Question 1

i have a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047 and want to know if this will fit this is my first computer build

Accepted Answer

It should fit just fine. I bought the Rosewill Challenger mid tower and there was plenty of room. Both towers appear to be the same size on the interior, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Question 2

i WOULD LIKE TO GO WITH TWO STICKS OF RAM 4GB EACH, THEN I CAN BUY TWO MORE STICKS 4GB EACH WHEN I CAN AFFORD IT.  WILL IT RUN OK WITH JUST TWO 4GB RAM STICKS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it will run fine.  There are many factors that influence how well a system will run.  The amount of RAM required is based off what Operating System (OS) you will be running and what programs you will execute.  8GB of RAM will run all normal/common consumer OSs and programs.  You should only need more if you're editing large files, performing complex calculations, etc.

Question 3

Does it handle SLI?

Accepted Answer

Crossfire is supported, but SLI is not.

Question 4

Does this have a wireless card?
i have one and i did not know it came without one.

Accepted Answer

The mobile version of this page won't let me look at the device specs. Interface fail.
Most motherboards don't have native wireless, but you can add a USB, PCI, or PCIe wireless card for cheap.

Question 5

Does this motherboard have a power indicator LED onboard?  The UEFI refers to setting the state of the LED during standby but I don't see a light anywhere.  Is my new board defective?

Accepted Answer

There is no power LED on the motherboard.  I can't find the reference you are referring to in the manual.  Can you cite a page number?  What is probably referring to is the case's Power LED on the front of the case.  If you connect the cables from the front of the case to the motherboard's FP (front panel) properly, the case Power LED will light up when the PC is running.  However, you can tell the motherboard what to do with that case front panel Power LED when the PC is in standby.  For instance, my MSI Z87-G41 motherboard flashes my case's Power LED on and off when the PC is sleeping or in standby mode.  The other states of the case Power LED is "off" when the PC is off, and on a solid light when the PC is running normally.  Hope this helps.

Question 6

With a 4th gen I5 and no additional video card, will it provide HD graphics?

Accepted Answer

I purchased this motherboard "MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate" with the LGA 1150 socket and installed an i5-4570 Haswell series cpu.  I used it without a video card for about 3 months.  It does do HD.  The graphics on the cpu is "Intel® HD Graphics 4600."   It did alright, but I wanted better gaming frame rates and so purchased a current modest video card (NVidia GeForce GTX 760) and it did much better.   I didn't personally see any difference for watching movies and videos.

It is my experience that just the MSI Z87-G41 motherboard with an intel i5-4570 will provide HD graphics without a seperate video card.  Depending on what you want to do (gaming, just watching videos, etc) you may or may not want something better.

Hope that helps.

You might also search the CPU you plan to install and identify what intel graphics comes upon it.  There are Intel HD 4200, 4400, 4600, 5000 and Intel Iris Pro 5100, 5200 processor graphics all on 4th gen i5 variants.  I myself also looked up the intell "Haswell series" chipset to learn how the i5-4570 Haswell was different from Ivy or Sandy bridge i5's.  Good luck.

Question 7

what memory should I buy for this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

DDR3. Otherwise  it seems to have less restrictions than other comparable boards. I did not buy any new memory. I simply used what was left of my previous configuration with a board of some other brand. Anyway, if you have some DDR3 leftovers then try them first. There is a good chance that it will work.

Question 8

I know this has crossfire support, but will it support 1 nVidia card while I save up for a new GPU?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this will support 1 nVidia card. Crossfire support doesn't mean you can't use an nVidia GPU, just means you can't use more than 1 unless it's an AMD Radeon w/crossfire.

Question 9

bought computer with this m/b installed with win 8 is there a way to down grade to win 7 with out messing up bios?

Accepted Answer

I am running windows 7 with this board.  To the best of my knowledge as long as the operating system supports the board it should make no difference, as the bios is what boots the system before the system boots the operating system (Windows).

Question 10

Can I use ATX Mid Tower case like Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower?

Accepted Answer

Yes you should be fine, but be mindful of what slots you intend to fill. If your aim to install 2 graphics cards space will feel a little cramped, especially if the harddrives mount in an odd orientation. (for instance my case has 2 harddrives mounted vertically causing a snug fit for the power cable for the video card.)

Also of note and it may not come into play for you, if for any odd reason you happen to have an nvidia card and you periodically freeze during videos (but not games) but not frequent enough to track down the cause...move the card into the pci e 2.0 slot as oppose to the pci e 3.0 slot. There an odd bug with window's handling of display drivers that can be resolved by that.

	Military Class 4 MSI’s new Military Class 4 components are the next step in high quality components. The Super Ferrite Chokes and Dark CAPs will make sure that your PC runs more stable under extreme gaming conditions.

	Fast Boot With MSI’s Fast Boot, your computer’s OS can now boot up lightning fast. MSI also added the GO2BIOS button within the Fast Boot interface. Simply click the GO2BIOS button, and your system will reset and take you straight to the system BIOS.

	OC Genie 4 OC Genie is the world's first built-in hardware overclocking technology on motherboards. With this new generation of OC Genie, we're giving you even more performance. The OC Genie button works as you expect it to, but now you have even more control. Flick the OC_MODE switch from the normal "Turbo" to "GAMING" and your PC gets another adrenalin shot! For the more advanced overclockers, we give you complete control of your settings with "My OC Genie".

	Super RAID MSI’s exclusive Super RAID application allows you to easily set up and configure your system, boosting performance and staying current with automatic, no-wait updates to your e-mail, social networks, news and more via three key Intel technologies: Intel® Rapid Start Intel® Smart Response Intel® Smart Connect.

	Sound Blaster Cinema Hear your enemies perfectly, even on an ear-drum shattering battlefield, thanks to Sound Blaster Cinema. Get amazing surround sound with just stereo headphones. Your most important gaming sound effects are reproduced crystal clear allowing you to focus on your game even during extremely long gaming sessions. Powered by the SBX Pro Studio technologies, Sound Blaster Cinema enables you to clearly hear specific sounds in gaming environments, making your ears a decisive tool on the battlefield

	AMD CrossFire X AMD CrossFireX™ is the ultimate multi-GPU performance gaming platform. Enabling game-dominatig power, AMD CrossFireX technology enables two or more discrete graphics processors to work together to improve graphics performance. AMD CrossFireX technology allows you to expand your system’s graphics capabilities. It allows you the ability to scale your system’s graphics horsepower as you need it, supporting up to four AMD Radeon™ HD graphics cards, making it the most scalable gaming platform ever. With an AMD CrossFireX gaming technology, the traditional graphics limitation exists no more, allowing you to enjoy higher performance as well as visual experience.

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1150
CPU Type	4th-generation Core i3,i5,i7,Pentium,Celeron(LGA1150)

Number of Memory Slots	4x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 3000(OC)/2800(OC)/2666(OC)/2600(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066
Maximum Memory Supported	32GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 2.0 x16	1(running at x4)
PCI Express x1	2 x PCI Express x1
PCI Slots	2 x PCI Slots

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID	SATA1~6 support Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (AHCI/ RAID 0/ 1/ 5/ 10) by Intel Z87

Meet Your Seller

MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX High Performance CF Intel Motherboard

Used - Very Good

Intel Z87 Express Chipset

Military Class 4

Fast Boot

OC Genie 4

Super RAID

Sound Blaster Cinema

AMD CrossFire X

Learn more about the MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate

Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

Return Policies

Manufacturer Contact Info

Back I/O Ports	1 x HDMI / 2 x PS/2 / 2 x USB 3.0 / 4 x USB 2.0/1.1
PS/2	2
Video Ports	D-Sub + DVI
HDMI	1 x HDMI
USB 3.0	2 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0	4 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports	3 Ports

Onboard USB	2 x USB 3.0 + 4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors	ATX 24-Pin power connector 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 2 x 3-pin system fan connector 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors 1 x 4-pin system fan connector 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x Serial port connector 1 x Parallel port connector 1 x TPM Module connector 1 x Front Panel Audio connector 2 x System panel connectors 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC887
Audio Channels	8 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset	Realtek RTL8111G
Max LAN Speed	1Gbps

Physical Spec
Form Factor	ATX
Dimensions (W x L)	12" x 8.7"

Item#: 9SIAWFGKEU5688