MSI is trying to regain some market share versus the immaculate ROG series from ASUS or the G1 series from Gigabyte. However MSI is targeting the gamer and only the gamer with it's Gaming branded lineup. Not the enthusiast, nor the extreme overclocker needs to take a look at the MSI Gaming series.

These boards are designed to please the gaming community with great hardware compatibility versus multi GPU setups. Also supporting Crossfire as well as SLI is great at this price level. Utilization of high quality military grade components warrant hassle free operation. Improved audio quality versus more mainstream audio solutions enhances your game experience. The highly acclaimed Killer E2205 NIC is ready to assure low latency gaming pings during your gaming encounters. And the best of these gaming series is that even the GD65 Gaming board is far cheaper than most competitor's mATX offering.

The Z87-G45 is a low budget Gaming board par excellence, performing great in our entire benchmark suite, besting or even outperforming other high end labeled motherboards. The G45 Gaming Click 4 Bios is well dialed in, really surprising as most of the XMP shortcomings we experienced with the XPOWER board, were not present while testing this Z87-G45 Gaming board.

The OC Genie 4 function is a tad on the slow side and requires an update. Out of the box, with a i7-4770K speeds of 3900MHz are warranted. After activating the OC Genie button in the Bios you get a mere 100MHz more. Okay the RAM speed is bumped up, but 4200MHz or higher speed could easily be warranted for 24/7 usage.

Retailing at 135 euros, about 30 Euros lower then the GD65 Gaming version, makes this G45 ideal as an entry gaming platform, this with extra added gaming beneficial features to differentiate it from other manufacturer mainstream offerings. One of the major difference between the G45 and GD65 is the improved PWM (more phases and Hi-C caps), which means the GD65 might be worthwile that little extra higher price if the end user is intending to really push their Haswell CPU. The onboard buttons of the GD65 are useless inside a case. A Dual bios solution on the GD65 versus a single Bios chip for the G45 version. The extra SATA ports could mean the difference between opting for the higher specced GD65 version or when less storage is required to choose for this more affordable G45 Gaming board.

This humble MSI Z87-G45 Gaming board has been a pleasure to work with from day one, providing most Gamers with the most vital onboard features that they really need. By leaving out most of the bling bling and maintaining the box accessories sparse, the price tag of this board is really awesome versus the performance/features it delivers. Besides some minor bundled software glitches, we really enjoyed the stability of the G45 Gaming board. Therefore we award the MSI Z87-G45 Gaming motherboard the Value award. The MSI Z87 G45 Gaming board comes close to the ultimate balance between price, features and out of the box performance.

PROS:

• Excellent value for money
  
• Out of the box performance
• Audio Boost & gold plated audio connectors
• Killer E2205 NIC
  
• PCIe X16 slot spacing, supporting Crossfire & SLI
  

CONS:

• Minor Windows software glitches
• Super RAID & Vpoints really needed ?
• OC Genie 4 needs an overhaul
  

I wish to thank Koen from MSI for the Z87 G45 Gaming motherboard

Harry from Corsair for the Vengeance Pro 2400C10 memory

Tones for the years of support