To start this review off let’s first
take a look at the Intel Z68 Chipset and what it has to offer. This
chipset is essentially just a reworking of their previous P67 Chipset
and doesn’t really have too many new features to offer. This chipset’s
primary improvement over the previous chipset is that it offers support
for Intel’s second generation of Core processors. This means that this
board has the 1155 socket as opposed to the older 1156 socket and this
socket isn’t backwards compatible with 1156 socket processors.
Another feature that Intel added to this
chipset is their Smart Response Technology. This is an amazing feature
that allows the user to install a small SSD; of no more than 60 gigs in
size, and pair it with a large mechanical hard drive. By doing this in
conjunction with this feature the user will be able to achieve nearly
the access speeds of a stand-alone SSD. This technology essentially will
allow the SSD to act as a smart caching drive that will remember which
programs and files that you access the most. It will then load the
caching information onto the SSD for improved performance.
This new chipset also features Intel’s
embedded graphics technology. This is great for those that don’t require
the power of a discrete graphics card, but still want most of the
features that a discrete graphics card is able to provide. Intel’s Sandy
Bridge processors are built with embedded graphics that enable full HD
support. This is also a cost saving and energy saving feature that many
will find very useful particularly for business applications. Intel’s
development and implementation of this technology shows that Intel
understands the changing dynamics of the current market and that they
are ready to meet those demands.
Now that we’ve had a look at the
features of the Z68 chipset, let’s see how MSI has improved upon these
features and what else they’ve offered to sweeten the pot. One of the
first things that you’ll notice when you take it out of the box is the
how nicely laid out the board is and the black and blue color scheme
that should look good in almost any build.
This board features MSI’s Military Class
II technology and it comes with a certificate that certifies the
military class components on the board. With this technology and
certification you’re guaranteed that this board is built with only the
highest quality of components and that it’s built to last. This is great
for those that are really planning to use this board to push their
hardware because this means that it should stand up to the punishment of
overclocking.
MSI’s OC Genie is an overclocking
solution that allows for the user to get a quick boost in performance
with the touch of a button. It uses an embedded solution to adjust CPU
clock speeds and voltages based on the installed hardware. This will
essentially simplify your overclocking process and give you a good base
to start from if you plan to push your system manually. Each experience
with this technology is going to be different, but as I stated it will
give you a good base to work from if you plan to push your system even
further.
Another feature of this board is the
inclusion of onboard Power, Reset and OC Genie switches. These are great
for the overclocker and enthusiast. These will allow for testing and
tweaking without having to fully install it in a case. For those of us
that use a test bench this is really nice because it means that you
don’t to worry about hooking the board up to any Power or Reset switches
in order to run it. This shows MSI’s dedication to providing features
that their customers are going to be most interested in actually using.
On the rear I/O there you’ll find that
it’s got just about everything that you could possibly need. There’s a
mouse and keyboard combo port with an S/PDIF out above it. There’s a
conveniently located Clear CMOS button that’s located next to an eSATA
port, two USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port. Next to theses are two
gigabit LAN ports along with two USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports.
Next to these is where you’ll find the DVI and HDMI ports for using the
embedded processor graphics and lastly the analog audio ports for 7.1
THX TruStudio Pro audio support. This should provide ample connectivity
for all of your peripherals and devices.
As I just mentioned this board features
THX TruStudio Pro audio. This is one of the best sounding integrated
audio solutions that we’ve heard. It provides exceptionally crisp and
clear audio that makes movies, games and music sound awesome. I’ve
really been impressed lately how good the integrated audio solutions are
being implemented. This board is no exception and is one of the best
we’ve had so far. It does take a little bit of tweaking to adjust it to
your particular liking, but with high-quality speakers and the right
acoustics this is an amazing audio solution. By providing such an
outstanding integrated solution many will find that it won’t be
necessary at all to add a dedicated audio card. This will help to reduce
the cost of upgrading and provide a great value to the consumer.
This board also features support for
multi-graphics technology with either AMD’s Crossfire X or nVidia’s SLI
technology. This board also includes support for Lucid Hydra Technology
as well. This is awesome because it will allow for multi-graphics
support with mixed cards. This technology has had mixed performance due
to driver and hardware limitations. What this technology does is it
bypasses the vendor’s limiting parameters and intelligently splits the
frame rendering between the different GPUs. This has the potential to be
a very cost and time saving feature because it will reduce the need to
go with one vendor over another depending on the discrete graphics card
that you already own. There is also a great upgrade path with the
inclusion of PCI e 3.0 technology which will be used by later graphics
cards.
An amazing feature that MSI has included
on this board is the integration of voltage checkpoints to allow the
use of a multi-meter to monitor the voltages of the various ports and
CPU socket. For an overclocker and extreme-enthusiast this is an
extremely useful feature. This will enable the user to carefully monitor
all of their voltages in real-time with the use of a multi-meter. For
LN2 runs and extreme water cooling this will greatly reduce the
possibility of frying or damaging the motherboard or a component. It
will require that the user carefully monitor their voltages as they
increase their clock speeds and component voltages. This is a feature
that isn’t seen very often and it’s just another sign that MSI built
this motherboard to be pushed to its limits.
This board currently retails for about
230 dollars. At this price this board falls into the upper echelon of
the Z68 motherboards that are currently available. Given the amazing
features of this board this price is understandable but it’s still going
to need to perform at or near the top in order to fully justify its
price.
Our testing put this board through the
full gamut of our benchmarks and we stressed this board pretty well. To
be honest it really surprised us. At the price that MSI is offering it
at it shouldn’t have performed as well as it did. It gave us performance
scores that were nearly as good as Gigabyte’s G1 Sniper 2. That board
retails for over 100 dollars more! This means that not only are you
getting all of MSI’s great features but you’re also getting one heck of a
motherboard. Our benchmarks speak for themselves and the story that
they’re telling means that this is the go-to board for the Z68 chipset.
We were all very surprised and impressed
with the performance of this motherboard. It posted amazing scores and
it retails for a great price. MSI have really outdone themselves with
this one. They hit a home run and demonstrated that they want to be the
premier motherboard vendor. From the overclocking enthusiast to the
casual gamer, there really isn’t anything about this board that’s going
to be a hassle. MSI’s UEFI BIOS is also very easy to navigate and offers
great support for a USB mouse and keyboard.
For those that aren’t quite ready to
make the plunge into Intel’s X79 chipset and they haven’t been too
impressed with AMD’s offerings; this board represents and incredible
value that shouldn’t be overlooked. MSI has even simplified the upgrade
process by including Lucid Hydra technology for your graphics solution.
Given the way prices on these boards have dropped since the X79 boards
hit the market, I wouldn’t imagine that they’re going to get that much
cheaper. You might be able to find some great bundle deals on this board
if you look around. MSI have already priced this board to move and at
its current price you really shouldn’t look anywhere else for a Z68.
source:www.motherboards.org
