Question 1

Will this support DDR3 running at 1333?

Accepted Answer

DDR3 Memory DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866*/2000*/2133*/2200*/2400*/2600*/2666*/2800*/3000*/3100*/3200*/3300*(*OC) HMz

From MSI's Site, I use 1866 on an XMP profile.  Anything over 1600 is considered overlocked

Question 2

Can I run 3 sticks of 4gb memory on this?

Accepted Answer

Probably, I looked at the owners manual, and didn't see any mention of a requirement...but honestly, I would NOT do it.  First of all, it's not a common practice, which usually means it has drawbacks that are not worth it.  Secondly.  Memory is cheap, either use the 8gb or by another matching 4 gb stick or two 8gb and go with 24gb total..... (2X8 and 2X4)

Lastly, 8gb is plenty of memory unless you are using heavy photo/video editing software with large files.  You computer will not likely ever go bast 4 or 5 gb's of usage otherwise...

Question 3

is the Z97 chipset on this board compatible with the new intel i7-4790k CPU?

Accepted Answer

Yeah, I'm running it with a 4790k right now.

Question 4

Anyone else having issues with the sound? I have not had any luck hooking up speakers...was not able to get them to produce sound (maybe they are DOA?) I have tried updating all the drivers and such. I hooked up my headphones to the jack in the front of my tower and some sounds handle fine while others are very distorted. Not sure if something is hooked up wrong or if there is an issue with the board.

Accepted Answer

Make sure that your case connectors (the little one pins) are connected correctly. If you are using the jack through the case these could cause problems if they aren't hooked up properly. Also, this board has external power for audio (Audio Boost or something like that). At the bottom of the board on the left side you'll see a little switch. If it is to the left you must have the molex adapter thing plugged in. If you don't, it must be switched to the right. You should probably consult the manual on this stuff cause my memory is a little fuzzy on it but I'm guessing that switch is turned the wrong way.

Question 5

I'n getting a Devil's Canyon CPU to match with this mobo after switching from AMD, is there clearance to use a Hyper Evo 212?

Accepted Answer

I used a Hyper Evo 212 in mine, over an i7-4790 Haswell.  It made it in, but you've got to have a pretty low profile RAM in the two nearest RAM slots.  It's tight.  In the end, I've got 4x4Gb Ram (16 Gb total) and the Evo 212, but it's tight.

Question 6

Is the only difference between MSI Z97-GD65 GAMING and MSI Z97 GAMING 7 the sound quality??

What is the differences between the 2?

Accepted Answer

If you compare the Newegg specs the differences are pretty clear. The Gaming 7 board has more SATA 6BG connectors, it has an M.2 connector, newer than mSATA. It has a display port, no vga or dvi and 2 hdmi vs 1 for integrated video. Eight rear panel USB3 ports vs. 4. It seems to be a bit more up to date than the GD65.

Question 7

What size case would I have to buy?

Accepted Answer

It's ATX form factor so any case that supports a full sized ATX motherboard will fit it. 
That means any mid tower or (my favorite) full tower will fit it.
Some of the smaller cases may be able to as well but you will have to check their specs to see what motherboard form factors they fit.
I hope this helps :)

Question 8

Does this motherboard have build in bluetooth or do I need a separate bluetooth component?

Accepted Answer

No onboard bluetooth, go for the separate component.

Question 9

This product doesn't have WiFi does it, only a wired connection?
 I have three options: 1 put the computer in the living room; 2 run an Ethernet cable from the living room to my room( greater than 25 feet); 3 get a good gaming WiFi receiver. 
Any suggestions?

Accepted Answer

Definitely no Wi-Fi on this board.  I faced the same decision when I build my new comp recently.  After a good bit of forum browsing, the consensus that I picked up was that wired lan is the best way to go for gaming.  You really need to buy nice equipment and be fairly experienced with wireless networking to build a stable Wi-Fi network that will not interrupt your gaming.

That said, don't be discouraged from Wi-Fi, I just decided on wired lan to save money and time because I'm sort on both atm.

Good luck.

Question 10

does the msi z97-gaming 7 support the new m2 for ssd hd's?

Accepted Answer

Yes It does keen. However it still can't tell if the input would block the use of the third pci 3.0 slot.

Questions & Answers