They're designed to fill in price points and share functionality across the range - only the big products (such as the GT80 Titan notebook or X99A Godlike Gaming) get the focal points of marketing and discussion. Perhaps somewhat unfortunately this means that most new products form the gaming range aren't a big fanfare. When comparing against the direct competition, ASUS' Republic of Gamers is also in a similar position.
For those in the gaming community, MSI's perception as a gaming brand is now rooted through the gaming PC components and gaming notebook segments.
If there's one thing we can certainly offer kudos to MSI for, it's how to build a gaming brand quickly in a non-constant marketplace. Semantics of the industry aside, the Gaming 6 is part of MSIs ever growing Gaming line. The Z97A Gaming 6 is one such motherboard and distinguishable through the Z97A part but also the Gaming 6 was never a model name for the base Z97 product line. Otherwise the new products still act as a base for new builds and for early USB 3.1 adopters.
If Broadwell is a success, then sales will fly. We reviewed some aspects of the Broadwell CPU launch here for quick reference.ĭespite this, USB 3.1 alone gave reasons for motherboard manufacturers to refresh their product lines. It ended up aligning at about the time of the launch on Intel's Broadwell CPUs to which Z97 was designed for, and although motherboard manufacturers prepared revision 2 products with USB 3.1 on for it, the CPU launch was muted with a lack of availability, a reduced product stack and only a few reasons to upgrade. Onboard controllers that supported USB 3.1 became available in Q2 of 2015, significantly after Intel's Z97 launch and several months (assumed) before that of the 100-series motherboards. USB 3.1, while appreciated, came at an odd time in motherboard cycles. As a result we get devices such as this, the MSI Z97A Gaming 6, to review. While the Intel 9-series (Z97) platform has had a rough ride, motherboard companies always see the need to refresh to new designs periodically. Most people rely on price, brand experience, perhaps specific features and online reviews to help decide what fits best. Choosing a motherboard is not as easy as it sounds.