The tech world is now slowly gearing up to new CPU releases from Intel, and with these new chips should come a range of motherboards based on an updated Intel chipset. We may see more from these motherboards in the coming weeks as CeBIT 2014 is just around the corner, but for now official news is relatively scant.

MSI are breaking the trend somewhat by announcing a core feature for their next generation of GAMING motherboards. These red and black livery designs, already incorporating a whole host of features central to their respective chipsets as well as MSI's own technology, will also begin to include an M.2 slot for auxiliary storage options.

For the uninitiated, M.2 is a relatively new standard previously known as the 'Next Generation Form Factor' which has been designed to replace mSATA. Both longer and allowing the use of components on both sides of the PCB, it allows the available surface area to be used more effectively which is particularly relevant in SSD storage.

The upshot is a very small form factor interface compatible with of both appropriate SATA and PCI Express-based storage solutions. If utilising PCIe storage it bypasses some of the layers of abstraction introduced by the SATA standard, effectively increasing the transfer speeds for native PCIe. Tablet and laptop PC solutions have naturally jumped on the new spec, but the next generation should be the first where it begins to be relatively commonplace on PC desktop motherboards.

MSI are advertising up to 10Gbps through the new M.2 slot, and just as importantly it will take up little motherboard real-estate. Presuming it's presented to the motherboard I/O and OS in an appropriate fashion it has the making of an extremely fast OS and gaming drive, even over SATA 3 SSDs.

Look for more information on MSI's range in the coming months. M.2 SSDs are currently available from Samsung, Intel and Crucial and other prominent SSD manufactures.

Source: MSI Facebook