MSI Z77 Motherboard Preview

The Z77A-GD45 as we would expect from the model numbers is the entry level board, however this is not to mean that it is lacking in features. Physical feature wise it supports 3rd generation Intel CPUs on the LGA1155 socket and upto 32Gb of DDR3 RAM via its four DIMMs.  Similar to Sandy Bridge based boards it has onboard Intel HD graphics with HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs on the rear I/O panel.  Other features include an 8-channel (7.1) audio output with THX TrueStudio Pro, a single 1000Mbit/s lan port, 4x SATAII & 2x SATAIII ports controlled straight from the Z77 chipset all with RAID support, 4x USB3.0 (2 external and 2 internal) and 10x USB2.0 (4 external and 6 internal). Expansion slots come as 2x PCI-e 3.0 x16 , 1x PCI-e 2.0 x 16 and 4x PCI-e x1.

Onboard features come as MSI’s 1 second overclocking response with the OC Genie II, USB safeguard and USB super charger support providing 3x the current for faster charging of iPhones, iPads and smartphones.