Computex 2014: MSI’s New ECO Motherboard Range
by Ian Cutress on June 6, 2014 10:54 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- MSI
- H81
- B85
- Computex 2014
As part of their display at Computex, MSI was showing a new element to their range based on low power systems. The ECO range, in a white and green, is aimed at low power scenarios, and MSI seem to focus on micro-ATX sizes for H81 and B85 chipsets.
One of the main elements to this is the MSI software, allowing users to disable unused PCIe and USB ports, or disabling fan headers. We saw the early versions of this software on the Z97 MPower Max AC, but the ECO software is more extensive in terms of options.
There still has to be a number of features on the motherboards in order to sell, but MSI is interested in comments regarding the range.
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hojnikb - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
That white version is absolutly gorgeous.dakishimesan - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
Agree. i love the aesthetic.Qwertilot - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
It does look nice yes :) A nice sort of idea too I think.nathanddrews - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
I was just thinking how rare a white PCB is. I like it. Suddenly it makes me wonder what color all these components would be there was absolutely no paint or dye used. Could be cool. They could market it as "organic".ThortonBe - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
For sure! Even the brown version is okay. The trick would be finding RAM and other items that match.azazel1024 - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
My only problem is I want H87 too. I need me some Intel RST12/RAID. So H81/B85 are not an option for me.Otherwise sound/look like the perfect board for my server.
azazel1024 - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
Bah, can't edit my comment. I see that there are other chipsets in micro ATX in their proposed eco line. Comment retracted. That H97 Eco board looks sweet.MikeMurphy - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
I'd like to see a review on the power savings these boards can achieve together with some CPU undervolting.extide - Friday, June 6, 2014 - link
I think this is a good idea, in fact I think these sort of board should essentially BE the low end. It's kind of a trip to see a board with such little amount of stuff on it, it's like we suddenly travelled back to the age of P965/P35/etc, not that this is a bad thing, though.ShieTar - Saturday, June 7, 2014 - link
It is a good Idea, but I hope its just the start. I'd love to see a board Manufacturer start to offer user-customizable boards to its customers, where un-used options aren't even physically included on the board.Any part that is excluded can no longer cause any trouble, be it use power or be it fail and take the rest of the board along. And I think a lot of people have pretty good Ideas these days on what exactly they will or won't need on their board for the next few years.