Intel Z77 Motherboard Review with Ivy Bridge - ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI
by Ian Cutress on May 7, 2012 7:40 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- MSI
- Gigabyte
- ASRock
- Asus
- Ivy Bridge
- Z77
MSI Z77A-GD65 - In The Box
The MSI Z77A-GD65 is currently available for $190, just north of the Gigabyte board. With this in mind, we also get a few more extras in the box than the Gigabyte:
IO Shield
Driver CD
User Manual
Certification of Military Class testing (FWIW)
Four SATA cables
Flexi-SLI bridge
M-Connectors (to help front panel connections)
V-Check cables (to help with voltage read points)
Voltage Readings
Using OCCT we monitor the voltage change of the motherboard under load. This represents the direct correlation between the Load Line Calibration and how the processor/motherboard deals with voltage requests while under load. This is not to be confused with the quality of power delivery, but more an indication of how aggressive the default LLC settings are on a motherboard.
Similarly to the ASUS board in this review, the MSI has minor variations in the CPU voltage. Worthy of note though is the lower VCore used by the MSI board compared to the other boards in this review while at load, suggesting more aggressive LLC settings.
Overclocking
Note: Ivy Bridge does not overclock like Sandy Bridge. For a detailed report on the effect of voltage on Ivy Bridge (and thus temperatures and power draw), please read Undervolting and Overclocking on Ivy Bridge.
Overclocking options on the MSI Z77A-GD65 are relatively straightforward. With the OC Genie button on board, give it a press and it lights up, causing the next boot to initialize a series of predefined settings for an overclock. Manual overclocks can be done by the Click BIOS software in the operating system, or by adjusting the BIOS directly.
Automatic Overclocking: After pressing the OC Genie button, it essentially seemed to enable the Enhanced Turbo option in the BIOS. The system booted without issue, and I was greeted with a 39x multiplier under all loads, showing 1.080 volts and 65ºC with PovRay. This is a rather disappointing automatic overclock. This is also indicative of issues relating to one button overclocks - the manufacturer is supplying a series of presets that has to work on every processor out of the factory. It is perhaps time that MSI introduces their own stress-testing overclock into the mix to get a better result.
Manual Overclock: Given the previous overclocking results achieved, with the MSI board we jumped straight in with 1.2 volts, with PLL Overvoltage enabled just for good measure. At this voltage, 46x multiplier was the highest multiplier stable, giving 82ºC with PovRay and showing 1.184 volts at load. In order to get the 47x multiplier to work, it required 1.250 volts on the CPU, although this gave 90ºC during PovRay and 1.240 volts at load.
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ggathagan - Thursday, May 10, 2012 - link
Yeah, we got your rant the 1st time around and didn't care about it then, either.JSt0rm01 - Thursday, May 10, 2012 - link
If you don't have anything to add to the conversation then maybe you should stfu. Its a perfectly fine place to discuss the slowing release schedules of desktop hardware and I don't think you, as a random internet name, are in any position to say what others care or don't care about. You aren't special.-------------
Also, after being a member of the anandtech forums for 10 years I was permanently banned by the moderators there because they wanted to censor a website (ffdt.info) that had conversation that was critical of their moderation. I find that the free flow of all information on the internet is critical. For a tech website such as this to limit the flow of information is offensive the core of these beliefs and its all because certain people in positions of illusory power deem that information detrimental to their positions.
bji - Thursday, May 10, 2012 - link
I think he was referring to the 'signature' that you are putting after every post. You know, the stuff after the dashes. With all respect, if you are going to put that in every post you're going to have to expect some flak from people who don't like when others try to make a statement. Not saying that I have a problem with it, but there are people who get pissed off about every little thing ...JSt0rm01 - Thursday, May 10, 2012 - link
well then let him be pissed. Thats my sig and if he wants to see it less then he shouldnt be responding to me.-------------
Also, after being a member of the anandtech forums for 10 years I was permanently banned by the moderators there because they wanted to censor a website (ffdt.info) that had conversation that was critical of their moderation. I find that the free flow of all information on the internet is critical. For a tech website such as this to limit the flow of information is offensive the core of these beliefs and its all because certain people in positions of illusory power deem that information detrimental to their positions.
Paapaa125 - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
I don't understand why this site even accepts such a long sig. Stupid.smalM - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
Black connectors on black boards - I really hate it.Where are the boards for grown-ups?
TGressus - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
Not black enough if you ask me. Caps could be all Hi-c, silk screening ever single component should just stop, the branding could be black and UV reactive.Worst is all that silver metal that connects the chips/sockets. Black that!
embeddedbill - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
Thunderbolt is curiously missing, more than a year after the apple intro. Some compelling features if price and vendor support don't drive you mad. Time can solve both those problems, I'm just not sure how flexible the implementation will be in a Windows environment, i.e. hot plug of performance hardware, and discrete video card integration of its display port out with the TB pcie lanes.Scarce details exist which makes me wonder if this tech will eventually wind up as overpriced fringe apple only, read FireWire!
kenyee - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
Probably something a bit too bleeding edge for you guys, but Gigabyte has apparently figured out how to make it painless for setting up a Hackintosh w/ their UEFI BIOS:http://teksyndicate.com/news/2012/04/24/best-mothe...
Zoomer - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Hmm, that might be the reason for their weird phy choices.