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- Date:
- Wednesday, August 11, 2010
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Share:
MSI Big Bang XPower Motherboard Review
The XPower is the newest member of the MSI Big Bang series of products, touting support for the latest generation of Intel processors as well as SATA 6G and USB 3.0 devices. With the amount of quality and features MSI poured in to this board, the XPower is almost assured to be a winner.
Introduction
MSI is ranked among the top computer component manufacturers in the world, with its products squarely aimed at pushing the limits of the performance envelope. Since its inception, MSI has embraced the enthusiast market, striving to deliver the fastest products on the planet through the use of product design innovation and technological prowess. The Big Bang product series takes this to a whole new level, with these components designed to cater to the performance needs and abuse that the enthusiast crowd tends to unleash on its hardware. The latest motherboard in this line looks to follow this trend very well, with a list of features that is sure to please even the most hardcore users.
The MSI Big Bang XPower motherboard was designed using the Intel X58 Northbridge and ICH10R Southbridge chipsets. This chipset duo allows the board to support the following technologies: the Intel LGA1366 Core i7 processor line, DDR3 memory operating in Triple Channel memory mode up to 1333MHz officially, and either NVIDIA SLI or ATI CrossFireX graphics mode using matched video cards. MSI integrated support for the following devices in to the XPower: 6 SATA II ports on the Intel ICH10R controller (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 capable); 2 SATA 6G ports on the Marvell controller (RAID 0, 1 capable); 2 eSATA ports on the JMicron JMB362 controller; 10 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 hybrid USB 2.0 / 3.0 capable ports in the rear panel; 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header supporting 1 port each); 2 Realtek GigE Ethernet ports in the rear panel; Realtek 8-channel HD audio codec with integrated S/PDIF optical and RCA component output ports; integrated power, system reset, CMOS reset, green power and OC Genie overclocking buttons; integrated 2-digit LED diagnostic display; the V-Check Point header block; integrated OC Dashboard port in the rear panel; and PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports in the rear panel.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
Packaging
For the XPower's box, MSI went with a stylized explosion effect on the front cover, with the board name and supported technologies clearly marked on the front panel as well. MSI chose to include the following accessories in with the XPower motherboard: IDE and locking SATA drive and power cables; the rear panel shield; ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI connectors; OC Dashboard device and connect cables; a USB 2.0 and powered e-SATA rear panel brackets; the motherboard header connectors; V-Check cables; the QuantumWave Audio card device; and the normal complement of manuals and drivers discs. The motherboard header connectors allow for an easy interface for connecting in to the motherboard headers. You simply plug in your front panel jumpers in to the white connector and the USB 2.0 jumpers in to the blue connector block, and then plug both blocks in to the motherboard headers. It makes for a much easier install for those typically hard to reach header areas. The OC Dashboard device allows for information monitoring and performance setting adjustment via a palm sized module, connecting to the board using a proprietary header cable or the included USB cable. The V-Check cables connect to the V-Check Point header block on the board for using a multi-meter type device to check board voltages directly.
Board Layout
The XPower motherboard has a clean and uncluttered design, with a lot of thought put in to the board's component layout and cooling loop structure. One oddity was the lack of connection between the Southbridge cooler and the CPU component heat pipe cooler. The board version is silk-screened to the surface, in between the secondary and tertiary PCI-Express x16 video card slots. The board shown and used for testing was a model 1.1 revision. As seen with other high end boards from MSI, the XPower's power circuitry is a mix of high quality polymer solid-electrolyte capacitors with military class highly conductive polymerized capacitors (Hi-c CAPs) and ferrite core chokes which allow for cleaner and cooler running power even under the most demanding circumstances.
The CPU socket area is clear of any space debilitating components, with the power component circuitry being of a low profile design. To fasten the cooler to the CPU surface, MSI used the standard LGA1366 mounting mechanism. The more critical power components, as well as the Northbridge chipset, are covered by large heat sinks, interconnected by a heat pipe cooling system. The Northbridge chipset itself is located to the left of the socket, with a 6-pin ATX12V power connector located just above it. Note that this power connector is used to increase the amount of power provided to the seated video cards, with its use recommended when using 2 or more video cards in the system. To the upper right of the CPU socket are 2 8-pin ATX12V power connectors, which act in tandem to provide power to the CPU, and the SYSFAN3 and CPUFAN headers.
The DDR3 memory slots are located below the CPU socket, arranged in a 6-by-1 configuration. Note that the black colored slots are the primary memory slots, with Triple Channel memory mode activated with matching modules placed in like colored slots. Directly below the memory slots is the 24-pin ATX power connector. The CPU power phase LED bank is located in the lower right corner of the board, with the 16 LEDs illuminated as the CPU utilizes more power.
The Intel ICH10R Southbridge chipset is located below PCI-Express x16 slots 3 and 4, covered by a massive low profile heat sink. Note that the Southbridge cooler is independent of the CPU and Northbridge heat pipe cooling solution. The onboard SATA ports are located just below the Southbridge heat sink, with the black colored SATA 2 ports controlled by the Intel ICH10R controller and the white colored SATA 6G ports controlled by the Marvell controller. The V-Check Point header block, located to the left of the SATA ports, can be used in conjunction with the V-Check cables to directly check board voltages using a multi-meter type device. The front panel headers and SYSFAN2 headers, the 2-digit diagnostic LED and the Over-Voltage switch are located to the lower left of the Southbridge. The Over-Voltage switch increases BIOS voltage limits for the CPU, QPI, Memory, and Northbridge chipset voltage when enabled. Just above the Over-Voltage switch are the onboard USB 2.0 headers. The CMOS battery is located just above the Southbridge chipset heat sink.
MSI integrated a total of 7 ports in to the XPower's design: 6 PCI-Express x16 style slots, and 1 PCI-Express x1 slot. Note that PCI-Express slots 1 and 4 are the only true x16 capable slots, with PCI-Express x16 slots 3 and 5 being 8x capable slots, and PCI-Express x16 slots 2 and 6 being x4 capable slots. Along the outer edge of PCI-Express x16 slot 6 are the OC Genie and touch sensitive power, reset and base clock increase/decrease buttons, as well as the trusted module port, IEEE 1394, SYSFAN1 and SYSFAN4 headers. Note that all touch sensitive silk-screened buttons have associated LEDs that illuminate when the button has been activated. The OC Genie button is used to activate the BIOS controlled OC Genie overclocking mechanism. You simply push the button to enable the OC Genie with the system power off and power up the system. The base clock increase and decrease buttons allow for real-time modification of the system base clock setting in 0.5 increments.
MSI chose to include the following ports in the XPower's rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; integrated CMOS reset button; an OC Dashboard device port; 5 USB 2.0 ports (black colored ports); 2 hybrid USB 3.0/2.0 ports (blue colored ports); 1 hybrid eSATA/USB 2.0 port; 1 eSATA port; 1 IEEE 1394 port; and 2 Realtek GigE Ethernet ports. Note that the audio ports, including the S/PDIF optical and RCA component output ports, are integrated in to the included audio riser card.