MSI Z97 XPower AC

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 8 expert reviews

Excellent:

5
Good:

3
Average:

0
Bad:

0

6.8

User Score

Based on 14 reviews
as rated by users

Pros:

Stock performance, Overclocking performance, Board layout and design, Hybrid CPU VRM cooling block, Motherboard manual details, Quality of included Windowsbased overclocking and monitoring solutions, Inclusion of drivers on USB thumb drive, Board aestheti...

Cons:

No Torx screwdriver, Teletubbie Fan control page, Optional Fan?
Use of 3/8" water barbs instead of G1/4" threaded ports, Lack of SATA Expressbased device ports, CMOS battery and CMOS reset jumper placement, Lack of accessible PCIExpress x1 slot with all PCIExpress x16 slots populated, Lack of secondary NIC port, Locat...

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Last revision on June 20, 2016

Reviewers Liked

Stock performance, Overclocking performance, Board layout and design, Hybrid CPU VRM cooling block, Motherboard manual details, Quality of included Windowsbased overclocking and monitoring solutions, Inclusion of drivers on USB thumb drive, Board aestheti

Reviewers Didn't Like

No Torx screwdriver, Teletubbie Fan control page, Optional Fan?
Use of 3/8" water barbs instead of G1/4" threaded ports, Lack of SATA Expressbased device ports, CMOS battery and CMOS reset jumper placement, Lack of accessible PCIExpress x1 slot with all PCIExpress x16 slots populated, Lack of secondary NIC port, Locat

Expert reviews and ratings

100

We've been struggling to think of features that this motherboard does not include. It's potentially a gaming board, but is festooned with overclocking features that has seen it place well in the competitive scene, and that's the stated design goal by...

By PC Authority on December 08, 2014

Importantly the board features a very open socket design for larger coolers as well as keeping the area around the socket bare enough for easy installation of insulation. You also get water cooling ports on the motherboard heatsinks and extra voltage...

By APC Magazine on August 21, 2014

The MSI Z97 Xpower AC has some upgrades from the Z87 model including better form factor, now its a question of does it fit your needs. ...

By bjorn3d.com on August 13, 2014

the MSI Z97 XPower layout has been well thought It features a clear CPU socket zone which should appeal to the extreme overclockers and make it compatible with most, if not all, CPU coolers as well as LN2 pots It has enough space for multi graphics...

By Ocaholic on July 10, 2014

The Z97 XPOWER AC from MSI costs $399.99 US (Newegg) which is a hefty price for a board that does offer high-end overclocking in a single package. Built from the DNA of the LIGHTNING products before it, the XPOWER MSI brand has spanned the X58 and X79...

By WCCFTech on June 13, 2014

Intel and their Haswell/Devil's Canyon CPUs proved very popular among many, many people, including extreme power users who need a motherboard to push to breaking point under liquid nitrogen (LN2). MSI catered to this demand with their most powerful Z97...

By Play3r on September 07, 2015

ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI all claim that they have the ultimate motherboard for extreme overclockers. We wanted to find out which one actually lives up to this claim and got two members of our Hardware.Info Pro OC team together with a large...

By uk.hardware.info on May 26, 2015

In our comparison tables, meanwhile you find benchmark values regarding 43 recent Z97 and Z87 motherboards. Furthermore we do not comment the benchmark values. The idea and also the goal is to present to you a market overview which helps you choose the...

By Ocaholic on December 03, 2014

We've already reviewed a number of Intel Z97 motherboards and are aware of what to expect in terms of design and feature-set but MSI appear to have broken away and developed something quite spectacular in the Z97 XPOWER AC.Beginning at the packaging,...

By vortez.net on October 07, 2014

Even though the Z87 XPOWER was heralded at many renown websites, this particular board should never ever have been released in the condition when MadShrimps tested it. Even the numerous BIOS updates couldn't correct some of the major flaws it had from...

By MadShrimps on September 26, 2014

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