs in this bay with a mesh at the front for air intake (supporting blowers and other fan orientations) and a perforated edge to help with air removal:

As you can see, the GPU is mounted a little away from the panel in order to facilitate this around at least three of the edges. The GPU section itself has its own power supply module, requiring a second power brick in order to provide that power. MSI makes power bricks up to 330W, so I would imagine that any single silicon solution (i.e. non-dual GPUs) would work here.

The AX24 is to be designed around Skylake, which given other motherboards we have seen so far we can get multiple M.2 SSDs in PCIe 3.0 mode as part of the package. MSI is also including Killer networking as per usual, and the new Nahimic audio processing software. They were coy about whether the system uses a soldered down CPU or a replaceable CPU though, and at what TDP we might expect it to be. Though they are looking at 4K panels, adaptive sync technology was not mentioned. One of the poignant parts here is that an AIO design is almost like a laptop design, so we might see separate buttons to enable the external GPU, or extra buttons for 100% fan usage when the design is finalized.

MSI also exhibited the Pro 24 2M all-in-one, designed for a more enterprise look and feel. The specifications were pretty much as expected, taking the anti-flicker panel from the G24 but this time using Haswell based processors, integrated graphics, a 1080P 23.6-inch panel with SSD and HDD options.

That doesn’t sound anything great I admit, but there are a couple of non-standard features worth mentioning here. The first is technically an older feature I’ve seen in years gone by to do with webcams – placing a vanity filter via a physical sliding button:

Thus for anyone paranoid about peeping, rather than taping paper over the webcam, here is a physical switch. Alongside this, based on the ‘Pro’ nature of the Pro 24 2M, we get a COM port on the rear:

It’s a bad picture, but to the left of the network port we can see it. The device also comes with USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, a card reader and gigabit Ethernet.

For those in the PC industry, it has been clear to see that MSI’s gaming laptop strategy is quite rigorous. The net is cast far and wide, covering high end and mid-range, but also investing in new technologies which may or may not be part of the future. Brett recently reviewed the 18.4-inch 4.5 kg behemoth in the MSI GT80 Titan, featuring two GTX 980M GPUs in SLI with a Broadwell CPU, which is one such direction that MSI is taking. We saw a few models from MSI at CES, but for Computex the range is expanding. We’ve chosen a few of the most interesting models here.

MSI GS30 Shadow Version 2 – A New Hope Dock

At CES, MSI announced the GS30 Shadow gaming laptop, a seemingly run-of-the-mill 13.3-inch Crystal Well based Haswell with eDRAM, no discrete graphics card, 16GB of DRAM and RAID SSD storage. We reported that it looked half decent as a mobile gaming device, but the interesting element at the time came via the external dock. The external dock allowed the system to run with a full discrete graphics card, supporting up to 450W. The GS30 docked into this directly with PCIe 3.0 x16 from the CPU, allowing a full bandwidth implementation, and the dock would cost around $200 sans GPU. In fact after Computex I visited Singapore, and in the Funan DigitaLife mall there was one retailer who had the GS30 + dock on display. I asked the shop owner about sales, and he said out of the five he received in stock, he had sold three (with the dock) in six weeks which is an interesting number.

There were some issues with the dock that we noted at the time. The dock itself was not particularly user friendly in standard laptop circumstances – due to the shoebox-like shape it meant that the laptop was a good six-plus inches off of the desk and not suitable for typing. The dock was also not hot-swappable, meaning that the system had to be restarted in use. The display of the laptop was also not able to use the discrete card, meaning that the user had to have an external display anyway, making the laptop little more than a mini-PC. A lot of this changes with version 2.

The dock goes angular, allowing for full use at a desk with minimal effort. As we can see on this side, the dock also comes with additional IO ports such as USB, Ethernet and a card reader. This improves the usage of the device considerably, either on or off of the dock. The new design, with a Broadwell-H based Iris Pro GS30, will also allow the display of the laptop to use the graphics power under the hood. This is done more through a video-out from the GPU to a video-in to the laptop rather than directly changing the GPU at the software level from integrated to discrete. Either way, there’s no need to also have an external monitor.

Hot swapping should be as simple as disconnecting the video-in and changing the output monitor via hotkeys, allowing users to seamlessly switch between outputs. The dock will be able to take a GPU up to 330W and the deeper dock might allow for some of the larger AIB manufacturer designs.

Standard specifications apply here – MSI’s SuperRAID and Killer are base add-ins for them at this point, along with Nahimic Audio. As always, MSI is finalizing the design and we should see it on the market in Q3, with exact configurations determined by the retailer. Hopefully MSI hasn’t produced too many of the original versions, because now that this is on the horizon I suspect most review websites will be suggesting to hold out for version 2.

GT72 with Tobii Eye-Tracking

To complement the discrete graphics technology, MSI had a new style of laptop on display in order to gauge opinion. As the sub-title suggests, we have a GT72 laptop with eye tracking technology:

At the hinge we see three red lights which are part of the technology designed by Tobii. The software comes with a quick calibration tool that takes a minute to perform, and thereafter a user can move their eyes to parts of the screen they want to move the mouse to. Note that this function doesn’t click (for example in menus), but the demo provided showed Assassin’s Creed using the technology to adjust where the camera was pointing:

So in this case the WASD keys were for moving the character, and the technology tracked the eyes as to where to look in the game. Even with only 30 seconds playing with the technology, in this environment it seemed a little tough to get to grips with, especially if you looked down at the keyboard or at part of the HUD, but I presume 30 seconds is not enough to get used to it. I did however do the calibration tool, and played the game in the first image which involved moving my eyes to get the grey targets. It was very intuitive, and I scored well at least.

Ultimately I think this is the sort of game where eye-tracking might be more beneficial – indie type games from the Windows Store. These sorts of games would be more preferable to a low-end device rather than a GT72, but ultimately like most manufacturers the goal of new technology is to offer it to the high end first, see uptake, and then filter it down. Depending on the cost, I could see it being brought down to desktop replacement/gaming type models, although something a bit smaller might be a stretch due to added cost.

GT72 with G-Sync

Just before Computex it was announced by NVIDIA that G-Sync on mobile devices was now supported, and that allowed the laptop manufacturers to show off their designs. Naturally MSI was in this mix, and similar to the Tobii model, we get a GT72 variant showing Mobile G-Sync:

What became interesting was the discussion around G-Sync, because as it turns out Optimus (the ability to adjust from discrete graphics to integrated graphics dynamically) will not work with G-Sync at this time. In order to counter this, MSI has added a GPU button to the GT72 in use:

This allows the GPU to switch from integrated to discrete and vice versa, though if I remember correctly the system requires a restart in-between. G-Sync should still work in both modes, but turning off the discrete card should aid battery life significantly when in remote locations. For gaming there is also a turbo mode for the fans, exchanging noise for cooling. With these devices, especially on location, most gaming is performed with headphones anyway so having this option helps keep those temperatures down.

Red GS60

Part of MSI’s Computex event was done in collaboration with Square Enix for the PC release of Final Fantasy Type-0. As an avid Final Fantasy fan it was perhaps a bit of a shock to see Square Enix and MSI collaborate on a joint launch, but along with the game MSI was showing off a full-red GS60 (as well as a silver GS70).

Given the vast array of black laptops we see (or blue ones from HP and color choice ones from Dell), it was good to see something a little different in a premium chassis with the gaming vernacular. Due to most gaming keyboard backlights being red, MSI takes a different tack here and we get a white/blue-ish result. Personally I think it looks better than average, although perhaps something to rival the Dell XPS13 for bezel design would be preferable. That being said, I can’t wait for Type-0 to get to Steam – I never played the PSP version, and I’m currently going through the older ones on Steam 10-15 years after I first completed them with higher resolution texture packs. Final Fantasy 8’s story finally makes sense now, because it certainly didn’t when I was 14!

Another vector in the PC space that has been gaining attention and growth recently is the concept of small form factor devices, either to be used as office machines, portals to the web or as gaming devices. With the rise of tablets and Chromebooks eating into the low end portable market, Intel introduced the NUC (to which Gigabyte and Zotac have their own variants) to provide a small device that could also be mounted on the back of a monitor but still had full performance of a Core based PC. A step up from that and we have mini-ITX PCs, but for some this is still too big, especially when we throw potential Steamboxes into the mix. That is when we get devices like the ASUS GR8 and GR6 that fit into a bookshelf, or the MSI Nightblade designed to be a shoebox PC. For Computex, MSI is introducing the Nightblade Mi.

Nightblade Mi

Not to be confused with anything from Xiaomi, or Nintendo based avatars, the Nightblade Mi is the bookshelf-sized sibling of the Nightblade.

The Mi is barely taller than a standard half-liter water bottle and is similarly designed like the Nightblade to house a full motherboard, CPU and discrete graphics card. Behind the scenes, we got a closer look at the internals.

The system uses smaller components where possible, and MSI stated that they’re not too concerned with the color scheme internally at this point as the Mi is designed to be slightly hidden away and blend into home décor.

A full mini-ITX motherboard is used with a laptop-oriented style blower fan with heatpipes. The fan should be able to handle 88W-95W of CPU power, although MSI recommends against overclocking in such a small form factor. The blower sits below the GPU, so airflow through these areas is important. From the top of this image we can see the ability for a dual slot GPU to be inserted.

The GPU arrangement is provided by a PCIe 3.0 x16 riser card with the dimensions allowing even a Titan X into the mix. The power supply is the crucial element here, and if I remember correctly then this is a 450W 80PLUS Silver design derived from the server market.

MSI has designed the system to take a single 2.5-inch SSD on the top:

There is space for two 3.5-inch drives (or two 2.5-inch) to be slotted into a mini-backplane, also accessible from the top.

As far as I understand, MSI will be offering the system as a barebones for end-users or as an OEM to system integrators who can add in their own components, do custom design choices and then sell on as a unique part in their lineup. Personally I told MSI that the aim here should be for a $600 total build, perhaps with an i3 and a GTX 960/R9 285, because ultimately this price range and market segment attracts the under-25s more than anything else. Under-25s typically play eSports based titles, which do not require super machines to play, but also their budgets are smaller by virtue of schooling or entry level jobs, meaning that $600 for a system build is not unreasonable, but they certainly are not paying $1500+ (except for the odd one or two). MSI is going to be launching the Mi with a focus on Skylake, so we’ll wait and see how it permeates through the distribution channels then.

MSI Cubi

At the top of the page we mentioned the Intel NUC and the counterparts that play in the mini-PC space, such as the GIGABYTE BRIX, ECS LIVA and the Zotac array of mini-PCs. Cubi is MSI’s attempt to enter this space, using a custom 4-inch x 4-inch design.

MSI told me that their focus with these devices, based on Atom initially, is to enter the PC-on-monitor implementations similar to the NUC. When entering this market, the application in marketing to the verticals is important, such as education, government, health and others such as business, and with each segment comes a list of requirements. Most prominent on that list is typically vPro, allowing remote admin access to system configurations and site-wide deployment of updates. This is the market MSI is aiming for.

The configuration of the Cubi models on show focus on HDMI, Ethernet, DisplayPort and USB 3.0 with integrated wireless and support for two SO-DIMMs and a 2.5-inch drive. MSI was asking about whether 4 inches by 4 inches was optimal, or if a 5x5 arrangement also fit into this space. Note that VESA mounting is 75x75mm or 100x100mm, so having a 5-inch by 5-inch design wouldn’t hurt the segments that MSI is aiming for unless the monitors used placed the stand in the VESA mount, and the larger size would interfere with the stand.

Initial Cubi designs should be based around Atom, though I suspect we will see Core based versions, either at this thickness or slightly more, in the future. Whether that’s Core M or Pentium/Celeron has not been specified.

I’m always a fan of a workstation, although the reality of mobile workstations is not one I run into that often. Users wanting to process work on the go tend to log in to a system over the internet, or upload ideas for processing at a later date. The benefit here lies in the ability for people to work on the move (when internet is patchy) or for businesses to perform mobile presentations of CAD/Quadro accelerated work. As a result of the requirements, and the budgets of these users, mobile workstations tend to be larger than ultrabooks but smaller than desktop replacements, as a full workstation/dock might await them back in the office.

Nevertheless, MSI still pursues this space. This is achieved mostly through retrofitting their consumer designs with enterprise level hardware, and dialing back the styling to remain office-neutral. This means a generic black color scheme, potentially using aluminium/magnesium to save weight (rather than plastic to save cost), a full keyboard and high resolution calibrated displays. This is where devices such as the WS60 fit in:

Along with the 4K display and thin design profile, the 15.6-inch WS60 here had dual SSDs in RAID, a semi-customizable keyboard for shortcuts, Thunderbolt 2.0 and ISV certification. Under the hood was a mobile based Haswell i7 with optional vPro and a Quadro K2100M.

Users wanting more are pointed to the WT72, the workstation equivalent of the GT72. Storage moves up to four drives in RAID 0 and Quadro cards up to K4100M. This model above only has a 1080p display, and its design ultimately necessitates a desk environment for efficient working rather than say a lap or a tray table in an aircraft. On this size of a device, USB 3.1 and an ODD pretty much come as standard.

Interceptor Mouse and Mousepad

One common theme with gaming oriented PC hardware manufacturers is that they have all invested time and resources into peripherals. All of MSI’s major competition mice, keyboards, backpacks and other trinkets, although for the most part it is hard to tell if these are OEM or pre-purchased designs with agreements to use specific wording and logos. Previously MSI has released a couple of mice and a mouse mat, so at Computex we get updates to both.

The aluminium based mousepad that we saw at CES was quite large, measuring almost two feet in width. Based on feedback from the community, a smaller one will be made to allow for use on standard sized desks and for transporting to events.

The Interceptor mouse also gets a small update, with the focus on the show being a stereotypical smörgåsbord of statistics:

SLI Bridges

Aesthetics are becoming in important part of the PC Gaming space, and regardless of the revenues it seems that PC component manufacturers have to make an effort on styling especially when it comes to presentation. This includes tiny details such as cabling, temperature responsive LEDs, and effects that when combined actually have a positive impact on looks. With the case of SLI bridges, we’ve seen other companies such as EVGA implement their own design to counter against the generic brown/green/black PCB types we typically get inside a motherboard box. MSI is now entering this market with their own brand:

To go with the rest of the product line, these bridges will be outfitted with LEDs that are controlled through the software. MSI has been able to add this control element without needing a separate cable into a special header on the motherboard, and control will be through their gaming app. Pricing is unknown at this point (we might see one bundled with a high-end motherboard through) and release date was said to be ‘later this year’.

Transparent GT730 with White PCB

As an aside to the general coverage, I did see one GPU that caught my eye in a model that I least suspected. This is a GT730:

It’s a fairly innocuous card with standard specifications, but the PCB is white (like Galax cards) and the shroud design is semi-transparent, showing the cooler underneath. Part of me would love to see this design on the higher end models, perhaps with LEDs similar to that of the Fury X that light up as more power is applied to the card.

Case Mods

To finish up our look at MSI’s booth, I want to outlay some of the case mods that were there. Producing custom designs for cases is a niche market for sure, but other companies such as Cooler Master are designing some of their product lines around the concept of allowing users and makers to implement their own look to a chassis. As a result, many of the PC hardware manufacturers each year are now inviting professional modders (as in people who make designs as a full-time job) and commissioning designs to fit with the company ethos. That means with MSI, we get a dragon with a chassis strapped to the back:

There’s no point talking about specifications of the builds here because they can change, and perhaps I should be wondering where these designs end up after the event in question (used for future events, giveaways or back of a storeroom?).

MSI did not have much to show from their XPower overclocking line this year, either for motherboards or graphics cards under the Lightning moniker, but here’s a suitable yellow and black construction suit modification.

With the ECO line of motherboards, the low power market is one of the targets in the motherboard space. Last year we reported on the white and green motherboards MSI were showing, and then we reviewed the B85M ECO which eschewed the white colored PCB for a more conventional color. The white board used in last year’s display found its way into this Ecosphere case which has a map of the northern hemisphere on the transparent dome.

The most recent line from MSI is the black and white Krait variant of the mid-range motherboards, focusing on SLI and implementing a snake logo. Naturally the modification had to be a snake here.