LAS VEGAS—Desktop computer systems are filled with wires, full cease. That is not going to vary anytime quickly. However many devoted PC builders (to not point out boutique-PC construct outlets) are obsessive about—or make their dwelling at—clear cable routing and retaining the inside of a PC pin-neat. That is very true lately, when a clear case facet (or two, or three…) is customary concern for many fanatic desktops you see.Over the previous 12 months, one response to that drive for cable-cleanup aesthetics has been the “reverse connector” motherboard, of which MSI and Asus are in the present day’s two main proponents. These boards aren’t, feature-wise, all that totally different from their odd kin. The place they diverge: They’ve their cable sockets and header connectors—most every thing that will get a wire connected to it—on the board’s again as a substitute of its entrance. Paired up with specifically designed PC circumstances which have correctly aligned holes for the reverse-side connectors, these motherboards allow you to join all your cables behind the board and, due to this fact, out of sight.
(Credit score: John Burek)
Asus dubs its reverse-connector resolution Again to the Future (BTF), whereas MSI’s is Challenge Zero. I did a check construct of Challenge Zero within the run-up to 2024’s version of CES, and a colleague test-drove the Asus BTF ecosystem just a few months in the past in the identical manner. The options are related, and also you simply must match up a reverse-connector board with a case that helps that exact ecosystem to get going. (Some circumstances help each BTF and Challenge Zero.)
(Credit score: Mark Stetson)
MSI, although, is escalating the cable-quashing battle, a minimum of in prototype kind, with a brand new initiative it is calling Challenge Zero X. It follows the identical normal method as the unique, however it takes on the final cable frontier—the cables protruding of the rear fringe of your PC—and places them completely out of sight.90 Levels Off of ZeroMSI’s designer did all this by pivoting the entire idea 90 levels. The pondering: What if, in a typical tower PC, the broad right-side panel have been to be the brand new “again”? That might allow you to place a tower up in opposition to, say, a wall, with the case’s innards seen from three sides, as a substitute of only one or two.
(Credit score: John Burek)
This clearly presents some not-insignificant logistical challenges. The I/O space in your typical motherboard is on its rear edge, and that contains numerous ports. The Challenge Zero X pattern construct MSI was displaying off had repositioned your entire rear-panel I/O onto the broad proper facet of the case. Plus, the entire face of the motherboard, barring a cutout across the CPU socket, was encased in brushed-metal warmth shielding.
(Credit score: Mark Stetson)
Now, whether or not MSI has constructed a customized motherboard with all its exterior I/O on its rear floor, or was feeding the Zero X’s again panel by way of an elaborate set of cabling between the motherboard’s “odd” I/O space and the case’s customized one, MSI wasn’t telling. However a clue could possibly be that the three-fan GPU additionally had its DisplayPort and HDMI connectors again right here on the identical panel, which might counsel the presence of some cable extenders between the graphics card and the mobo and the I/O on the case’s rear panel.
(Credit score: John Burek)
You’ll be able to’t argue with the clear look, although. The one cable we noticed was a brief bend of GPU energy cable seen alongside the left edge, the place it tucked into the recesses of the case. As famous, the motherboard was lined by a set of board-wide heatsinks that masked the PCB, any figuring out marks, the surface-mounted M.2 SSDs, and the like.
(Credit score: Mark Stetson)
MSI wasn’t ready to say which desktop platform it had constructed this prototype on, however Challenge Zero X was fired up and lit up, although not linked to any exterior show for a real “proof of life” or test on its parts.The X Future Is UnclearAll that stated, that is an intriguing subsequent step within the effort to cover the wires inherent in any PC construct. MSI had no additional information on whether or not Challenge Zero X will ever make it to market as a industrial product. However I might not depend it out, or one thing prefer it. I used to be skeptical at first concerning the endurance of the unique BTF and Challenge Zero—however, hey, right here we’re with a small-but-healthy collection of {hardware} for each. And MSI has laid out a tough map of the place it may go from right here.
Get Our Finest Tales!
Join What’s New Now to get our prime tales delivered to your inbox each morning.
This article might comprise promoting, offers, or affiliate hyperlinks.
By clicking the button, you verify you might be 16+ and comply with our
Phrases of Use and
Privateness Coverage.
It’s possible you’ll unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About John Burek
Government Editor and PC Labs Director
I’ve been a know-how journalist for 30-plus years and have lined nearly each type of pc gear—from the 386SX to 64-core processors—in my lengthy tenure as an editor, a author, and an recommendation columnist. For nearly a quarter-century, I labored on the seminal, gigantic Laptop Shopper journal (and later, its digital counterpart), aka the cellphone e-book for PC patrons, and the nemesis of each postal supply individual. I used to be Laptop Shopper’s editor in chief for its ultimate 9 years, after which a lot of its digital content material was folded into PCMag.com. I additionally served, briefly, because the editor in chief of the well-known hard-core tech website Tom’s {Hardware}.Throughout that point, I’ve constructed and torn down sufficient desktop PCs to equip a metropolis block’s price of web cafes. Beneath race situations, I’ve constructed PCs from bare-board to bootup in underneath 5 minutes.In my early profession, I labored as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of “Dummies”-style pc guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I am a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York College’s journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Learn John’s full bio
Learn the newest from John Burek