The new Z97 overclocking motherboards come with an awesome “M“ and “X” signature on the heatsinks and have a black finish completed with yellow highlights.

1. Z97 Overclocking
Motherboards

2. 2014 will be a great year for overclocking! Not only will Intel
focus more at the Enthusiast segment by introducing a
special Pentium K SKU but also they will also improve the
Haswell Refresh K CPU for overclocking performance.
A new era of REAL overclocking

3. Our 2013 Z87 Overclocking motherboards did what they
needed to do: break world records!
OC Records

4. The yellow color-scheme of MSI’s OC-Series was a great
inspiration for many power-users.
Cool Casemods

5. And on top of that we got many awards and positive
comments from the media worldwide.
Awards

6. Despite their success, our Z77 MPOWER was a Z77A-GD65 on
steroids and the Z87 MPOWER had too much of MSI’s
Gaming NDA. However, we believe MPOWER is capable of
much more.
With the feedback of overclockers at MOA 2013 we
managed to make real enthusiasts’ motherboards;
our Z97 OC motherboards.
Changing the game of overclocking
Z77 MPOWER Z87 MPOWER MAX Z87 XPOWER

7. A fresh look
The new Z97 overclocking motherboards come
with an awesome “M“ and “X” signature on the heatsinks
and have a black finish completed with yellow highlights.

8. OC Power

9. The new OC motherboards come with a high
quality built in PWM water cooling solution which is copper
based to maximize performance.
Water Cooling
Water Cooling
Z97 XPOWER AC Yes
Z97 MPOWER MAX AC Yes
Z97 MPOWER -

10. The new and improved MSI
heatsinks create 1.5cm extra
space. The open corners
allow for bigger size coolers
compared to the MSI Z87 OC
motherboards.
Bigger keep out zone

11. A perfect square rectangle CPU area and small form
factor Hi-C Caps allow LN2 Overclockers to easily insulate
the motherboard, greatly reducing LN2 setup time.
Easy Insulation

12. DigitALL Power provides digital control and
feedback to the PWM, allowing Voltage
Offset Control to improve the stability and
lower power consumption.
DigitAll POWER

13. Quality

14. These high quality components ensure higher reliability
and 100% stable performance.
Military Class 4
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.
DrMOS 4
This 3-in-1 MOSTFET is not only very
power efficient but also powerful.

15. Providing essential protection against hardware
failure.
Guard-Pro
CIRCUIT
PROTECTION
ECO
POWER
HYMIDITY
PROTECTION
HIGH
TEMPERATURE
PROTECTION
ESD
PROTECTION
EMI
PROTECTION
Carefully selected
materials used in our
motherboards together
with shielding prevent
short circuiting.
ECO Power lets you disable
unused chips and functions
used on your motherboard.
By cutting off the power your
motherboard will run more
efficient.
10% Reduction in moisture
absorption helps prevent
"Conductive Anodic Filament".
Untreated PCB's can have 10x
higher failure rate.
All MSI motherboards comply
with stringent American FCC
regulations and reduce the
impact of Electromagnetic
Interference.
Each and every I/O port is
protected against the hazards
of Electro Static Discharge.
All key components used in MSI
motherboards have all passed
military testing ensuring stable
operation in the harshest
environments.

16. USB 3.0 signal integrity suffers with longer cable length.
These special USB 3.0 Redrivers on your Internal USB 3.0
ports enable to use longer USB 3.0 cables, especially in
larger chassis.
USB3 Redrivers

17. Each I/O Port on MSI's OC motherboards are protected by
Dual ESD protective ICs. This prevents any possible ESD
damage from plugging/unplugging.
Double ESD Protection

18. The MSI overclocking motherboards are OC certified which
means that they are submitted to a 24 hour Prime95 burn-in
test with a highly overclocked CPU. This enables us to deliver
the most stable overclocking motherboards on the market.
OC Certified

19. If the motherboard detects a failure from hardware
such as the CPU it will shut down and prevent booting.
• Unique overcurrent protection prevents damage to other
hardware from short circuiting whenever a failure occurs
• A red LED near the 24 power connector let’s you know
that overcurrent protection is active
• Easier troubleshooting
CPU Overcurrent Protection

20. Overclocking Haswell is limited by Intel because
all the internal clocks are linked and cannot
be changed separately.
Our new OC Engine supports
more flexible BCLK adjustments
with large stepping (100 /
125 / 167 MHz) giving it
a higher range.
Additionally the OC engine
prevents VGA crashes while
overclocking a good
CPU core.
OC Engine

21. Slow Mode decreases CPU ratio to 8x*. When using
CPU vCore Adaptive Mode, Slow Mode will also drastically
decrease vCore to 0.8~0.9v. This single option helps to skip
Windows loading bottleneck making subzero overclocking
a bit easier.
Slow Mode
*CPU lowest ratio vary on different CPU model
Enable Slow Mode
8x
70x
CPU
Loading
CPU
Ratio
CPU
vCore 0.8
2.0
Enable Slow Mode to pass through high
loading of Windows booting sequence.
Disable Slow Mode to restore CPU
overclocking setting after booting.

22. After removing your IHS the MSI Delid Die Guard
protects your CPU perfectly. This ensures the best fitting and
highest mounting pressure whether it’s for 24/7 use or
breaking world records.
Delid Die Guard

23. OC Fan Stand
With the OC Fan Stand you can
easily guide the airflow to the
components which need the most
cooling. Never worry about
knocking this OC Fan Stand over.
Fan
optional

24. When you benchmark
in dual, triple or quad
setup use this setup for
maximal bandwidth
provided by the Gen3
PLX 8747 switch chip.
4-Way CrossFire / SLI
Single 2-Way 3-Way 4-Way
PCI_E1 - X16 X16 X16
PCI_E2 x16 - - -
PCI_E3 - - - X8
PCI_E5 - X16 X8 X8
PCI_E7 - - X8 X8

25. Easy disable VGA cards
when benchmarking
with CeaseFire without
having to remove the
card itself.
Z97 XPOWER AC comes
with an easy switch while
the Z97 MPOWER (MAX AC)
has a BIOS option.
CeaseFire
Model CeaseFire
Z97 XPOWER AC Switch
Z97 MPOWER MAX AC BIOS
Z97 MPOWER BIOS

26. The 2nd PCI-E x16 slot
gives the best
performance when
benchmarking with only
ONE graphics card. This
PCI-E slot is directly
connected to the CPU
and has no latency lag
because the traffic skips
the PLX chip.
Dedicated PCI Express x16

27. Full real-time control

28. The MSI OC motherboards allow for even better control
with both multiplier and BCLK Ratio.
Direct OC
1 MHz Adj.
0.1 MHz Adj.
BCLK Ratio Up BCLK Ratio Down
Multiplier Up Multiplier Down

29. Under LN2 normal CLR CMOS buttons don’t work, this is
why many overclockers remove the battery to give it a
complete reset. No need anymore, the MSI Complete
Discharge button gives your Z97 board a true factory reset.
Complete Discharge

30. Mode Performance
No OC Genie 100%
Gear 1 4.0 GHz
Gear 2 4.3 GHz – 4.5GHz*Switch to Gear 2
OC Genie 4 will be more aggressive on Haswell
Refresh CPUs. And with Gear 2 you will give even more
performance depending on how many cores your
application is using.
OC Genie 4
* Haswell Refresh

31. OC Essentials
These small tools give everybody the edge when pushing
your system to the limits.
Easy button 3
V-Checkpoints 2
GO2BIOS
Debug LED
Multi BIOS 2
Clear CMOS

32. After MOA feedback we enhanced the V-Check
Points with 2 extra ground connectors. This way
overclockers can use 3 multi-meters at the same time.
V-Check Points 2

33. All the extras

34. The MSI OC motherboards come with Intel Gigabit LAN to
help reduce CPU overhead and ensure a stable and fast
responding internet and network connection.
Intel® Gigabit LAN

35. The ultimate audio
solution which acts
like a dedicated sound
card.
• Isolated Audio PCB
• EMI shielding
• Dual AMPs
• Japanese Audio Capacitors
• Golden Audio Connectors
Audio Boost

36. The MSI Z97 MPOWER AC
and Z97 XPOWER AC come
both with Intel 802.11AC
wireless and Bluetooth 4.0
with support for Intel WiDi.
AC Wireless & Bluetooth

37. M.2 is superfast storage based on a PCI-E Gen2 x2
interface and with speeds up to 10 Gb/s, much faster than
SATA 3.0 (6 Gb/s). M.2 SSDs are widely available and all
MSI Overclocking motherboards come with M.2 interface.
Superfast storage: M.2

38. 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
Superfast Storage: SATA-Express

39. The best USB Charger is inside your PC, it even works
when your computer is switched off. MSI Super Charger
charges ANY USB powered device from the latest tablets to
portable gaming consoles.
Super Charger

40. Total control over all fans with 4-pin PWM connectors.
• Layout optimized and approved by enthusiasts
• Set your own fan profiles
• Use the automatic fan wizard
• Real-time Fan control (no reboots!)
• Control via Command Center
• Control via Click BIOS 4
• Fan speed logging
• Voltage logging
• Temperature logging
Total Fan Control

41. M-Shield
Back side of I/O panel
Force Absorbing Layer
EMI Shielding
Steel Shielding
Our new I/O shield
not only comes with
many improvements
but also in black to
match your chassis.

42. BIOS & Software

43. Z97 Motherboards can boot in 2 seconds. Stop punishing
your keyboard and just press the GO2BIOS button.
GO2BIOS

44. For overclockers, a finely tuned BIOS is the key for success. This is
why we’ve doubled our resources of BIOS development on our
Z97 OC series to deliver a new standard of BIOS overclocking.
BIOS: Click BIOS 4

45. No longer struggle trying to overclock your memory.
Our engineers, together with top overclockers, have
included smart memory OC detection. Simply set CAS
latency and memory frequency and let us do the rest.
BIOS: Memory Try It!

46. Save time looking for that stable RAM overclock.
With our new memory presets you can easily select the
optimized memory profile for your high speed memory to
get maximum performance.
BIOS: Memory Presets

47. With Extreme OC Config (LN2 Normal/Extreme)
you prepare the motherboard for sub zero overclocking in
just one click. It disables functions (Audio, USB, etc.) and
temperature/voltage protections (CPU, VRM and more).
It optimizes switching frequencies and LLC at the same time.
BIOS: Extreme OC Setup

48. The list with settings for LN2 Extreme and LN2 Normal.
BIOS: Extreme OC Setup
>PCI Subsystem Settings Default
LN2
Extreme
LN2
Normal
>DigitALL Power Default
LN2
Extreme
LN2
Normal
PEG0 - Gen X Auto A VR 12VIN OCP Expander Auto Max
PEG1 - Gen X Auto A CPU Phase Control Auto D
PEG2 - Gen X Auto A CPU Vdroop Offset Control Auto Max
>Integrated Peripherals CPU Over Voltage Protection Auto Max
Onboard LAN Controller Enabled D CPU Under Voltage Protection Auto Max
LAN Option ROM Disabled D CPU Over Current Protection Auto D
Network stack Disabled D CPU Switching Frequency Auto 1100KHz Auto
SATA Mode AHCI AHCI
CPU VRM Over Temperature
Protection
Auto Max
External SATA 6GB/s Controller AHCI D CPU Power Duty Control Thermal Balance Current
HD Audio Controller Enabled D DRAM Phase Control Auto D
HPET Enabled DRAM Switching Frequency Auto Max
>USB Configuration >CPU Features
USB Controller Enabled E Execute Disable Bit Enabled D E
XHCI Hand-off Enabled E Intel Virtualization Tech Enabled D
EHCI Hand-off Enabled E CPU AES Instructions Enabled D
Legacy USB Support Enabled E Intel Adaptive Thermal Monitor Enabled D
Onboard USB 3.0 Controller Enabled D Intel C-State Enabled D E
>Overclocking C1E Support Disabled D E
CPU Ratio Mode Dynamic Fixed Package C State Limit Auto D
EIST Enabled D Long Duration Power Limit(W) Auto Max
Intel Turbo Boost Enabled D E Long Duration Maintained(s) Auto Max
Enhanced Turbo Auto D Short Duration Power Limit(W) Auto Max
SVID Communication Auto D CPU Current Limit(A) Auto Max
Internal VR OVP OCP Protection Auto D >Boot
Internal VR Efficiency Management Auto D Full Screen Logo Display Enabled D
CPU Memory Changed Detect Enabled E GO2BIOS Disabled D
>Smart connect Configuration
Intel (R) Smart connect Technology Enabled D

49. With easy access to XMP through a single button
in Click BIOS 4 you can make sure the right timings are set
for stability and performance.
BIOS: Quick XMP Button

50. Want quick access to important settings?
My favorite gives easy access to your favorite settings
through a “most used items” overview for your convenience.
Save up to 5 groups!
BIOS: My Favorites
Left click any item in
MSI Click BIOS then
select one of
Favorite #. Then you
can build your own
BIOS favorite group.

51. Forgot what settings you changed? Click BIOS
now supports Change Settings Info. You can check what
values you have adjusted in a simple overview before
exiting the BIOS.
BIOS: Change Settings Info

52. With Load Last Known Best Setting the system reverts to a
successful boot state, while showing you a failure analysis so
you can easily spot the setting causing unwanted behavior.
BIOS: Last Known Good Config

53. Use Simple mode to view only the important
settings for quick optimization. Use Advanced mode
when you want to get back to breaking world records.
BIOS: Simple/Advanced mode
Simple mode Advanced mode

54. BIOS: OC Profile Preview 2
Blue: Settings in
stored profile
Orange:
Current settings
Quickly preview, save and load your saved overclocking
profiles from BIOS, SSD, HDD or USB by simply pressing F8/F9.
In the blink of an eye, you can see the differences between
your current system settings and any of the stored profiles.

55. Through a tab on the right you can now preview the most
important voltages real-time in one overview.
BIOS: Quick Preview System Status

56. Hardware monitor II take control of your system and
checks your primary system in an easy graphical interface.
You can set temperature targets up to 4 points for CPU/MB,
the fans will automatically adjust accordingly.
BIOS: Hardware Monitor II
CPU & System
temperature
Connected fans
and fan speeds
Minimum &
Maximum fan
speeds
Voltage readout Voltage Histogram
CPU Core
CPU I/O
System (3.3V)
System (5V)
System (12V)
GPU
DRAM
Smart Fan Target
temperature
Graphical fan
curve

57. Many overclockers don’t prefer to install bloated
software which slows down their system while setting world
records. This new version includes an unique hotkey function
which makes it the perfect solution for die-hard overclockers.
Software: Command Center Lite

58. 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.
Software: Live Update 6

59. ECO Power helps users to manage their power usage. The
software disables chips completely by cutting of their power.
This helps to prevent short circuiting with LN2 overclocking.
Software: ECO Power
USB
PCI-E x16
PCI-E x1
SATA
Device ON(W) OFF(W) Save (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
*Tested on MPOWER MAX

60. The definitive overclocking tool from MSI and Intel. Besides
every OC setting thinkable, it also has a built-in benchmark
and submits results directly to the worlds largest OC
competition website: HWBOT.org.
Software: Intel XTU

61. MSI’s Command Center is THE tool to configure your system
on-the-fly. Whether you’re a Pro or a N00b, the intuitive
interface with simple slider control or precise keyboard value
entry makes it easy to change everything.
Software: Command Center

62. Software: Command Center vs. XTU
Command Center offers the most functions to tweak your PC.
Command Center XTU Command Center XTU Command Center XTU
System Information OC CPU OC IGP
CPU V V Clock V V Ratio V V
IGP V V Core Ratio V V Voltage V V
Memory V V CPU Voltage Offset V V Voltage Offset V V
Motherboard V V Core Voltage V V OC Memory
BIOS V V SVID Voltage V V Channel AB V -
OS V V Ring Voltage V V Command Rate V -
Audio V - Ring Ratio V V tCL V V
LAN V - PCH 1.05 V - tRCD V V
Utility Info V V PCH1.5 V - tRP V V
Fan Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology - V tRAS V V
CPU Fan V - Intel Turbo Boost Technology - V tRFC V V
System Fan V - Intel Turbo Boost Short Power Max - V tWR V V
Smart Fan V - Intel Turbo Boost Power Max - V tWTR V V
Fan Tune V - Intel Turbo Boost Power Time Windows - V tRRD V V
Monitoring MAX Non Turbo Boost Ratio - V tRTP V V
CPU Utilization V V Processor Current Limit - V tFAW V V
CPU Frequency V V History Record tWCL V -
Ring Frequency - V VCore V - tCKE V -
IGP Frequency V V 3.3V V - tRC - V
Active Core Count V V 5V V - tREFI - V
CPU TDP V V 12V V - tRDRD V -
VCore V V CPU Temperature V - tRDRDDR V -
Clock V V SystemTemperature V - tWRWR V -
3.3V V - CPU Fan V - tWRWRDR V -
5V V - System Fan V - tWRWRDD V -
12V V - Warning tWRRD V -
GT Voltage V - VCore V - twRRDDR V -
DRAM Voltage V - 3.3V V - twRRDDD V -
IGP Voltage V - 5V V - tRDWR V -
CPU SA Voltage V - 12V V - tRDWRDR V -
SVID Voltage V - CPU Temperature V - tRDWRDD V -
CPU Ring Voltage V - SystemTemperature V - Clock V V
PCH 1.05 Voltage V - CPU Fan V - Memory Mutiplier - V
CPU Temperature V V System Fan V - Memory Clock Mutiplier - V
System Temperature V - Alert Sound V - Voltage V V
CPU Fan V - Other Save & Load
System Fan V - Stress Test - V Local V V
Memory Utilization - V Benchmarking - V Cloud V -
IACore TDP - V App- Profile Pairing - V Default V V
IGP TDP - V OC Genie V -
IGP Temperature - V RAMDisk V -
CPU Throttling - V Sid Bar V -
Power Limit Throttling - V Mobile Control V -

63. Easily configure a RAMDisk to give an enormous speedboost
to your system by storing your most used files in it. With the
mountable image files benchmarking will never be the
same.
Software: Command Center RAMdisk

64. Conclusion

65. MSI OC SKU overview
Z97 XPOWER AC Z97 MPOWER MAX AC Z97 MPOWER
OC Certified Y Y Y
Military Class 4 & Guard Pro Y + DrMOS 4 Y Y
PCB size 8 layer E-ATX 8 layer ATX 6 layer ATX
PWM Phases 16 12 12
OC Engine Y Y Y
OC Essentials Y Y Y
Direct OC buttons 4 2 2
Complete discharge button Y Y
Slow Mode y Y Y
GO2BIOS Y Y Y
Water Cooling Y Y
OC Genie 4 Y Y Y
PCI Express x16 Gen3 slots 5 3 3
SLI / CrossFire Support 4-way (PLX) 2 / 3-way 2 / 3-way
PCI-E Ceasefire Hardware switch BIOS BIOS
SATA 6 10 8 8
M.2 Y Y Y
USB 3.0 with redrivers 12 12 8
Intel Gb LAN Y Y Y
Audio Boost Y Y Y
WIFI AC & Bluetooth Y Y
Delid Die Guard Y
OC Fan stand Y

66. Box content overview

67. Records…
Go break them