In case you have not heard, a number of motherboard makers have been busy designing boards that transfer all the typical information, energy, fan and RGB headers and connectors to the again of the motherboard, making for an ultra-clean PC inside. Theoretically, at the very least, it also needs to enable for higher airflow as a result of there are not any cables within the case to trigger turbulence.
Maingear holds the patent for this structure in the US. However Asus is partnering with Lian Li and XPG (amongst others) and appears to have settled on the identify BTF (Again to Future). Gigabyte, partnering with Maingear, launched its Undertaking Stealth in 2022. And now MSI (additionally in partnership with Maingear) is providing up its personal take, dubbed Undertaking Zero, which encompasses just a few motherboard fashions and a Pano M100R PZ case.
Upfront of CES subsequent week, MSI despatched us its B650M Undertaking Zero AMD motherboard $229, the beforehand talked about Pano M100R PZ case ($109), its MAG CoreLiquid 240R V2 AIO cooler, and an A850GL PCIE5 energy provide ($119 for the black mannequin, although the white mannequin we have been despatched is not but obtainable within the US). I used these components, together with some others, to construct a principally white system. The practically cable-free system inside seems nice as soon as the system is constructed. And in some ways, having all of the connections on the again makes plugging issues in simpler. However shifting all of the cables on the again introduces its personal problems. Plus, having a board with a bunch of simply bent pins on the again makes it awkward to deal with till you get it within the case, and can doubtless change the order of the steps you are taking to construct a PC. As you would possibly count on given that is nonetheless basically a first-generation product, there’s loads of room for refinement.
B650M Undertaking Zero Motherboard
The B650M Undertaking Zero is a Micro ATX motherboard that is slathered in steel heatsinks and shrouds. The 4 DDR5 RAM slots, the CPU socket, and the x1 and x16 PCIe slots are accessible, however to get to the 2 PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, you will want a screwdriver to take away the plate that homes the Undertaking Zero lettering.
On the again aspect is the place you will discover each different connector on the board, distributed round three of the 4 outer edges. I did not have any main points with the connector areas. However having a bunch of uncovered fan, header, and RGB pins meant I principally did not really feel snug putting the board on a desk or anti-static bag with its bottom down.
And I undoubtedly would not really feel snug putting in the CPU, RAM, or cooler (which entails pushing down on the board with some drive) with out this motherboard put in within the case for worry of bending or breaking pins. So in the event you’re within the behavior of doing that when constructing a system, count on that order to vary.
The one factor I might doubtlessly take into account doing earlier than putting in one in every of these boards within the case is putting in the SSD first. However on this board, that includes loosening two screws and eradicating a big steel plate, so it’s possible you’ll need to do that after placing the board within the case.
That is what I did, however principally as a result of I forgot concerning the SSD particularly as a result of the plate with the Undertaking Zero brand hid the drive slots so effectively.
The MSI Pano M100R PZ Case
One of many greatest points with any of those backside-oriented motherboards goes to be the restricted variety of instances that they are going to work with, at the very least for now. As a result of a case must have a lot of further cutouts on the motherboard tray for ports, no commonplace case will work. You will want a case particularly designed for these boards, and the Pano M100R PZ (Undertaking Zero) case that MSI despatched our method is the primary standalone retail case we have seen.
As its identify implies, the Pano is a Micro ATX / Mini ITX case with three glass sides so you will get a panoramic view of your Undertaking Zero inside in all of its cable-free (or practically, extra on that quickly) inside. The case is paying homage to the Hyte Y60, with a bit extra of an aggressive look due to a entrance glass face that bulges out at an angle, reasonably than a straight 90 levels.
The Pano additionally comes with 4 RGB followers, three in entrance of the motherboard space for consumption and one on the again for exhaust. None of those glass-happy instances are going to be the perfect by way of airflow, however the inclusion of three consumption followers is a pleasant contact, particularly given the case’s $110 value. There’s additionally an included fan and RGB hub behind the motherboard that allows you to management the lighting by way of a button on the entrance / aspect ports.On the foot of the case, you will discover the same old couple of USB ports and an audio jack.
So Many Cables, however So Simple to Disguise
A lot of the construct course of with the Undertaking Zero board and Pano case, like putting in the core parts, felt just about like another construct. Putting in MSI’s 240mm AIO cooler was made simpler by the truth that the highest of the case slides off after you loosen two thumb screws.
It would be best to be further cautious to not bend any pins when putting the motherboard into the case. However as long as you get the board near the case’s pre-installed standoffs, board set up also needs to really feel fairly acquainted in the event you’ve constructed any desktop earlier than. All of the rear connectors will simply slot into their cutouts on the case.
Once I received the board put in and took a have a look at the bottom, I used to be frightened at first that I might have an issue putting in the cooler.
Nevertheless it turns on the market’s a detachable panel that serves as a mount for 2 2.5-inch drives or a single 3.5-inch drive. Additionally, the AIO mounting mechanism for the board’s AM5 socket would not require including a backplate anyway.
With the 4 RGB followers pre-wired to the interior hub, although, there are a variety of cables right here even earlier than you begin including the rest. And the cable muddle rapidly begins to really feel prefer it’s uncontrolled when you begin plugging every thing into the again of the board.
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Plugging just about each single cable save for GPU energy into the again of the motherboard is, maybe unsurprisingly, the strangest a part of constructing with this board and case. It saves a good bit of effort and time not having to feed issues by holes from one aspect to the opposite, however the again of the board rapidly turns into very busy with cables snaking in all places. However the Pano case has three pre-installed cable straps which you can fairly simply jam many of the wires into to maintain them below management. And at the very least with the R850GL energy provide, there may be sufficient room to shove what quantities to a variety of energy provide cable slack in entrance of the PSU. In the event you have been putting in a big energy provide, this would possibly change into a difficulty. After a couple of minutes of hasty bunching, stuffing, and wrapping, what appeared like a nightmare of cable muddle was at the very least moderately below management. There have been nonetheless a few ache factors, although.
The case’s USB 3.0 connector, seen on the backside of the picture above, is neatly angled, so its stiff cable would not get in the way in which of closing the aspect panel. However for some cause (most likely to do with energy), MSI did not do the identical with the USB 3.2 entrance panel connector, which sits above the three.0 connector. It protrudes straight out from the again of the board sufficient that, whereas it would not hold the aspect panel from closing, the plugged-in cable makes for a bulge within the aspect panel when the case is closed. And it additionally means the aspect panel presses up towards the cable for that 3.2 connector in a method that most likely is not nice. However an MSI rep informed me this was a design oversight that the corporate will rectify within the brief time period with a right-angle adapter, and by mid-2024 it ought to have the case’s cable changed with a right-angle connector.
Last Meeting and Ideas
For what quantities to a first-generation try by MSI, the Undertaking Zero motherboard and Pano M100R PZ get loads proper. All of the cutouts on the case are in the correct locations and enormous sufficient for the cables and headers that plug into them (which is greater than I can say for the Gigabyte Stealth system that launched in 2022). And the three-sided glass is right for exhibiting off that ultra-clean case inside.
That being stated, there may be loads of room for enhancements, each massive and small. As an example, the PCB of the motherboard is black, and one of many few cables you do must snake from the font of the case to the again comes off the AIO’s cooler plate. Since MSI shipped a white AIO cooler, that cable is white. This truly makes that cable far extra seen than if it have been black. I suppose if I have been constructing this method for my private rig, I might coloration it black with a marker.
The principle design challenge I had with the case was the vertical USB 3.2 connector, which makes the again of the case bulge a bit. Fortunately, it looks as if MSI has owned as much as that challenge and will likely be providing a free right-angle connector to consumers for just a few months, earlier than changing the cable with one with a local right-angle connector by the center of the 12 months.
Shorter energy provide cables, ideally additionally with right-angle connectors, would even be good to have for a motherboard like this. Firms might provide them as an additional for modular energy provides. Or if the entire rear connector factor actually takes off, maybe we’ll see energy provides and different parts particularly designed for builds like this.
Clearly, the need for at the very least some customized components is the most important hurdle for this complete connector- and cable-hiding endeavor, no matter it will definitely will get known as. Since you’ll want a case designed for these sorts of boards, and whereas MSI’s Pano M100R PZ is sweet sufficient, it is actually not going to enchantment to everybody. In the event you’re the kind of builder who needs to exit of their method and spend more money to get an ultra-clean case inside, you are most likely additionally going to have sturdy opinions on what the skin of your case seems like, as effectively.
It will likely be fascinating to see what different case makers convey to the desk – I count on to see at the very least just a few chassis designed for these sorts of boards at CES. However even with a pair dozen case choices, these selections are nonetheless going to pale compared to the a whole lot of extra conventional instances already obtainable. And motherboard choices are additionally more likely to stay at the very least considerably restricted, as effectively.
Who is aware of how mainstream this board structure will change into? But when there may be one factor that the recognition of the Hyte Y60 (and its many copycats) has taught me, to not point out the entire RGB explosion over the past decade, it is that there are tens of millions of PC builders who’re joyful to spend a lot of cash making the within of their instances extra eye-catching. And MSI’s Undertaking Zero undoubtedly accomplishes that.
