MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC Motherboard Review

The last time we took a look at an MSI gaming motherboard, it was the company’s smallest current offering: Z97I Gaming AC. For this review, we’re looking to the top of the Z97 ladder, with the Z97 Gaming 9 AC. Priced at about $290, it’s easy to predict what this board might bring to the table, but all told, it still managed to impress us.

In August, I took a look at MSI’s Z97I Gaming AC, a mini-ITX motherboard that while small, proved to be very mighty. As far as MSI’s Z97 gaming offerings go, that model finds itself at the bottom of the ladder, whereas the board that I’m looking at here, Z97 Gaming 9 AC, enjoys a sweet view from the top.

The Gaming 9 AC’s price hovers around the $300 mark, but I’ve seen it dip as low as $270 when mail-in rebates are brought into the equation. Given its price-point, you can likely expect what kind of feature set the board brings to the table, and you’d be spot-on if you guessed that this was one very robust offering.

This board’s aesthetics helps distinguish itself as a gaming board right out-of-the-gate, but it’s of course the feature set that matters, not its pretty face. Included here is advanced networking via Killer Ethernet as well as a full assortment of audio toys. The board even includes a six-month subscription to XSplit Gamecaster, a game recording suite. I’ll talk more about these features later, but for now, let’s get into the hardware.

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