MSI OC Certified, New Series Motherboard Brand

Micro-Star International has issued a press release with the express purpose of announcing a new, high-end motherboard brand, not an actual product or product family.

That isn't perfectly accurate of course, since the corporation did mention the MSI Z77 MPower by name, but the main body of text focused on generalities. MSI OC Certified is an extension of MSI's Military Class certification, one that goes beyond even Military Class III tests. For those who need a recap, Military Class III motherboards are tested for stability, high voltage endurance, etc. OC Certified platforms are guaranteed to be able to run in overclocked conditions in high temperatures even when air flow is weak or absent.

To give some perspective, the motherboards are tasked with running an Intel Core i7 central processing unit at 4.6 GHz, well above default frequencies. Enhanced PWM cooling is the greatest asset. MSI promises that, even without airflow from a CPU cooler, a motherboard will survive for 24 hours in a high-temperature room (30 degrees Celsius). “Better Power Stability is tested by running Prime95 for 24-hours in these conditions,” MSI says. MSI Z77 Mpower has, of course, been tested in such a manner. From what we can see in the photo, it comes with four DDR3 memory slots, five PCI Express slots (three full-size and two mini), a black PCB and large heatsinks.

“When an MSI Z77 MPOWER passes the OC Certified test it is able to run in overclocked conditions in high temperatures with little to no airflow,” MSI says. “Final OC results of course vary with the component quality of the entire system and users’ technique, but at least you can count on your mainboard not being the limiting factor.” Unfortunately, we haven't seen it up for sale anywhere yet and MSI did not provide a price tag, so we have to wait a while more before these details come to light.

MSI Z77 MPower motherboard
Image credits to MSI

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