Question 1

does it come with built in wifi capability?

Accepted Answer

This motherboard does not have built-in Wi-Fi. You will need to purchase a Wi-Fi card separately for that purpose.

Question 2

How's the structural quality of this board? Is it nice and sturdy or easy to bend?

Accepted Answer

THE STRUCTURAL QUALITY IS VERY GOOD AND AS FOR EASY TO BEND  I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TRYING TO BEND ANY MOBO ! ALWAYS REMEMBER TO START ALL MOUNTING SCREWS BEFORE TIGHTENING THEM. I DON'T KNOW WHAT CASE YOU ARE WORKING WITH BUT HERE IS A COUPLE OF POINTERS; 1st I USED THE COOL MASTER HYPER 12 PLUS CPU COOLER, BE CAREFUL TO PAY ATTENTION TO HOW THE HOLES ARE ARRANGED ON MOUNTING BRACKET FOR THE BACK OF THE MOBO. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE SCREW HEADS WHERE THE HOLES ARE,AND 2nd PLUG THE "JUSB 4" CABLE IN BEFORE YOU MOUNT THE MOBO IN THE CASE AS THIS CAN BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO DO AFTER THE BOARD IS ALREADY MOUNTED IN PLACE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS INFO IS HELPFUL.

Question 3

Does this motherboard only work with Intel proccessors?

Accepted Answer

Yes it only works on Intel. For an Intel board it will most likely include Intel in the name. Since AMD still uses pins it won't ever fit an Intel board. If you buy an intel board make sure the LGA numbers match, that's the type of socket it uses.

Question 4

Does this motherboard work with Haswell CPUs?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does.  It is fully compatible with currently available. Haskell CPU.  I am currently running an Intel core I7 4770k.

Question 5

Would I have to buy a CPU with this Motherboard?

Accepted Answer

The answer is yes, the motherboard is just that, a motherboard. That being said, this motherboard has treated me extremely well since my purchase in May, and the BIOS is very well-laid and has a ton of features. The socket on the board is an LGA 1150 so the board supports pretty much the newest i7 chips out there.

For reference, I'm using this board with the Intel i7 4790 processor. (Compared to the 4770k it has better base specs, and is cheaper; the difference being that the 4770k is an "unlocked" processor which basically means that if you're into overclocking your CPU to speeds that can damage the chip, then the chip will allow it.)

Best of luck!

Question 6

WIll the AMD 8350 run with this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Intel motherboard...

Question 7

Dumb question so it has a built in heat sink. The processor still requires a cooling fan or system of some sort right?

Accepted Answer

The boxed processor I bought (i5-4690) had a heatsink, fan, and mounting hardware included. No processor heatsink and fan included with the motherboard. Don't forget to buy thermal paste.

Question 8

The specs list 2 USB 3.0 and 4 USB 2.0, but the image has 4 blues (implying 3.0) and 2 reds. Does it actually have 2 USB 3.0 or does it have actually 4?

Accepted Answer

I believe the following excerpt from the board user manual should clarify this:

"Intel Z97 Express Chipset
6x USB 3.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available
through the internal USB 3.0 connector)
8x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 6 ports available
through the internal USB 2.0 connectors)
"

Question 9

How many fan ports are there on this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

2 CPU fan ports located on the top, 1 fan port behind the sound part of the I/O for your case rear fan, 2 additional fan ports (One located at the bottom of the board with the case plug ins and USB plug ins, and another near the 24pin power supply).   So to simplify this answer, the board has 5 fan ports, all of which are 4 pin, but MSI says they are backward compatible with the 3 (haven't tested this).

Question 10

does this motherboard have two graphics card slots? beacuse i bought a new graphics card but my old one is still preaty good so i would like to use both of them, and i hope that is possable.
send me a answer as soon as possable.

Accepted Answer

Andrew I believe this board will run 2 or 3 Vid cards, but it is my understanding that they all have to be exactly the same. Ie can not be different manufacturers, or even different models from the same manufacturers.

Brand	MSI
Series	MSI Gaming
Model	Z97-G45 Gaming

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1150
CPU Type	Celeron / Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 / Intel Core 4th Gen (LGA 1150) / Intel Core 5th Gen (LGA 1150) / Pentium / Xeon (LGA1150)

Number of Memory Slots	4x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 3000(OC)/ 2800/ 2666/ 2600/ 2400/ 2200/ 2133/ 2000/ 1866/ 1600/ 1333/ 1066/
Maximum Memory Supported	32GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots - The operating mode will be x16/ x0/ x0, x8/ x8/ x0, or x8/ x4/ x4. Please always install expansion card into the PCI_E2 "First".
PCI Express x1	4 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA1~6)* * The SATA6 port will be unavailable when install a SSD in the mSATA port.
mSATA	1 x mSATA 6Gb/s port*
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

Meet Your Seller

MSI MSI Gaming Z97-G45 Gaming LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Used - Very Good

Learn more about the MSI Z97-G45 Gaming

Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

Return Policies

Manufacturer Contact Info

Back I/O Ports	1 x HDMI / 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out / 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo / 1 x S/PDIF Coaxial Out / 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 / 4 x USB 3.0
PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
Video Ports	1 x VGA port 1 x DVI-D port
HDMI	1 x HDMI
RJ45	1 x RJ45
USB 3.0	4 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0	2 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial
Audio Ports	6 Ports

Onboard USB	3 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports) 1 x USB 3.0 connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports)
Other Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors 3 x 4-pin system fan connectors 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x Front panel audio connector 2 x System panel connectors 1 x TPM module connector 1 x Serial port connector 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector 7 x V-Check points (7x V-Check spots)

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC1150
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset	Killer E2205
Max LAN Speed	1Gbps

Physical Spec
Form Factor	ATX
Dimensions (W x L)	12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin	24 Pin

Item#: 9SIAGSC7RJ4859