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

[MSIDavY]

The MSI Afterburner suite is a great piece of software. I can overclock my graphics card even though I don't have a MSI GPU. I'd like to use Afterburner or something similar to overclock my CPU too. Is there any MSI software in beta or available that will automatically overclock my CPU? Do you have any overclocking recommendations? I'm a bit of a noob :lol:

Check out our Command Center software.

 

[MSIDavY]

Which do you prefer: air or water cooling?

Sometimes mistakes happen and you got a wet fart to clean up.

 

[MSI Scorpion]

Another question I have: Because of VR the challenges of integrating desktop power graphics into laptops is becoming more and more critical. And I've seen numerous attempts by MSI and other laptop vendors to incorporate desktop GPUs into laptop form factors, but that defeats the purpose of a laptop being portable. Will the challenge of replicating desktop GPU power in a laptop form factor get easier with each generation or is that something that is impossible at the moment?

It's definitely getting easier with each new generation. Laptops have come a long away for sure, and the performance gap between desktop PCs and laptops are closing in. The newest GTX 10 series in laptops closed the gap within 10% of their desktop counterparts and I'm positive its only going to get better!

 

[James Mason]

I'm seeing you say the Mini-ITX market is small, and I can believe that from the limited number of products.
Why aren't Mini-ITX boards priced more appropriately for their smaller size compared to traditional ATX and even Micro-ATX?
Very very few people need or use more than 1 PCIE slot anyways, and PCI slots are almost universally dead.
But ITX products always have a "premium" cost associated with them that I think is driving off purchasers, and prevents me from recommending them as a budget build because well, they're typically more expensive than larger sized parts.

 

[MSIDavY]

Can you tell me how you designed your fans and cooling for graphics cards?

This reply to another question may be adequate. Our engineers are good at what they do and that's why our Twin Frozr VI cooler is so cool.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3150117/announcing-tom-hardware-ama-gaming-giveaway-msi/page-3.html#18453746

 

[MSIDavY]

I'm pretty skeptical of NIC "gaming" network cards. It's supposed to be a NIC designed specifically for online gaming, but people insist that they do not notice any reduction in their ping and in game lag.

The newest generation of Killer NIC products have dropped significantly in price, and are faster than the previous generation.

If I got one would there be an improvement in my online gaming performance and lag reduction or is the integrated NIC on my motherboard sufficient?

While it's true that the Killer NIC isn't necessarily better than other options, it isn't any worse since wi-fi standards are in a good place.

http://techreport.com/review/29144/revisiting-the-killer-nic-eight-years-on

In-fact, in the best scenario, wi-fi is only going to add at most 2ms to your latency when gaming compared to a Ethernet cable connection.

 

[MSI Scorpion]

The mobile GPU space has been stagnant. Pascal and Polaris have pushed desktop graphics to the next generation, but where are the next gen mobile GPUs? When will our laptops be able to run games in ultra settings and 4k resolution?

The next gens are already here. Our new line up of gaming laptops that just launched are fully capable to run Ultra settings and 4K resolution without breaking a sweat. Our GT73/83VR Titan are equipped with the GTX 1080 and/or SLI inside and the GTX 10 series mobile graphic rivals desktop performance.

 

[MSIDavY]

Why is 4k such a big deal for gaming and why does require so much power? Take for example the GTX 1080, it can run games in 4k, but for how long? On DX12 games it barely pushes 60 frames in certain games, with the frame rate commonly dropping below 60 fps. When you add up the cost of a new graphics card and a new monitor, 4k gaming seems incredibly expensive. When will 4k gaming be reasonably priced?

Have you seen 4K gaming? The sharpness of the edges is quite amazing to point anti-aliasing is mostly unnecessary. Of course driving a display that quite literally 4 times the pixels as 1080p is not easy with our current display technology and gaming graphics technology. The technology is simply not there yet for it to be accessible to most buyers. The timing is uncertain too - 2 years, 4 years.

 

[MSIDavY]

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

Probably, though I don't have a timeframe of when that might happen.

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

While it does feel like there's something new every 3 months, if you want to only look at Intel and NVIDIA, their product cycles last from 1 to 2 years, though lately it's been around 18 months.

DDR4 is the new memory standard and we should expect to stay on that for at least 4 more years. I have no clue where you heard the triple-channel stuff because aren't missing out much with a dual-channel memory configuration. It matters even less for gaming since video games would much prefer use the memory built into the video card.

 

[Samer1970]

Are you planing to make a dual GPU (RX480)x2 card ?

 

[MSIDavY]

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

Corsair has an incredible reputation for their closed water coolers and we wanted a video card with that kind of cooling. We still manufacturer the board and we use Corsair's solution to produce our MSI GTX 1080 SEAHAWK co-product.

 

[Samer1970]

What is the reason you never release Retail Notebook GPU cards ? (MXM slot cards)?

 

[MSIDavY]

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

I actually started out in the PC hardware industry writing gaming peripheral reviews on the side for several years.

As has already been mentioned, we build our own personal desktops.

My biggest PC assembly mistake is forgetting to plug in the 8-pin ATX PSU cable into the motherboard. Took me only 10 minutes to realize why my computer wasn't turning on for the first time then.

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

We have our own in-house graphic designers who work hard to produce the amazing graphics for our products, promotions, and events. They are amazing at what they do.

Regarding what software they use, they work with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

Sure, if it's a little bit. We usually get a "blueprint" if you will about 6 months in advance so that we can start designing boards in advance of the launch. We actually do sell some cards that use the AMD and NVIDIA reference cooling designs, though we do very much prefer our custom designs such as our universally acclaimed GAMING video cards using the Twin Frozr VI cooler.

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

It's an NVIDIA issue.

AMD remains committed to Crossfire whereas NVIDIA is restricting SLI to where it seems to makes the most sense - the enthusiast segment. Additionally, a number of games don't behave nicely with multiple GPUs in Crossfire/SLI.

 

[MSIDavY]

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

We love technology and working with cutting edge stuff. We love that there are others including each other here in the marketing team that share this same passion.

It's when we step outside of that sphere where that passion is not appreciated that kills some hope we have for technology in our lives and even ourselves.

 

[MSIDavY]

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

Robot Santa Claus!

 

[MSIDavY]

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.)

I hope its HDR displays for display technologies. I know it's not something for motherboards, but it is something enthusiasts may come to care about.

 

[MSIDavY]

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.

Of course! We have our ECO lineup of motherboards that fit that need.

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/H170M-ECO.html
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/B150M-ECO.html

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

We get a "blueprint" if you will, 6 months in advance so that we can start designing boards up to the launch of new major processor products. Sometimes, there are problems that force changes even after launch (Intel P67 chipset recall.)

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

We strongly believe in our cooling solutions and have even brought forth several different solutions such as the SEAHAWK that uses a Corsair closed loop water cooler and AERO which uses a blower design similar to today's reference coolers from NVIDIA and AMD. Though users are free to do as they wish with their purchase, they assume any risk and responsibility performing their own modifications.

 

[MSIDavY]

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?

We did just launch our X99A WORKSTATION motherboard this week. Perhaps that may be of interest to you.
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/X99A-WORKSTATION.html

As for our relationship with memory manufacturers, the consideration is mutual. I will even say that it's the memory manufacturers themselves who are listening to feedback from users like you to produce products with colors that complement the other parts.

 

[MSIDavY]

HI, I had used MSI gtx 960 and its quite a good overclocker and the temps are pretty good. But I found all MSI GPU have only 2 fan, are you guys planning any GPU's with 3 fan like the Gigabyte G1.

Two bigger fans are quieter and more efficient than those three fans. For one, one less moving part to make noise. For another, bigger fan blades can push more air even at a slower speed.