![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, August 11, 2010
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
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.
MSI Utilities and Devices
MSI Control Center
MSI included their Control Center application on the included driver DVD, used for Windows based board monitoring and overclocking with version 1.0.163 shown. The application itself is divided in to 3 sections, System Information, Overclocking, and Green Power. The System Information section displays read-only statics concerning the onboard devices across 3 tabs, labeled Motherboard, CPU, and Memory.
The Overclocking section allows for use of preset overclocking profiles or manual selection of settings. The BIOS controlled overclocking functionality is controlled by a series of buttons across the top of the screen of the Basic tab, with the settings tied to each of the default profiles shown when the button associated to the profile is selected. The OverClock/OverVoltage section also allows for direct user manipulation of the board’s base clock speed, which affects both the CPU and memory speeds, and several of the board device voltages. You have the option of creating and using custom profiles through the Save and Load buttons, located in the screen’s lower right corner.
The Green Power area is divided into Basic and Advanced sections. The Basic section shows stats on the current board power usage, with a series of profile presets shown across the top of the window. The Advance section is divided in to 2 areas, Mainboard and LED. The Mainboard screen allows for direct control of subsystem power phase usage and fan speeds, with the ability to load and save user profiles. The LED screen shows the location of CPU power phase LEDs on the board, providing the capability to enable or disable this functionality. The MOSFET Temp screen displays real time temperature statistics for the board's power MOSFETs.
OC Dashboard
The OC Dashboard device displays system initialization information when connected to the board on system startup. The information shows as both a plain English description as well as the specific POST code.
Once the system has initialized, the OC Dashboard device can be used for a variety of purposes, with the various operational modes accessed by clicking on the Mode, + or - buttons. One mode of operation is for display of board device statistics, such as CPU temperature, fan speed, voltage, etc.
The setup mode is used to configure internal device settings, such as the default logo display and screen saver and standby timers for the device itself.
The Direct OC mode is used to modify the board base clock setting. The current base clock setting is displayed, and can be changed real time using the + and - buttons on the device.
The Voltage Adjust Mode is used to change board voltages, including the CPU voltage, the CPU QPI voltage, the Intel X58 Northbridge chipset voltage, and the memory voltage. Similar in nature to the frequency adjustment screen, the current voltage setting is shown and can be modified real time using the + and - buttons on the device.