Performance Summary

Performance is indistinguishable from other P55 motherboards - these things all perform about the same at stock speeds:

Application Performance - MultiTask Test - Total Time

Gaming Performance - H.A.W.X.

Since incorporating DrMOS technology into their performance oriented boards, MSI has generally provided class leading power consumption results. The results are not any different with the P55-GD65 compared other boards.

Idle Power Consumption - Static

Of course, one of the key questions that invariably comes up in regards to a board’s performance capability is just how well it overclocks.

Core i5/750 4GB Results -



Our only problem encountered during overclocking was the inability of the board to overclock 8GB of memory with our 8GB DDR3-2133 kit above 2000 with stability. For users looking for DDR3-2000+ performance with the i5/750, it will require a 4GB kit. However, we had absolutely no problems running our 8GB kit at DDR3-1684 with C7 timings. Performance was equal to C9 DDR3-2050 at lower VTT and VDimm settings in just about all applications and is our preferred setting.

Core i7/860 8GB Results-


We had no problems clocking our i7/860 to 4.3GHz with 8GB of memory.

If you want more details on the MSI P55-GD65, please continue on.

Index MSI P55-GD65 Feature Set
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  • yacoub - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    Did I miss the list of PSUs that OCGenie had conflicts with? That would be important and helpful data to have in the article and I couldn't find it.

    Also, this board could be a winner if it didn't have so many archaic parts, like IDE and floppy. Really, MSI, drop those already! Even though there's probably no actual downside to having those items on the board, it actually does make me think less of it and discourage me from considering it. That plus the PSU and BIOS issues keep this from being my first choice.

    Eagerly awaiting the other upcoming reviews. :)
  • michaelheath - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    On the first page, issues with Channel Well power supplies and OC Genie were mentioned as being a commonality between the GD65 and the GD80. What would be nice is if Gary would clue us in as to what particular models were giving him grief. Is it CWT's older designs? Is it newer DC-DC designed power supplies?

    The quagmire comes from the mention of Channel Well, Antec, BFG, and Corsair in the beginning of the article. Channel Well makes some Corsair power supplies, but BFG and Antec haven't used CWT recently for any of their power supplies.

    Perhaps someone could clear the air, because I was planning on buying a high efficiency power supply with an MSI P55 board in the near future.
  • yacoub - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    Right. In particular, I am curious if the modular Corsair PSUs, which are a personal favorite, are on the list. The HX520W and HX620W, for examples.
  • punjabiplaya - Monday, October 12, 2009 - link

    Using an HX620 with my gd65 right now. works perfectly fine.
  • michaelheath - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    ...and when I said "Antec" I meant "Thermaltake", which has used CWT for many of their ToughPower units. My bad.
  • punjabiplaya - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    I bought this board with a i5 750 and it's been rock solid. Noticeably quicker boot times than my old q6600/680i setup. The only problem I have is with the memory/XMP settings. I'm using a G-skill ddr3 2000 kit. When I set it to auto it shows the memory at being 1600MHz. When I reset and/or boot, it's set at 1333. However, if i set it to advanced or w/e the other setting is, it works and sets the memory at 2000MHz. Other than that, really good board and exceptional value for the price.
  • punjabiplaya - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    I bought this board with a i5 750 and it's been rock solid. Noticeably quicker boot times than my old q6600/680i setup. The only problem I have is with the memory/XMP settings. I'm using a G-skill ddr3 2000 kit. When I set it to auto it shows the memory at being 1600MHz. When I reset and/or boot, it's set at 1333. However, if i set it to advanced or w/e the other setting is, it works and sets the memory at 2000MHz. Other than that, really good board and exceptional value for the price.
  • goinginstyle - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    Just wanted to say that I really like the new way you are introducing the motherboard articles with the results and conclusions right up front. This article and the mATX were really good.
  • MadMan007 - Sunday, October 11, 2009 - link

    Yeah it keeps me from just jumping to the conclusion page then back to read the rest of the article if I want to. Well done.
  • jigglywiggly - Saturday, October 10, 2009 - link

    Where be the conclusion

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