Features:
- Active Phase Switching
- All Solid Capacitors
- True Blu-Ray audio
- Live Update Online
- Live Update 3
- M-Flash
- Easy OC Switch
- User Friendly
- Supports Intel Core i7 based processors in LGA1366 package
- Intel X58 Chipset
- Supports QPI up to 6.4GT/s
- Southbridge ICH10R Chipset
- VGA Booster
- NVIDIA SLI Supported
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| Part Number |
141-BL-E759 |
| Manufacturer |
EVGA |
| Chipset |
X58 |
| North Bridge |
Intel X58 |
| Socket |
LGA1366 Socket |
| Memory speed |
1600/1333/1066/800 DDR3 |
| Processor Types |
Core i7 |
| Number of CPUs |
1 |
| QPI |
Up to 6.4GT/second |
| Memory Type |
DDR3 |
| Memory Channels |
Triple |
| Maximum Memory |
24GB |
| External Graphics |
PCI Express x16 x4 |
| IGP |
N/A |
| South Bridge |
ICH10R |
| Audio |
8-channel |
| IDE |
133/100/66 |
| SCSI |
None |
| SATA |
3.0 GB/s |
| RAID |
0, 1, 0+1, 5, 10 |
| LAN |
10/100/1000 4 LAN Ports |
| Firewire |
IEEE 1394a |
| USB |
USB 2.0 |
| BIOS |
Phoenix Award |
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The X58M uses the X58 chipset for the Northbridge and the ICH10R chipset for the Southbridge. The X58 chipset is the only one to support Intel's Core i7 CPU and is the first Intel chipset to natively support NVIDIA's SLI Multi-GPU solution as well as ATI's Crossfire multi-GPU solution. The Front Side Bus has been replaced by the Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) which has a bandwidth of 6.4Gigatransfers/second.
MSI uses All Solid Capacitors which are designed to last longer than the traditional capacitors used in motherboards, up to 50000 hours of life. One of the big features of the Core i7 CPU is the ability to use phase switching to lower power requirements when the system is not under load. The X58M motherboard has Active Phase Switching which controls the power demand for the CPU, Memory and Chipset PWM. It saves power depending on the load (i.e. 3D gaming full load, browsing the Internet a lighter load) and uses power more efficiently compared to motherboards without this feature.
MSI includes an Easy OC switch which allows the end-user to overclock the Base Clock on a Core i7 CPU with the flip of a couple of switches. There are three settings for the Core i7 CPU: 133MHz (Default) 166MHz, and 200MHz. With the Core i7 you multiply the Base clock by the multiplier to get the clock speed instead of the FSB. On a Core i7 920 for example the multiplier is 20 so you would get a clock speed of 2.66GHz with a 133MHz BCLK or 3.33GHz via 166MHz and 4GHz via 200MHz. MSI calls their board User Friendly due to the Power button onboard allowing out of the chassis boot and stacked SATA ports.
MSI Live Update Online and Live Update 3 are driver and BIOS update utilities. Live Update online automatically downloads and updates the BIOS and driver when a new version is available online. It reduces the risk of getting the wrong file and minimizes the searching for drivers most users have to go through. Live Update 3 automatically checks BIOS, driver and utility updates and installs them for you saving time essentially doing the same thing. MFLASH allows the end-user to update the BIOS from a USB Flash drive. Even if the BIOS crashes you can still boot from a USB Flash drive if needed, giving extra security on the possibility of a bad BIOS Flash.
Layout:
8-pin power
CPU socket
CPU Socket area
Rear of PCB
The X58M is a micro-ATX form factor case able to fit in most cases of that size and full ATX cases as well. MSI decided to offer a full range of expansion options on the motherboard, making it unusual in that regard. Starting from the upper left hand corner we find the 8-pin power connector in the usual position, under the I/O area of the board.
Southbridge
Northbridge
Capacitors
DIMM slots
The CPU area is notable in that it is completely free of obstacles. The Socket LGA-1366 interface is larger than the LGA-775 interface it replaces requiring a larger footprint on the cooler. The Northbridge is covered by a small silver heatsink. The Southbridge is covered by an even smaller heatsink with the MSI logo on it. The X58 chipset is manufactured on the 65nm process, meaning it should generate little heat.
Fintek
Via chip
JMB363 JMicron chip
More capacitors
MSI outfits this board with six DIMMS (Dual Inline Memory Modules) which is unusual for a micro-ATX motherboard but not unusual for an X58 motherboard. The Core i7 CPU supports Triple-Channel memory in configurations up to 24GB of unbuffered DDR3 memory clocked up to 1333MHz when overclocked and 1066MHz maximum by default. In a change from the Core 2 CPU, the memory controller is on the CPU.
MSI says the onboard audio is capable of True Blu-Ray audio. The Realtek ALC888S CODEC supports loss-less content protection technology with full-rate audio enjoyment from Blu-Ray Discs. It supports 24-bit/192KHz sample rates with high quality digital decoders and speakers and supports 7.1 channel playbacks with 2 channel independent stereo sound output (multi-streaming) through the front panel stereo outputs.
Expansion
PCIE lock
24-pin power
Sysfan 1 and 3
Every Micro-ATX motherboard I've seen on the X58 chipset has two PCI Express x16 slots. One of the big differentiators between the previous X48 and the X58 chipset is the ability to run two NVIDIA video cards in SLI or two ATI cards in Crossfire without a bridge chip. MSI has two PCI Express x16 slots, a PCI Express x4 slot in the middle and a PCI slot for expansion options. Each PCI Express x16 slot has a tab lock which easily removes the video card and holds it in place.
IDE and FDD
MOSFETs and Capacitors
MOSFETs and Capacitors
Power button and EZ OC
The bottom right of the board has a 24-pin power connector. To the left of that is the IDE and FDD connectors, legacy support provided by a JMB363 chip on the board. Two fan connectors are next of the 3-pin variety. The board sports six sideways facing SATA ports, which allows unimpeded installation of long video cards like the GeForce GTX 295 or Radeon HD 4870 x2. A seventh SATA port is also present in the traditional facing.
The JTPM connector is to the left of the seventh SATA port and the FP I/O connection is the left of that connection. If you look closely you can see the label for the FP connections including the HDD, RST, PWSW and LED. There are three USB headers allowing the board to sport up to 12 USB 2.0 ports if brackets with those ports are installed on the system. The JCOM1 header, the Easy OC Switch, the Power button, the Firewire header, the speaker jumper, the CD-In and audio jumpers round out the left side of the board in that order.
COM1+USB
USB
Rear area
I/O
MSI went the extra mile on the rear I/O area as well. There is a PS/2 Mouse and a PS/2 Keyboard port if you want to use those legacy devices. Most modern computer users will have a USB Mouse and Keyboard or Wireless versions of those devices and won't need these ports. Six USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port, the RJ-45 jack for the onboard Gigabit LAN, an external SATA port and six audio jacks for the onboard sound rounds out the I/O on the X58M. MSI really includes a lot on a Micro-ATX sized motherboard and it's good to see.
Audio driver
Bundle:
- MSI X58M Motherboard
- 4 SATA Data cables
- 2 SATA Power cables
- 1 Crossfire bridge
- M-Connect
- IDE Cable
- I Quick Install Guide
- MSI User Guide HDD Backup User's Guide
- User Guide X58M Motherboard
- MSI Drivers and Utilities DVD-ROM
- MSI Extras CD-ROM
Box front
Box rear
Box open
Bundle
MSI bundles their motherboard in a small black box perfect for the size of the mini-ATX form factor. The front cover has the motherboard name, the CPU it supports, the X58 chipset logo and the included software HDDBackup. Also listed are the main features of the board including Crossfire X, SLI, Active Phase Switching, Easy OC Switch and MSI's logo.
The rear of the box has the main features of the motherboard listed along with detailed descriptions of each feature. Also listed is the specifications for the motherboard, the contact information for MSI and an I/O Overview to show what the rear I/O has. Opening the box, MSI has put all of the accessories DVDs and manuals on top of the motherboard separated by a cardboard sheet.
MSI really went all out in terms of the bundle on the MSI X58M motherboard. There are four SATA Data cables two SATA Power cables to provide enough cables to run a four disk RAID system, a Crossfire bridge for connecting two ATI video cards, M-Connect which serves the same function as Q-Connect, User Guides for the manual and the HDDBackup utility, and a Quick Start Guide.
Driver CD
BUtilities
Product Information
Norton Internet Security
HDDBackup is MSI's backup and restore utility they include with their motherboards. You can backup a partition on an image file then restore it later if the data is lost or problems occur. You need a source and a archive partition to use the utility. Select a source then select the target partition and a folder within that partition to store the image into. The utility will back up the software after confirming that is what you want to do. To restore the partition simply select restore from image files and select the folder with the image file to restore from then select the restore target partition and confirm it. MSI also includes a copy of Norton's Internet Security 2009 OEM Edition with the bundle.
Live BIOS
BIOS & Overclocking
MSI uses a modified version of the American Megatrends AMIBIOS with their X58M motherboard. The main menu is split into Standard CMOS Features, Advanced BIOS Features, Integrated Peripherals, Power Management Setup, H/W Monitor, Green Power, Cell Menu, Overclocking Profile, and M-Flash. The Standard CMOS Features has the Date, Time, SATA devices installed, IDE devices and System information.
Battery
Advanced BIOS features are where you set up the Full Screen Logo Display, Quick Booting, Primary Graphics Adapter, CPU Features, Chipset Features Boot Sequence and Trusted Computing. CPU Features includes enabling Hyper-Threading, Execute Bit Support, C1E Support and Overspeed Protection. The Boot Sequence shows the first and boot from other device setting. Chipset Feature only shows High Precision Event Timer.
Integrated Peripherals is where you enable the USB Controller, the Legacy USB Device support the LAN Controller, LAN Option ROM, IEEE-1394 Controller, Extra RAID/IDE Controller, HD Audio controller, On-chip ATA Devices and I/O Devices. On-chip ATA Devices is where you set the PCI IDE BusMaster to enable/disable, enable the SATA controller on-chip and RAID Mode of that controller. I/O Devices is where you enable or disable the COM1 Port.
Overclock
WPrime95 overclocked
The Cell Menu is where most of the overclocking is done in the BIOS. The top of the screen has the current Core Frequency, Current DRAM Frequency, and current QPI (Quick Path Interconnect) frequency. Under that is the CPU Specifications menu which shows the various features of the currently installed CPU. Intel C-State sets the clock speed according to load. The Base Clock sets the frequency of the CPU. Intel Turbo Boost tech overclocks the CPU if certain conditions are met. Auto Overclock will let the system detect the FSB limit for overclocking automatically. Adjusted CPU Frequency is the result of the Base Clock multiplied by the multiplier. I was able to set the frequency using the Cell Menu to 200MHz for the Base Clock and 21 multiplier with an unlocked Core i7 920. The resultant 4.2GHz was totally stable without changing the voltages. Here's a chart of the various settings and ranges in the BIOS:
| Setting |
Range |
| Base Clock |
133-400 |
| Multiplier |
12x-21x on Core i7 920 |
| 1N/2N Memory timing |
1N, 2N, 3N |
| CAS Latency |
6-12 |
| tRCD |
3-15 DRAM Clocks |
| tRP |
3-15 DRAM Clocks |
| tRAS |
9-23 DRAM Clocks |
| CPU Amplitude Control |
700mV, 800mV, 900mV, 1000mV |
| PCI Express Amplitude Control |
700mV, 800mV, 900mV, 1000mV |
| CPU Clock Skew |
Normal 100ps-1500ps |
| IOH Clock Skew |
Normal 100ps-1500ps |
| PCI Frequency |
Auto, 37.5MHz 42.5Mhz |
| PCIE Frequency |
100-200 |
| NB Voltage |
1.09-2.37V |
| IOH Voltage |
0.70V-2.13V |
| DDR VREF CA CHA |
0.624-0.910V |
| DDR VREF CA CHB |
0.624-0.910V |
| DDR VREF CA CHC |
0.624-0.910V |
| DDR VREF DQ CHA |
0.624-0.910V |
| DDR VREF DQ CHB |
0.624-0.910V |
| DDR VREF DQ CHA |
0.624-0.910V |
Bios Screenshots
Test Setup & Software
Test System
- Core i7 920 CPU running at 2.66GHz
- MSI X58M Motherboard running latest drivers
- 3GB Kingston DDR3 1600MHz running at 1600MHz
- 2 74GB WD Raptor SATA HDDs running in RAID 0 Mode
- ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB running Catalyst 8.11
- Thermaltake ToughPower 1000W
- Windows Vista with SP1 installed
Tests
- Sysmark 2007 Preview Patch 3
- PCMark05/Vantage
- 3DMark06/Vantage
- x.264
- 7zip
- wPrime
- CPUBench 2003
- Crystalmark 2004
- PiFast
- SpecViewPerf
Performance:
Sandra
CPU Bench
PiFast
SYSMark2007
PCMark 2005
3DMark
Crystal Mark
WPRIME
SpechView 10
Conclusion
Big things often come in small packages and the MSI X58M motherboard is one of those things that really are an outstanding product. Its performance was near the top in virtually every benchmark. Feature-wise the board has support for SLI and CrossfireX on a micro-ATX form factor. If you’re looking for a LAN PC or a computer to be based on the fast X58 chipset and a Core i7, the X58M is a great choice. Intel X58 based motherboards are retailing for over $200 online as of today, while the X58M and other micro-ATX motherboards on this chipset are nearing the $170 price tag, meaning it is a good upgrade for those wanting to go with the X58 chipset without breaking the bank. For those wanting a good X58 motherboard for either an HTPC or small form factor PC this is a Hot Product!
Scores
- Features: 38
- Ergonomics: 10
- Compatibility: 22
- Support: 9
- Performance: 13
- Total: 92
- How Does it Rank?
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