Many PCI Express Options
A central tenant of any good gaming motherboard is the PCI Express options and layout. MSI have taken the wise step of delegating the top-most slot to an x1 lane to allow space for extra-large CPU coolers such as the Noctua NH-D15. One slot down is the main PCIe 3.0 slot, electrically wired for x16 operation with further x16 slots positioned further down. The total ports available are:
4x PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots
3x PCI-E 3.0/2.0 x16 slots (Running @ x16/NC/NC, x8/x8/NC, x8/x4/x4)
The positioning is ideal for 2-way SLI as it leaves a gap of two slots between first and second x16 slot. Note also the lack of legacy PCI; this will become something of a running theme as Z97 designs mature.
M.2 port for additional storage of up to 10GB/s
As you can see, MSI have positioned their M.2 interface between the second and third full-length PCIe slots. Other motherboards tend to have them closer to the CPU socket, but here it runs no risk of being obscured by large CPU coolers, as well as being closer to the 'cabling ideal' if you're using it as a SATA Express adaptor. This particular M.2 interface supports M.2 SATA 6Gbps, M.2 PCIe 10GB/s and module lengths from 4.2 – 8cm.
Three switches – labelled Power, Reset and OC Genie – punctuate the end of the motherboard, and will be of immense use to anyone using it on a test bench.
Rear I/O connectivity
Once more, the Z97 GAMING 7 shows a comprehensive feature-set, this with peripheral and auxiliary connectivity. From top to bottom they are:
PS/2 & 2 x USB 2.0 Gaming ports,
Clear CMOS Button
4 x USB 3.0
HDMI
S/PDIF, HDMI & DisplayPort
2 x USB 3.0
Gbit LAN & 2 x USB 3.0
7.1 Channel Analogue Audio
Clear CMOS Button
4 x USB 3.0
HDMI
S/PDIF, HDMI & DisplayPort
2 x USB 3.0
Gbit LAN & 2 x USB 3.0
7.1 Channel Analogue Audio
Gbit LAN is supported by the Broadcom Killer E2200 NIC and a Realtek ALC1150 Codec is the backbone of the audio system. Back-panel video-out is purely for the CPU on-board graphics, and doesn't support Thunderbolt or dual-link DVI.