MSI seems to have taken its zero-cable PC builds to the next level by eschewing typical component orientation and I/O port access. The company showed off a Project Zero X build at CES 2025 featuring a back-connect system inside a beautiful panoramic case.
First launched in 2023, Project Zero is a collection of MSI-made motherboards and cases that shift cables and connectors to the backside of a desktop PC. The goal is to make desktops look nicer by eliminating the clutter of cables and wires.
At its CES 2025 booth, MSI demoed several Project Zero PCs, including Project Zero X. It wasn’t obvious what components the desktop uses. Still, we can at least be sure the build uses an Intel CPU since the mount for the AIO liquid cooler is shaped for LGA1700 and LGA1851 boards. The graphics card appears to be MSI’s RTX 4080 Gaming X Trio White model.
The desktop showed no cables except for one running from the GPU to the back and another from the AIO cooler. Still, MSI may be able to solve that issue by adopting something similar to Corsair’s iCue Link technology.
However, those points are perhaps not nearly as interesting as MSI's positioning of its components inside the Project Zero X case. Usually, the I/O port side of motherboards and graphics cards are placed on the interior wall of a chassis to be accessed from the outside. However, in MSI’s Project Zero X build, the motherboard’s ports cannot be accessed even if they were in their usual spot because the GPU would obstruct them. The motherboard’s rear I/O is nowhere to be found on the board itself. Meanwhile, the graphics card’s video ports face the bottom of the case and are inaccessible from the outside.
Of course, desktops need those ports to be accessible, but MSI was able to eat its cake and have it too by adding a separate array of ports at the back of the PC. These ports include three Thunderbolt 4 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB 2.0 port, five gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7, and audio, which are all from the motherboard. From the GPU, MSI has three DisplayPort connections and two HDMI. A BIOS flashback and a CMOS reset button are also included.
MSI offered practically no details as to how it pulled this off, but since these are custom, Project Zero components, MSI probably had more options than normal. It seems that MSI literally moved the I/O ports from the motherboard to the back of the PC using a daughter board, which is what usually happens with front I/O. MSI may be using the same trick with the GPU, since it doesn’t appear that there’s any room for cable extenders.
While Project Zero X is now official, MSI hasn’t said when these components will come out. But since they’ve been demoed at CES, we’d hope for a launch date this year.
