The MSI Z97 Classic motherboards utilize a black and blue design and feature military class components for enhanced durability and performance. Key features include eco-friendly power management, extensive circuit protection, and support for high-speed storage interfaces like SATA Express and M.2. The design also emphasizes aesthetic appeal for case modders while ensuring compliance with strict regulatory standards.

1. Z97 CLASSIC
Motherboards

2. Look & Feel
MSI Classic series continue with a black & blue design.

3. Military Class 4
These high quality components ensure higher
reliability and 100% stable performance.
Hi-C Cap
Self-healing low profile Tantalum
capacitors which offer 10x
higher lifetime.
SFC
60 Amp Supper Ferrite Chokes
which give 20-50% more current.
Dark CAP
Perfect stable under extreme (up
to 260°C) conditions.
Dark Choke
High power chokes, heat
resistant.
Solid Cap
Highly efficient Japanese
capacitors.

4. Guard-Pro
Providing essential protection against hardware failure.
CIRCUIT
PROTECTION ECO
POWER
HUMIDITY
PROTECTION
HIGH
TEMPERATURE
PROTECTION
ESD
PROTECTION
EMI
PROTECTION
Carefully selected materials,
multiple PCB layers and
shielding result in the best
circuit protection for our
motherboards.
With MS ECO Center you can
physically cut the power to
unused chips to save up to 29%
power usage.
10% Reduction in moisture
absorption helps prevent
"Conductive Anodic
Filament". Untreated PCB's
can have 10x higher failure
rate.
Each and every I/O port is
protected against the
hazards of Electro Static
Discharge.
All MSI motherboards
comply with stringent
American FCC regulations
and reduce the impact of
Electromagnetic
Interference.
All key components used in MSI
motherboards have all passed
military testing ensuring stable
operation in the harshest
environments.

5. CPU Thermal Protection
CPU Current Protection
With especially designed circuit protection, the MSI
motherboard protects the CPU against overheating and
USB devices from short circuiting.
Guard-Pro: Circuit Protection
POWER SUPPLY CPUUSB
USB
USB Circuit Protection

6. Device ON(W) OFF(W) save watt(W)
USB HOST 28.8 27.3 1.5
USB HUB 28.8 25.5 3.3
SATA 28.8 27.7 1.1
PCIE HUB 28.8 27.3 1.5
PCIE CLK_GEN Enable 28.8 28.4 0.4
WIFI 30.5 28.8 1.7
CPUFAN* 28.8 28.1 0.7
SYSFAN1* 29.5 28.8 0.7
SYSFAN2* 29.5 28.8 0.7
SYSFAN3* 29.5 28.8 0.7
Total 28.8 20.4 8.4
ECO Power could help users to manage their hardware.
Cease those unnecessary hardware could not only lower the
power consumption but also avoid short circuit and signal
noise.
Guard-Pro: ECO Power
USB
PCI-E x16
PCI-E x1
SATA
Test Situation
Motherboard
Z97 MPOWER MAX v1.1
(BIOS E7888ims.116 )
CPU i7-4770K
Memory CORSAIR 2800 4G *2
VGA Intel® HD Graphics 4600 via HDMI
Hard Drive TOSHIBA 128GB via M.2 slot
Power Supply CORSAIR CX 600W
OS UEFI WIN7

7. Cease the interfaces which is not necessary in order to
save energy and money.
ECO Power
Cease USB 3.0
and PCIe x16

8. 10% Reduction in moisture absorption helps prevent
"Conductive Anodic Filament". Reports show that untreated
PCB's can have 10x higher failure rate after ~1100 hours of
testing.
Humidity Protection
MEPTEC.ORG Q4 report

9. Military Class 4 Components not only pass stringent
MIL-STD-810G testing standards, exposure to 260°C
temperatures is also part of their testing procedure
guaranteeing maximum stability.
High Temperature Protection
MC4: ~260°C
~150-180°C
Military Class: 80-90°C

10. Each and every I/O port on MSI's 9 series motherboards
is protected against the hazards of Electro Static
Discharge
ESD Protection

11. OC Genie 4
OC Genie 4 overclocks your entire system and puts it into
overdrive. Tuned by professional overclockers, with one click
your CPU, Memory, Integrated graphics and disk drivers
become faster!

12. Software: Unified GUI
All MSI software got a huge graphic user interface update,
now all have the same look & feel.

13. Software: Live Update 6
Remove all the hassle of keeping your system up-to-date.
Live Update 6 Scans your PC and downloads the latest
Drivers, BIOS and Firmware files straight to your system.

14. Command Center
Command Center allows easy visual adjustment of system
settings, automatically tune fans or give complete freedom. It
features an integrated unlimited RAM disk.

15. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
WD Caviar Black
Samsung 840 Pro
MSI RAMDisk
Command Center RAMDisk
Every application will benefit from this amazing speed boost!
10 GB / Second
Sequential Disk Read Speed (1000MB file)

16. Command Center Mobile
Command Center also goes on mobile devices. You could
download the app in your smart phone and operate the
command center as a remote control to your desktop.
OC Remote Power Remote Media Remote

17. Click BIOS 4
Updated Interface
Board Explorer Hardware Monitor

18. Are your USB Bitcoin ASICs drawing too much USB power
resulting in losing bitcoins? USB Steel Power offers a stable 5
volt via an extra PWM so that you never will suffer bitcoin
loss.
USB Steel Power
Rear I/O USB
Stable 5v
Stable 5V
Stable 5V
POWER
SUPPLY
Front USB
connector
USB 5V PWM
Front USB
connector
12V

19. Welcome to the 10 Gb/s era!!
Push Your SSD to The Limit
SATA3 SATA ExpressM.2

20. Storage: SATA Express onboard
• SATA Express is PCI-E Gen2 x2 storage (10Gb/s)
• SATA-E ECO system still not ready
– SATA-E SSD devices possible in Q3, affordable in Q2
2015
– No Intel support for SATA Express
– Asmedia chip delayed, technical issues
SATA3 SATA Express
• One MSI Z97 model will have SATA Express
onboard the Z97S SLI PLUS
• When using SATA Express the M.2 slot
will be disabled (shared slot)

21. Storage: SATA Express
SATA Express is PCI-E Gen2 x2 storage with similar speeds
(10Gb/s) like M.2. Because the SATA Express ECO system is not
ready MSI offers flexible M.2 to SATA Express cards.
– SATA-E SSDs sampling in Q2, for sales in Q3, affordable in Q2 2015
– No Intel support for SATA-Express
– 3rd party host solutions delayed
SATA3 SATA Express

22. Storage: M.2
• Next gen. mSATA based on PCI-E Gen2 x2 interface
• Up to 10 Gb/s, much faster than SATA 3.0 (6 Gb/s)
• Healthy eco system, M.2 SSDs widely available
• Notice: M.2 devices are available in SATA3 interface
(slow) and PCI-E interface (fast)
• All newly designed Z97 motherboards come with M.2
SATA3 M.2

23. Intel® Gigabit LAN
The MSI Z97S SLI Plus motherboard come with Intel Gigabit
LAN to help reduce CPU overhead and ensure a stable
and fast responding internet and network connection.

24. Z97S SLI Krait Edition

25. Dare to be Different
Introducing a stylish designed motherboard perfect for case
modders, featuring SLI support, SATA Express and M.2
storage.

26. Something new for the case mod community
Looking for that creative, one-off build? Black & white
design makes a system look classic, sophisticated and full of
class. Famous case modders around the world cheer for
black and white design.

27. Match perfectly with a lot of other vendors
Other vendors are also releasing black & white designed
products, perfect to create a full black & white system.

28. Not just on the outside
We are going all out to create a unique black & white look
and feel, not just on the outside. Our BIOS and software also
comes in black & white Krait style design.

29. Classic series ATX overview
Z97S SLI Plus
Z97-G55 SLI
Z97-U3 PLUS
Z97 Guard-Pro H97 Guard-Pro
H97 PC MateZ97 PC Mate
Z97-G43
Z97M-G43
H97-E35
H97I ACZ97I AC
Micro-ATXMini-ITXATX
SATA-Express, SLI, Intel LAN
Cheapest SLI model
12x USB 3.0 ports
6x PCI-E slots for coin mining
Cheapest CrossFire model
Cheapest ATX for SI
mATX with CrossFire
Cheapest mATX model for SI
Mini-ITX power with AC WiFi & BT
H97M-G43
Z97S SLI
Krait Edition Black & White model

30. Classic series ATX
Z97S SLI
PLUS
Z97-G55 SLI
Z97S SLI
Krait Edition
Z97
U3 PLUS
Z97/H97
GUARD-PRO
Z97-G43
Z97/H97
PC Mate
Guard-Pro ● ● - ● ● - -
Display Interface
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
D-SUB
DVI-D
DisplayPort
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
SLI / CrossFire
2-Way / 3-
Way
2-Way / 3-
Way
2-Way / 2-Way - / 2-Way - / 2-Way - / 2-Way - / 2-Way
PCI-E x16 3x 3x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x
PCI-E x1 2x 3x 3x 2x 4x 2x 2x
PCI 2x 1x 2x 3x - 3x 2x
Gbit LAN Intel Realtek Realtek Realtek Realtek Realtek Realtek
SATA 6 Gb/s 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x
SATA Express ● - ● - - - -
M.2 ● ● ● ● ● - -
USB 3.0 8x 10x 6x 12x 6x 6x 6x
USB 2.0 8x 8x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x
USB Steel Power ● ● - ● - - -
V-Check Point 2 9 points 7 points - 7 points 7 points - 7 points
Super Charger - - - - ● - -

31. Classic series mATX / ITX
Z97M / H97M
-G43
H97M-E35 Z97I AC H97I AC
Guard-Pro ● - - -
Display Interface
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
DisplayPort
D-SUB
DVI-D
HDMI
HDMI
DisplayPort
HDMI
DisplayPort
CrossFire 2-Way - - -
PCI-E x16 2x 1x 1x 1x
PCI-E x1 2x 2x - -
PCI - 2x - -
Wi-Fi + BT - - AC +BT4 AC +BT4
Gbit LAN Realtek Realtek 2x Realtek Realtek
SATA 6 Gb/s 6x 6x 4x 4x
SATA Express - - - -
M.2 ● - - -
USB 3.0 6x 6x 6x 6x
USB 2.0 8x 6x 4x 4x
V-Check Point 2 7 points - - -
Super Charger ● - - -

32. Classic series mATX / ITX overview
Best motherboard
protection
Best stable USB
power delivery
Best future storage
support
Best BIOS
compatibility
Best quality
components
Best Feature set
supported

33. Thanks for your
attention.