MSI's Project Zero Delivers a Stunning Cable-Free Look to More Gamers

PC building, especially for gamers, has continually evolved, and the process is now easier than ever, thanks to DIY initiatives such as tool-free installation and hardware designed with everyday gamers in mind. One of the more notable aspects of building a new rig that has gained massive traction and support lately is aesthetics. That is, the look, where a pleasing form matters, RGB lighting is plentiful, and cases with multiple glass panels are the go-to option.

However, as PC building has become more intuitive and DIY-friendly, some things haven't changed much over time. Namely, the sheer number of cables running from a power supply to a motherboard, graphics card, expanded storage, and even cooling. This is why the introduction of new back-connect motherboards and compatible cases has been fantastic to see, especially when considering a case that offers panoramic views. Back-connect motherboards place all power-related and fan connections on the underside of the board, out of view, to achieve a cable-free look.

For MSI, its hidden-cable lineup, which now includes a GPU, falls under the company's Project Zero (PZ) branding. We got to experience this first-hand recently, with the new GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VENTUS 3X PZ OC graphics card, which cleverly moves the power connector to the underside of its removable magnetic backplate.

In addition to our in-depth review of the GPU's physical design, gaming, and cooling performance, we also had the opportunity to build a full MSI Project Zero Gaming PC with a PZ-branded all-white MSI case and an AMD AM5 motherboard. And after throwing in a spare high-end Ryzen 7000 Series CPU we had lying around, some Corsair DDR5 memory, an appropriately white Corsair PSU, and a couple of SSDs from Kingston and Seagate, we put it to the test playing Capcom's brilliant path-tracing combo - Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata - in 4K.

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Now, if you've seen the images above, unless you've got an aversion to white PC components, there's no denying it's a looker. In fact, as my first hidden-cable-style build, it's hard to see it as anything but the future of PC building. And best of all, everything from the case to the motherboard falls under MSI's more affordable MAG or MSI Arsenal Gaming label, so it's not something limited to enthusiast-grade or premium-only hardware.

Installing MSI's Project Zero Motherboard in the MAG PANO Case is as Simple and Easy as it Gets

MSI's B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is one of the company's more affordable mid-range AMD AM5 motherboards, with integrated Wi-Fi 7, 5G LAN, and PCIe Gen5 SSD support. Although it lacks some of the expanded USB connectivity of X870 boards, it's still an impressively built and stylish offering with a 12+2+1 Duet Rail Power System, a reinforced PCB, components built from server-grade materials, and EZ DIY features to make the build process easy. Naturally, as a PZ motherboard with a back-connect design, all power, fan, ARGB, SATA, audio, front-panel USB, and other connections are on the underside - giving the front main view of the board an impressively clean look. One that's also stylish, with MSI's dragon logo and blue and silver flourishes that add to the all-white look.

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Pairing this motherboard with the affordable, white MAG PANO 130R PZ case from MSI is definitely an exercise in simplifying and speeding up the build process. With removable side and rear panels that securely clip on, it also comes pre-installed with four ARGB fans covering three reversible intake fans and a single rear exhaust. With a front and side tempered glass panel, you'd think that putting together a new gaming PC would be a little more challenging, but that's not the, well, case here.

This is mostly thanks to the Project Zero back-connect design, which makes it incredibly easy to connect cables from the power supply to the motherboard. And with all connections clearly labeled with text on the B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ, connecting everything from the front panel USB to dedicated 8-pin PCIe CPU power cables is a breeze. And when it comes to the MAG PANO 130R PZ's fans, they're all daisy-chained, so there's only a single pair of fans and ARGB cables that you need to connect to the motherboard.

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Having all the connections on one side not only simplifies the build process but also makes cable management much easier, too. That said, with all connections now on the underside, you're looking at a big old sea of cables once everything's all connected.

Yeah, that's a lot of cables.

MSI's GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X PZ OC and MAG CORELIQUID I360 Complete the Picture

As this build started with the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X PZ OC, getting to install it on a Project Zero motherboard inside a Project Zero case was very cool, because it's just, well, awesome to see a graphics card without any visible power cables attached.

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The PZ solution here is a little different: by moving the power connector to the underside of the removable backplate, you've still got a GPU compatible with a wide range of systems - so the GPU isn't exclusive to the PZ lineup or third-party back-connect compatible hardware.

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Rounding out the design, that is for the components you see, there's the MAG CORELIQUID I360 all-in-one liquid cooler that features a stylish infinite mirror design on the pump and a large 360mm radiator with three ARGB fans. Installing this is pretty straightforward if you've handled an AIO before; however, you do need to apply the thermal paste/grease yourself.

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Now, since AIO coolers have tubing running from the radiator to the pump, this is one aspect of the Project Zero or hidden-cable build that has visible "cables." Not that you'd consider tubes carrying liquid to be a cable, but installing the MAG CORELIQUID I360 did make me wonder whether it's possible to design and build a hidden-tube Project Zero cooler.

4K Gaming on the Project Zero Build

Even when it comes to a simple build like this, that first moment you press the power button once everything's installed is still one that's backed up by a heavy dose of anxiety. Thankfully, that dissipated almost instantly as everything lit up with that default rainbow RGB look that's, well, not great. After enabling memory overclocking and even a one-click CPU overclock in MSI's redesigned, DIY-friendly BIOS interface, the next step was installing Windows and then firing up MSI Center to change the lighting to a more pleasing, less in-your-face single color - that and updating drivers.

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Now, for an in-depth breakdown of the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X PZ OC's performance relative to the GeForce RTX 50 Series, the previous generation's RTX 4070 Ti, and the Radeon RX 900 Series, be sure to check out our full review of the card. Instead of running through a bunch of benchmarks for this Project Zero build, we opted to run a couple of stress tests to check the thermal performance of the hardware and case, and then do that thing you should do with a gaming PC like this - play games.

Now, as good as a build might look with glass panels and lighting fans, if there's an issue with airflow or cooling, having components that run hotter than expected is not ideal. Or, acceptable really. Running the intensive 3DMark Steel Nomad 4K gaming synthetic Stress Test, which covers 20 runs, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X PZ OC's GPU temperature stabilized at 65 degrees Celsius, with a CPU Stress Test pushing the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series CPU into the 75-degree region, which is common or normal for that generation. And with the thermal performance checked and cooling noise levels remaining relatively low, it was time to game.

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Built on Capcom's proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil Requiem and the sci-fi action game Pragmata both feature stunning path-tracing modes that elevate in-game visuals with realistic cinematic lighting, enhancing the immersive experience. And the tense horror, in the case of Resident Evil. With DLSS 4 Super Resolution, Multi Frame Generation, and Reflex, both titles are playable on the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti in 4K. Both titles reach close to 100 FPS in Frame Generation 2X mode, increasing to 170+ FPS in 4X mode. Playing in both modes with a controller, the controls are responsive thanks to Reflex, and with DLSS 4, image quality is not only impressive but also remarkably crisp and detailed thanks to DLSS Ray Reconstruction.

Aside from performance and the immersive path-traced visuals, both titles deliver fantastic and memorable single-player experiences and are potential game-of-the-year contenders. And when paired with this Project Zero build, it's definitely a reminder that PC gaming has come a long way, and that you can build an impressive, forward-thinking rig without breaking the bank. As the GPU here is far and away the most expensive component, you'd be able to get similarly impressive 1440p performance with the all-white version of the MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16G VENTUS 2X OC PLUS we recently reviewed.

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In the meantime, if you're thinking about putting together a hidden-cable back-connect-style build, consider this a big thumbs-up approval.