MSI Z370 Godlike Gaming Motherboard Breaks Cover Welcoming Caffeinated Intel Coffee Lake CPUs
We are still waiting for Intel to serve up its Coffee Lake processor lineup on the desktop. Barring a last minute change of plan, Coffee Lake CPUs will require a new motherboard even though they will use the same LGA 1151 socket that is compatible with Kaby Lake. Once such contender has emerged on the web—MSI's Z370 Godlike Gaming, a high-end motherboard based on Intel's forthcoming Z370 chipset.
Based on previous leaks and rumors, we are expecting Coffee Lake and Z370 motherboards to arrive sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. We also expect to see plenty of motherboard announcements leading up the launch of Coffee Lake on the desktop, as seems to always happen whenever there is a new CPU family right around the corner. In this case, MSI has not announced its Z370 Godlike Gaming motherboard, though what looks to be an official press rendering has found its way to the web.
We are not entirely sure, but it looks like the Z370 Godlike Gaming is based on the E-ATX form factor. There are four DIMM slots to the right of the CPU socket, along with four reinforced PCI Express x16 slots. Three M.2 slots are sandwiched in between the full-size PCIe slots, each with a shield that is supposed to help with heat dissipation (and thereby prevent throttling).
If that is not enough, there is an add-in card for installing two more M.2 drives, leaving open the possibility of a RAID array. RAID would hardly be needed if going with a M.2 NVMe SSD as those are plenty fast as-is, but hey, to each their own.
We can also make out a single PCIe x1 slot and at least half a dozen angled SATA ports. Onboard Wi-Fi looks to be part of the package as well, with funky looking antennas extruding from the rear I/O section. The board also appears to feature an 18 power phase design, which should help both with stability and overclocking. And of course MSI's customizable lighting is on display.
As this is a leaked photo, there is no word yet on when the motherboard will be available or how much it will cost.
Based on previous leaks and rumors, we are expecting Coffee Lake and Z370 motherboards to arrive sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. We also expect to see plenty of motherboard announcements leading up the launch of Coffee Lake on the desktop, as seems to always happen whenever there is a new CPU family right around the corner. In this case, MSI has not announced its Z370 Godlike Gaming motherboard, though what looks to be an official press rendering has found its way to the web.
We are not entirely sure, but it looks like the Z370 Godlike Gaming is based on the E-ATX form factor. There are four DIMM slots to the right of the CPU socket, along with four reinforced PCI Express x16 slots. Three M.2 slots are sandwiched in between the full-size PCIe slots, each with a shield that is supposed to help with heat dissipation (and thereby prevent throttling).
If that is not enough, there is an add-in card for installing two more M.2 drives, leaving open the possibility of a RAID array. RAID would hardly be needed if going with a M.2 NVMe SSD as those are plenty fast as-is, but hey, to each their own.
We can also make out a single PCIe x1 slot and at least half a dozen angled SATA ports. Onboard Wi-Fi looks to be part of the package as well, with funky looking antennas extruding from the rear I/O section. The board also appears to feature an 18 power phase design, which should help both with stability and overclocking. And of course MSI's customizable lighting is on display.
As this is a leaked photo, there is no word yet on when the motherboard will be available or how much it will cost.
