Announcing the Tom's Hardware AMA and Gaming Giveaway with MSI!

[g-unit1111]

Will MSI be revamping their HB bridges for SLI to match the new NVIDIA standards for SLI bridges?

 

[Spiglio]

I'm thinking about building a new rig sometime this fall, and want to have a PC that is as future proof as possible. My current 4-year-old build already hit a dead end in its upgrade cycle: I'm stuck on PCI-E 2.0 and only have 1 SATA3 port.

The current market seems to be in flux. DDR4 was released earlier this year, and both of the big GPU manufacturers have their latest generation graphics architectures out in the wild. Don't even get me started with CPUs. Intels tick-tock manufacturing cycle makes it such a pain when deciding whether to buy or to wait.

I know you probably want me to buy now, but in all honestly, when's the best time to purchase PC components? Which season has the best deals? Is there a specific chipset you recommend for the long-term? Is DDR4 really worth the extra price premium? I know that it is best to use DDR4 in a triple-channel configuration, but this feature is only available on the expensive X99 motherboards. Will I see any benefits to using DDR4 in a dual-channel configuration?

 

[ZephyrCast]

Why did you partner with Corsair for the Hydro GFX GTX 1080? Do you manufacture the coolers or does Corsair send them to you?

 

[Megamanzero91]

How did you guys come up with the dragon mascot for your gaming line? Does he/she have a name?

 

[SephirothCloud]

Are there any perks to being an MSI employee? Do you all get suped up rigs with 1080s in SLI? Can you send me one? :lol:

 

[mstrkrftr]

How did you get into computer hardware enthusiast industry? Do you all build your own PCs? What is your biggest PC building mistake?

 

[chronoHEARTS]

Who are the artists that make the MSI box art? What design software do they use? Is there anywhere I can see their concept sketches?

 

[underfragger]

Can you talk a little bit about the design process for your GPUs and motherboards? How far in advance does Intel, AMD, or Nvidia give you there reference designs? Historically, 3rd party GPU manufacturers never use the same reference cooling designs as AMD or Nvidia. Why is that?

 

[MeeplePolice]

It seems like both AMD and Nvidia are slowly phasing out SLI and Crossfire features on their graphics cards. I don't think either AMD or Nvidia mentioned bridging with their new graphics cards.

The new cards are cooler and consume fewer watts than last generation's Maxwell and GCN architectures. I think it would be even easier to have two or even three cards in a case.

Is this a hardware issue or software issue?

 

[lmingzappa16]

Are there any plans to release an ultrabook competitor to Razer's line of laptops?

 

[naf_naf]

in such a cut throat industry, how do you keep enthusiastic about what you do and what is a big motivation killer?

 

[lumpking69]

Whats in store for the future? Where are things trending and what can we expect in the near and distant future?

 

[jlfx64]

Q: What is the "next big thing" or enhancement of current technologies that we will see in motherboard design or execution in the next 5 years? (For the gamer/enthusiast target group.)

 

[Onus]

Most computer uses (notably those who call themselves "enthusiasts") are all about "moar power!" and look for tweaking and overclocking capacity to the extreme. I believe there is a growing number of others, such as myself, who see that, for most things, if you've started with the "right" components (e.g. not asking a GTX750Ti to do the work of a GTX970), overclocking and tweaking aren't going to make a significant difference in most things; what will always matter, however, is lowering power usage. Does MSI have any general or specific plans to release components which are more focused on lowering power needed? Please be as detailed in your answer as you can! Thanks.

 

[lugi20]

Question: How does MSI prepare for new processor releases? Specifically, how much advanced time do you have to start designing your motherboards prior to a processor's launch (When do you get test processors from Intel/AMD)? Are there ever late game changes that force you to compromise your design to release on time?

 

[aquanaut101]

Being a fan of powerful but quiet I have often bought a brand new graphics card, removed the stock cooler and replaced with an artic cooler and quiet noctua fans. It would be great to be able to do this without voiding warranty. Ever considered a pick A/B board/cooler purchase channel for end users?

 

[unphazeable]

I am becoming more and more interested in smaller form factor pcs that users can pack in more powerful parts into. As a pc gamer with limited space at home these smaller cases give me more options when it comes to placing/organizing all my office equipment on my limited desk space. I like what the Aegis and Vortex products lines have to offer. Are there plans to further expand on these product lines? More specifically, will the vortex series offer more mid-tier components and pricing? I love the aesthetics of the Vortex series but may not be able to afford the current prices.

 

[Lutfij]

I tend to work closely with professionals engaged in content creation be it via Sketchup, AutoCAD, 3DS and/or even Video productions(including myself). I've noticed that you have a large array of products catering to not just the gaming segment but to aforementioned professionals, via the Workstation Notebooks, and for lower powered home users, via the bare-bones, though my question is do you folks see the need to build/develop another motherboard segment that is geared towards content creators? I only ask since a good chunk of my clientele have been a little confused with the overclocking and gaming nomenclature.

Likewise is there a possibility whereby perhaps we can see the company progress with barebone's for professionals working out of a SOHO, perhaps?

Asus have been known to collaborate with ram manufacturer, Corsair, to help bring about new standards in the industry. Have you or are you engaged in the same project whereby you are officially collaborating with said ram manufacturers(or other industry professionals) to help bolster the fact that your products can and will go the distance? I noticed some of your motherboards are advertised with Geil rams Acting as a follow up, do you also work closely with ram manufacturer's to come out with kits that better match your aesthetics? Avexir have been popular back during the Z77 Mpower boards were like hotcakes. Does that program yet exist?

 

[Smarty_Pants823]

What are your opinions on Linux based machines? Also why is it rather unreliable or difficult to install said OS onto computers using your mobos and drivers?

 

[jalmodov4tm]

Will there be a VR ready, thin and light MSI laptop with a GTX 1080, or will we have to wait for the next generation? If there is one coming, what approximate price range? Thanks!

 

[MSIDavY]

I'll start it off, here's my question. Since many people value the aesthetics of the motherboard and graphics cards as well as the price and performance, why aren't more color options available other than black, red/black, black/white? Are different colored PCB's, heatsinks, or fan shrouds cost prohibitive?

I would like to said that each color of the rainbow is possible, however there are limitations to the colors we use. First, we want to have a nice color scheme which means that the plastic slots and connectors should compliment the color of the metal heatsinks. A problem is that the reflection of light off metal and plastic is different and this limits possibilities. Additionally, we continuously do surveys and Red / Black come out as the most popular colors. We also like to make it possible for users to have complimentary motherboards and vga cards so it ends up in a nice build. It's not really a cost issue although off-the-shelf colors are cheaper, though we don’t mind investing to make something cool.

The limitations on the color of the PCB has other limitations. First of all, the quality should be consistent, so that if we have a white PCB it should also always be white and stay white (and not turn yellow-ish like some others in the market.) Additionally, in the RMA process when items need to be fixed, white (for example) will give burn marks if you need to solder.

Besides this, we also need to think about our line-up and the number of SKUs we put on the market. It is doable for us to put 14 different colored products in the market, but which one will the reseller choose to keep in stock? It complicates things even more.

 

[MSI Scorpion]

Another question - in regards to laptops and the availability of Pascal-based laptops will MSI be releasing low profile laptops with the new GPUs similar to the GS and GE series? Is there anything we can expect in terms of availability or specs and pricing? I wanted to get the GS72 but am holding off until I hear of any announcement.

We've just announced our new Gaming laptop line up!
You can find all of them as well as all the details on each model
here: http://event.msicomputer.com/nbpascal/

 

[MSIGeno]

My question is easy. Asus has built full pc's. As has Evga, Gigabyte, nvidia has branded a few, even AMD and Razer have dropped names on pc's. When or IS MSI going to jump on that bandwagon too? Or is MSI going to stick strictly to gaming Laptops?

How to offer a solution that gamers really want instead of a combination of assembled general PC components is the question we brainstorm internally. We are always looking to find ways to add great value and features to our desktop products. The MSI Gaming laptop line represents not only latest & greatest CPU+GPU's that are available, but also features and designs that benefit gamers and their experiences. This same DNA will be transformed to our gaming desktop products.

 

[MSIDavY]

MSI releases a ton of card models based on a couple pcb's (12 gtx 1080 models alone!!). generally clock speeds seem to be the difference along with a couple of different cooler configs. my question is why? the consensus seems to be that the pcb's are built and then binned for the various models. is this the case? or is it something else that determines the various models if anything at all differentiates them?

This has to do with the positioning of the cards and there are a lot of factors involved many of which are related to each other. The most entry level card (usually reference) has the least efficient cooling and comes without any overclock.

From there, we work on improving the cooling of the cards which brings some extra cost which results in the Armor series.

However most people want the best thermal design along with (RGB) LED and a backplate, but a product that's still affordable. That's where the GAMING series with TWIN FROZR VI is positioned.

In case people want water-cooling, we have several solutions (AIO or block) for them. For most models there are the OC versions and the non-OC version, since some GPU’s just can’t clock like others. With better cooling, higher clocks can be reached.

By addressing these various feature sets, it's easy to end-up with 12 or more SKUs. Besides that, we also have special models for China (the Duke – Google it!) and we're never done releasing new SKUs.

 

[MSIDavY]

Would MSI consider releasing any new motherboards and 10XX GPUs in limited edition colors that are not black and red like they did with the green LE for the 9XX series and the Titanium edition Z170 board?

Check out my reply here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3150117/announcing-tom-hardware-ama-gaming-giveaway-msi/page-2.html#18453204

What can be said about the colors we choose for our motherboards can be applied to video cards too.