MSI Z87i Gaming ITX Motherboard Review

MSI Z87I Gaming Review

Introduction

A running theme of our recent motherboard reviews have been ones that are ever cheaper and ever smaller.

Indeed a tiny size is such a part of modern life that everyone is seemingly on an eternal quest to have a product so tiny that it’s almost invisible. Whether we’re reducing thickness or pure real estate, the desire for small hardware is only countered by the growth of screen sizes in televisions and smart phones. Although even there the popular tablet size has shrunk from 10″ to 7″.

What does that mean today? Well it means that the MSI Z87I Gaming is, as a mini ITX board, riding the wave of small sized products. However, rather than cut down everything into a small package as is common with the minuscule ITX offerings, this is a full-on Z87 chipset equipped motherboard which even comes with the MSI Gaming branding.

MSI are definitely confident about the capabilities of the Z87I Gaming, so is it really possible to get the kind of performance reserved for full ATX boards in something so compact?

Technical Specifications

Obviously with a such a small form factor there are reductions in the amount of connectivity options available to you, and PCI Express lanes. In every other regard though the Z87I Gaming has all you’d expect to find on a Z87 motherboard.

MSI Z87I Gaming Specifications Â